The Ghost Writer by Robert Harris (Abridged Audio version, 2007: Encore. ISBN: 978-0-7435-8304-6)
On my way to FinnGrand Fest in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, I stopped in at Book World in Ashland, Wisconsin to pick up an audio book to co-pilot me from Minnesota to the wilds of Canada. I looked at Grishom’s collection of literary short stories, Ford County but the store wanted like sixty gazillion dollars (OK, only 39.95-still too much for my wallet). I studied a couple of Michael J. Fox memoirs with the idea that, since I was going to the land of the Maple Leaf flag, I should learn about one of the Queen’s own. Then the synopsis of The Ghost Writer caught my attention.
The goal of a ghostwriter is to make his client look good, not to uncover the truth…
What could be better for a writer to listen to than a novel about another writer? Wasn’t that much of what makes Heminway so compelling’ the connection of writer in the story to the writer behind the page? And at $14.95 (the same price as the abbreviated version of Michael J. Fox’s life story) well, I just had to go with the thriller.
Adam Lang, the former prime minister of Britain during 911 (Tony Blair here with very little camouflage) had a guy writing his memoirs mysteriously take a header from a ferry on its way to Martha’s Vineyard. Enter the protagonist, a writer who’s made himself a reputation by cleaning up the messy lives of the rich and famous for the general masses. He “assists” his clients in writing their stories. In actuality, he writes the books and then fades into the background, paid handsomely for the effort as a silent partner, a ghost.
But there’s something slightly amiss with PM Lang’s version of history: Someone is bound and determined to correct the legacy Lang seeks to leave behind, even if it means spilling a bit more blood. And all that stands between the killer(s) and more dead bodies is one man and his…keyboard.
A whopping good yarn from across the pond, this one. Save some money and time: This is a more concise and better listen than Dan Brown’s monolithic drudge, The Lost Symbol (see review below). Fast paced and contemporary without any allusions to literary greatness, this is a crisp read (or listen); perfect for the beach (print) or when driving (audio) across Wisconsin and UP Michigan to talk to Finns. 3 and 1/2 stars of 5.
