The Ghost Writer

It's hard to know where to begin with a novel like "The Ghost Writer"; most novels are built up in layers, with previous levels supporting those above, but in this case, the layers are peeled back like a sort of archaeological dig with the subsequent uncertainty that goes with such an endeavor. Happily, it is a challenge well worth undertaking as "The Ghost Writer" is the rare literary novel that reads like a thriller. As other readers have intimated, it is almost impossible to put down and its labyrinthine structure and subtle horror kept me reading well into the night.At its most basic level, "The Ghost Writer" is a two pronged tale that deals with Gerard Freeman's pursuit of his mother's mysterious and oddly absent family and his pen-pal Alice, who he takes to be his one true love. One would expect that these plot lines would become entangled, and they do, but what sets this novel apart is how author John Harwood manages to continually take the narrative at right angles from where the reader expects it to flow. At the same, time, he interjects gothic ghost stories written by a key character (who I won't name for fear of ruining the plot). At first, these abrupt changes in content and flow can be jarring, but as they draw the reader in they make for a fascinating change of pace. Moreover, as they start to reveal aspects of Gerard's mother's life, they begin to resemble jigsaw puzzle pieces which the reader must assemble in order to solve the deeper mysteries in play. Harwood wisely is neither to clever nor to obvious with these stories, and the result is a sensation of taking two steps forward and one step back.While the plot and structure are undeniably what make this novel, it would be unfair to view the characters as mere baggage. In fact, part of what makes "The Ghost Writer" so interesting is that it is essentially a one man show. Many characters, many important characters, come and go through the course of the novel, but they are only ever seen through the prism of Gerard. As such, his hopes and emotional state color every other aspect of the work, and even as the reader can see certain elements developing in advance, they can only experience them through Gerard. In particular, the one sided view of his relationship with Alice is critical, and could never have been handled as adroitly in the third person.Unfortunately, I found the ending to be either to abrupt or too enigmatic or perhaps both. On a very general level, I understand that the author was trying to make a statement about hope and redemption, but within the context of the story I felt that there were too many loose ends left lying about. I will admit that it is possible that upon re-reading, all will become clear as seemingly insignificant details from the ghost stories reveal themselves. Nonetheless, a more effective denouement would have made this a more satisfying read. Ultimately, while I respect the literary decision to write an open-ended novel, I think Harwood may have been too clever by half in this instance.However, this should in no way detract from what is an engaging, well written novel. Harwood's interesting story within a story approach and the crisscrossing narrative make for a stimulating read. At the same time, Harwood has managed to develop a tremendous sense of impending horror that permeates the novel, but in a manner that is not oppressive. The result is a well executed plot that justifies it's convoluted approach with genuine thrills and a main character who the reader is drawn too. "The Ghost Writer" is the rare beast that is both literary and a great read while detracting from neither aspect, and is definitely not to be missed.Jake Mohlman

Author John Harwood creates a page-turner of a story seeped in atmosphere bordering on the unreality that defines a true Victorian ghost story. The novel contains all the right ingredients: spectacularly thrilling backdrops and chilling happenstances. In Mawson, a dead-end town in Australia, young Gerard lives with his quiet yet intensely possessive mother. From her fondly reminiscent stories, he learns of the fabled Staplefield, her girlhood home, an old English estate, a manorhouse surrounded by green grounds and an old gazebo and once ruled by his great-grandmother,Viola, a published ghost story writer whose odd little stories have a peculiar way of presaging the outcome of her descendants. The discovery of an old photograph of an unknown woman and his mother's subsequent rage over his distrubing her private papers, further piques Gerard's already engaged mind with regard to his family history. His acquisition of female penpal Alice Jessel, a nod to Henry James' "Turn of the Screw",incites more anger from his mother; her Staplefield stories abruptly end yet her frozen frightened silence motivates Gerard to turn Sherlockian in his quest for family information. As he grows from an adolescent to a young librarian, he travels to England to uncover the truth with Alice his faithful "invisible lover" (whom he never meets until the tail end of the novel) spurring him on through letters and e-mails.As Gerard finds them, the reader is privy to Viola's strange ghost stories--these told in an authentically dry pre-20th century style---and little by little the warped history of Gerard's life begins to come into focus, albeit a fuzzy one. The ghost tales, deliberately ambiguous, supply details and only some motivation for the actual reality.Harwood succeeds quite well with this technique of interspercing of Viola's incomplete manuscripts with Gerard's rather straightforward narration, although I will admit to groaning aloud at times in the break in the momentum. As readers, we are intrigued and simultaneously somewhat bored with the climactic discovery of the real Staplefield, a quintissentially spooky old place, ruined, as all such houses are, by time and circumstance and with Gerard's (an Harwood's) overly ambitious efforts to plow through the dust and put the mysteries to rest so that he and his Alice can live happily ever-after.Does it all work? Almost. Harwood shrouds all the major characters except our narrator with a boundless eccentricity that delivers enough adrenaline to keep those pages turning until the last quarter of the book. Alice, disabled from a car accident, does not wish to meet with Gerard until she is healed by a serious of operations. Phyllis, his mother, is obsessive in her maternal diligence to the point of questioning her sanity; Viola's literary protagonists all mirror the family truth in some oddly deliberate way that only becomes clear at the novel's close. Miss Hamish, the little old lady key-keeper of the manor, stands out like a red herring with fun Dickens-esque coincidence. It is only the last portion of the novel that does not deliver the necessary jolt to the nervous system that other ghost stories achieve with one phantom arm tied behind a white-sheeted back. Sadly, the major end bit of horror borders on the predictable with not enough time spent on building the necessary cold-sweat reaction. On a whole, the novel is crafted admirably --- all of the stories within the larger narrated story and the particulars of the family history remain completely unknowable until revealed --- but, the denouement is ultimately muddled and hence unsatisfying. Viola's ghost tales hint at the outcome of each of the hapless male protagonists, and therefore we understand the consequences of Gerard's investigative actions. But in this case,where we expect more, we receive less: the novel fails in its mission to generate enough horror to cause that satisfying crawl of gooseflesh along the skin. Nice try though, with wonderful literary references to classic tales of horror and detective fiction.

Gerald Freeman has a stifling childhood in Mawson, Australia, with a nervous and controlling mother and a virtually invisible father. His mother tells him stories of her childhood home in England, Staplefield, which Gerald loves. The countryside seems everything that dry and dusty Mawson is not. Then, one day he discovers a photo of a woman in a locked drawer in his mothers room. When his mother comes in she loses control, screaming and beating him and, from that day, the stories stop.Even more isolated, Gerald is amazed when a letter arrives from Penfriends International. He begins to write to Alice Jessell, a young girl who says she lost her parents in an accident and who is unable to walk. For Gerald, whose mother hates him having friends or leaving her alone, isolated and lonely, Alice is a lifeline and he opens himself up to her totally.Interspersed with this creepy tale are stories that Gerald finds. Stories his mother died trying to keep him from reading... These stories start to mirror events and then Gerald goes to England determined to find out the truth of his mothers life and why she lived in fear. In the house his mother left to go to Australia, Gerald begins to piece together the truth, but will he ever meet the elusive Alice?This is a very atmospheric novel - creepy rather than frightening, but highly enjoyable and I would certainly read more by this author. This was our October book club choice and it will certainly provide much to discuss.

After reading this and The Séance, I am in no doubt that John Harwood is an accomplished author of the gothic genre. The Ghost Writer is is an interesting concept of ghost stories within a story and it takes a good deal of concentration and careful reading as the ghost stories seem to intertwine and are linked with the main character Gerard's family history. At times, I found it quite complex with the ghost stories becoming very detailed and involved but I was keen to know of Gerard's fate and whether he ever met Alice his long time pen friend. I was a little disappointed with the ending but nevertheless I found it quite an enthralling read.

The story is about Gerard, a young boy growing up in Australia, the country his mother came to after leaving Staplefield, the country home in England in which she grew up. She tells Gerard very little about her past so one day Gerard unlocks her desk and finds some personal papers. For this his mother beats him but still refuses to speak of her past.Gerard eventually finds a pen pal called Alice to who he pours out his heart. They fall in love and so begins a courtship that is created on paper. Alice repeatedly refuses to meet him, explaining that she is a paraplegic but with a cure in sight, so wants to wait until she can walk again.Gerard continues to try and discover more about his background and finds a ghost story written by his Grandmother and learns that she wrote 3 more too. As he grows up he is amazed to realise that his Gran's stories reflect his real life in an uncanny manner.The ending to this story is when he finally meets Alice and the conclusion is terrifyingly spooky and so desperately saddening.A terrific Victorian gothic style ghost story. Full of mystery, suspense, romance and surprises. There are twists and turns all the way through that leaves the reader desperately turning the pages as fast as possible. Extremely well written with amazing imagery, this was a superbly haunting tale that I truly enjoyed.

I can't say that I really understood the ending- though I'm still mulling it over- but I enjoyed reading this book so much that I couldn't possibly give less than five stars!

As I come to review this a few weeks after reading it I have fotgotten everything about it, so, for me, it wasn't memorable.