Gabriel's Moon

Like a low-budget movie, with a protagonist whose steadfast naïveté borders on doltishness.

I have been a huge fan of William Boyd ever since reading A Good Man in Africa more than thirty years ago. Indeed, I feel that he may have a very strong claim to the title of greatest living British novelist.This book takes the reader to some familiar Boyd territory, with the protagonist being drawn, somewhat reluctantly, into the world of the intelligence services. Gabriel Dax was orphaned at a young age in 1936, and subsequently brought up by his art-dealer uncle. By the early 1960s he has established himself as a successful and respected travel writer. Commissioned to visit the newly independent Congo he is lucky enough to have the opportunity to interview the first post-colonial prime minister, Patrice Lumumba. Shortly after that interview, Lumumba is displaced and disappears from view.This journalistic coup brings Gabriel to the attention of the secret intelligence services, and he is approached by them to perform some straightforward courier duties, for which he is handsomely remunerated. As might readily be predicted, things do not run as smoothly as he had been told they would, and complications soon ensue.Meanwhile, buoyed by the money that the secret errands bring him, Gabriel starts consulting a psychoanalyst to explore whether episodes in his past, and in particular the death of his mother, are causing the rampant insomnia from which he has suffered for years.Boyd, as usual, blends all of these story threads very effectively. I don’t think that this novel quite matches up to his masterpieces Any Human Heart od Restless, but it is another very worthy addition to his oeuvre.

As usual Boyd has written a bestseller. Loved it, just wish it was longer. He writes so well. His descriptions of people and places are outstanding. Highly recommend it.

Exactly as Expected

As usual with William Boyd books, this is a completely gripping read right from the first page!! I love his style of writing.