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The Ghost, by Robert Harris

Pompeii and Imperium Author Tackles the War on Terror

Nov 28, 2008 Paris Franz

Taken from today's headlines, Robert Harris' The Ghost is a tale of intrigue and deception, and the addictive nature of power.

A former British Prime Minister is holed up in a wintry mansion in Martha’s Vineyard, trying to write his memoirs and adjust to life after power. His ghost-writer dies in mysterious circumstances, and is replaced by the insomniac, unnamed narrator, the ghost of the title, who soon finds himself out of his depth.

A Thinly-Veiled Tony Blair

While the book works as a masterfully plotted thriller, as readers have come to expect from Robert Harris, much of The Ghost’s fascination comes from the depiction of its central couple, Adam and Ruth Lang. He was a student actor, with little political conviction, and she is smarter than her husband. Comparisons with Tony and Cherie Blair are obvious.

Swept into a situation over which he has increasingly little control, the cynical and mercenary narrator turns out to be an innocent abroad. His experience ghost-writing books for footballers and faded pop stars provides him with little defence against the double-dealing and chicanery of his new surroundings, as dangerous secrets come to light.

Those dangerous secrets are perhaps a little too easily discovered, but the quality of the writing and the pacing of the narrative glide over any plot-holes. Secondary characters flesh out the story, from grumpy policemen to Lang’s assistant Amelia Bly, who is “a shade too clever and several shades too blonde for comfort.” The writing is sharp and acerbic, and Harris expertly builds up a sense of inevitability and foreboding. Depending on the reader’s view of the Blair years, the ending is either satisfying or outrageous, but still surprising.

The Ghost – An Engrossing Read

For a writer who has made a name for himself writing literary historical thrillers, Harris’ The Ghost is a very modern book. From Google searches to the International Criminal Court, from satellite navigation to rendition, elements of the plot are straight out of today’s headlines, and make for a perfect holiday read.

Both a cutting political satire and a tense thriller (and an intriguing insight into the nature of ghost-writing), The Ghost is an engrossing read. Harris, a former political editor of The Observer and a disillusioned supporter of New Labour, has put his inside knowledge of the political scene to incisive, if not vengeful, use.

First published in 2007, The Ghost is to be made into a film, directed by Roman Polanski and starring Pierce Brosnan as Adam Lang.

The Ghost, by Robert Harris, mass market paperback published by Arrow Books, an imprint of Random House (2008), 400 pages, ISBN: 9780099514664

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The Ghost, by Robert Harris