The Ghost

by Robert Harris

book data

760 ratings, 3.43 average rating, 233 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		10%
4		36%
3		39%
2		11%
1		2%

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published

November 28th 2007 by Thorndike Press (first published October 4th 2007)

details

Hardcover, 467 pages

isbn

0786298758 (isbn13: 9780786298754)

description

'The moment I heard how McAra died I should have walked away. I can see that now...'

The narrator of Robert Harris' gripping new novel is …more

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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 1,113)

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Dec 07, 2008

Dennis D. rated it:

(review of isbn 1416551816)

Read in December, 2008

To me, a good thriller can be like a colonic...something breezy and unsubstantial to flush the system out, especially if one has just finished something bloated and ponderous (I'm talking about YOU, Tree of Smoke)!

"The Ghost" is a good thriller. A recently retired-from-office British Prime Minister hires a ghost-writer (duh- because the story is written in the first person, I never noticed that the name of the narrator/protagonist is never supplied) to help him write his ...more

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2 comments

Aug 01, 2008

Susy rated it:

(review of isbn 1416551816)

I supposed this was a roman a clef since Harris was –as mentioned everywhere- a former friend of the Blairs. It’s just a thriller with enough links with what we think is the reality of politics to feel as fact. And he wields a scalpel on them with finesse and venom. An ex British PM is “writing” his memoirs with the help of a former aide who is found drowned in an apparent suicide. Enters a professional ghost-writer, the first person narrator of the novel, whose name we never found o...more

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Mar 23, 2008

will rated it:

(review of isbn 0091796261)

Read in March, 2008

The Ghost by Robert Harris.

A roller-coaster of a book - and not in a good way.

I like Robert Harris books and I loved his last one - Imperium. I loved it so much that I was really looking forward to the next in the series (neil h. informed me that it was part of a trilogy). Therefore I was a little meh about the fact he had taken time out to write The Ghost. Damn writers and their need to write a story instead of the one I wanted to read! However, there was bra...more

The Ghost by Robert Harris.

A roller-coaster of a book - and not in a good way.

I like Robert Harris books and I loved his last one - Imperium. I loved it so much that I was really looking forward to the next in the series (neil h. informed me that it was part of a trilogy). Therefore I was a little meh about the fact he had taken time out to write The Ghost. Damn writers and their need to write a story instead of the one I wanted to read! However, there was branch of Borders shutting down t'other day and they were offering 40% off all books. They had a copy of The Ghost on the shelves and I picked it up - I knew that I would read it eventually, I just didn't want to pay full price for something I might not enjoy. And, it was with that mentality (I'm not going to enjoy it) that I started the book.

But it is a Robert Harris book and, as I've stated, I like his books. It didn't take long for me to start enjoying it. Oh sure, there was the usual cringe moments - this man cannot write a sex scene to save his life. In fact, he can't even write a "sexy" scene to save his life:

She crossed her legs at the ankles, leaned forward to read, and I found myself staring into the surprisingly deep and shadowy valley of her cleavage.

But there are the usual page-turning chapters - those moments when you really should put the book down and get on with your life but you just need to find out what happened next.

The story is about a man who is called in to ghost the memoires of a former British Prime Minister, Adam Lang. The Lang character is clearly supposed to be Tony Blair and the author (Harris) displays a great hatred of Mr. Blair. It is that hatred of a spurned lover, an emotion I can understand. When Blair was elected, I was so excited, so positive - I sang along to "Things Can Only Get Better" for the several hours it played, as we waited for him to arrive in London. But it all went wrong. All the dreams, all the hopes, all the beliefs turned out to false. He wasn't the saviour we all thought. He leaves a legacy that is dominated by a war in Iraq. And, it is the reason why we went to war, that forms the cornerstone to this novel.

At first Mr. Harris builds his usual story web. He introduces the characters, he sets scenes wonderfully, he leaves enough clues scattered about to make you feel clever for spotting them. However the ending is rushed. It is trite. The denouement is contrived and a bit insulting. A true roller-coaster ride. I started of not liking the book, learned to love it, ended up disliking it. Of coursem ,y disappointment is mainly because it is a Robert Harris book and I expect better of him (except for the sex scenes). If this had been written by Dan Brown I would be announcing to the world that it is his finest piece of work. But, if it had been written by Mr. Brown, I wouldn't have picked it up. Over at goodreads.com I have given it three stars - I liked it - rather than two - it was OK - because it was a Robert Harris book. But, not his best. To finish on a quote from this book:

All good books are different but all bad books are exactly the same.[..] And what they have in common, these bad books, be they novels or memoirs, is this: they don't ring true. I'm not saying that a good book is true necessarily, just that it feels true for the time you are reading it.

Unfortunately, Mr. Harris, although your book feels true for a good solid part of it, it falls short at the end. It verges towards being a bad book.
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Feb 12, 2009

kinu rated it:

(review of other edition)

ada dua tokoh cerita dalam buku ini yang menurut saya bakal sulit ditemukan di indonesia (bahkan saya menyangkanya gak ada). yang pertama tentu saja sang penulis bayangan; seseorang yang dibayar untuk menulis otobiografi, yang namanya tidak disebutkan (tentu saja kalau disebutkan akan ketahuan kalau bukan otobiografi), dan bekerja dalam tenggat waktu tertentu (biasanya ketat). yang kedua adalah agen yang "memiliki" penulis bayangan, yang pekerjaannya menghubungkan "pekerjanya"...more

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Apr 12, 2009

KiwiKathleen rated it:

(review of isbn 0091796261)

bookshelves: detective---spy

Read in April, 2009

A successful ghost-writer is suddenly asked to complete the ex-British Prime Minister's memoirs. Against his better judgement he says yes, and finds himself in Martha's Vineyard in the winter, among a group of highly stressed people (the ex-PM, his wife, a PA, some secretaries, the security team) who are having to deal with fall-out from the collusion with the US in the "War on Terror" and torture of prisoners.

Our ghost-writer notices a few strange things, but bumbles alon...more

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Feb 16, 2009

MD rated it:

(review of isbn 1416551824)

bookshelves: mystery-thriller

Read in February, 2009

This is a topical thriller with a British Prime Minister politically based on Tony Blair (I have no idea about the personal stuff). At the beginning of his career he was nearly as popular as Obama. At the end, he was reviled as a puppet of the US. He is writing his memoirs, and naturally everyone wants to know the truth about the War on Terror--except, of course, those who don't want their secrets revealed. As thrillers go, this one is fairly low-key--more psychological than action. I reall...more

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Nov 30, 2008

Kyle rated it:

(review of isbn 0099514664)

Read in February, 2009

Another hit, and a reason to get into more of Harris' modern work - although I am really looking forward to Conspiracy when it comes out later this year. Keeping up with his writerly inclusion of other people's books at the head of each chapter (in this case Andrew Crofts' handbook Ghostwriting), Harris proves himself as writer very much in love with and indebted to reading. The ghost in this story lives up to his eponymous calling, for lack of any name for the main character, and seems to be...more

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Nov 07, 2007

Don rated it:

(review of isbn 0091796261)

Read in November, 2007

This is a standard thriller with the added spice of being very familiar to current headline readers. A British Prime Minister retires and looks forward to publishing his memoirs. However, his "ghost", a longtime aide finds some information that leads to the conclusion that the PM authorized, aided and abetted torture while in office. The literary "ghost" becomes a literal ghost under suspicious circumstances. An apolitical hack is brought in to finish the memoirs and that...more

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Apr 12, 2009

Cat rated it:

(review of isbn 0091796261)

bookshelves: political

Read in March, 2009

Quite interesting, a ghostwriter and a political leader, turns into a mystery conspiracy at the end.

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Feb 05, 2009

Bookmarks Magazine added it (review of isbn 1416551816)

Known for Fatherland (1992), Pompeii (**** Selection Mar/Apr 2004), and Imperium (*** Jan/Feb 2007), novelist Robert Harris opens his latest work with a derisive account of the publishing business. From there, it quickly gains momentum, merging a shrewd indictment of the war in Iraq with a literate, page-turning thriller. Harris, who was once a friend of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, offers a withering, barely disguised attack on Blair's policies and his collusion with the United Sta

...more

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Jan 13, 2010

Steffi rated it:

(review of isbn 3453406141)

Read in January, 2010

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Am Ende geht es um nichts anderes als darum, dass der britische Premier beschuldigt wird, die CIA bei der Anwendung von Folter gegen britische Terrorverdächtige gewähren zu lassen. Ein Ghostwriter, dessen Name im Roman nicht genannt wird, ersetzt seinen Vorgänger, nachdem dieser, angeblich durch einen Unfall, ums Leben kam. Natürlich erweist sich der Unfall als Mord und es verhärtet sich der Verdacht, dass sich der britische Premier, der hier Adam Lang heißt, bereits zu Studienzeiten von d...more

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Oct 12, 2009

Kara rated it:

(review of isbn 0099527499)

Read in October, 2009

Who says you have to be famous to write autobiographies? Not "the ghost", our narrator, a ghostwriter to the stars who tries to remain sane as his life spirals out of control and into the heady waters of political intrigue and conspiracy while "ghosting" the memoirs of the recently retired Labour prime minister. The similarities between Adam Lang (retired fictional prime minister) and Tony Blair (retired factual prime minister) are uncanny, despite the disclaimer at the fro...more

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Feb 16, 2009

Bookczuk rated it:

(review of isbn 0091796261)

bookshelves: bookcrossing, home-library, places-i-have-been, satisfying

Read in February, 2009

This was given to us by a friend, and has been read by both javaczuk and myself. I'm a Robert Harris fan from way back. I distinctly remember adoring both the book and movie version of The Fatherland. Most recently, I read Pompeii which was more of a historical thriller than political.

Literally from the first page, I kept thinking that the story in The Ghost was hitting awfully close to much of the political shenanigans of today's world. It seemed a thinly veiled poke at Tony Bl...more

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May 26, 2009

Truly rated it:

(review of other edition)

Harusnya sang penulis bayangan menyadari ada yang aneh. Saat mayat McAra Michael harus diidentifikasi, tamu yang mengajukan diri datang dengan mobil patroli dari Edgartown dengan lampu biru yang menyambar-nyambar, mobil kedua dengan empat petugas bersenjata untuk mengamankan gedung dan mobil ketiga, kendaraan anti bom,dan sampai delapan belas bulan sebelumnya masih menjabat sebagai perdana mentri Inggris Raya dan Irlandia Utara, Adam Lang. Kenapa mantan perdana mentri mau mengindetifikasi mayat...more Harusnya sang penulis bayangan menyadari ada yang aneh. Saat mayat McAra Michael harus diidentifikasi, tamu yang mengajukan diri datang dengan mobil patroli dari Edgartown dengan lampu biru yang menyambar-nyambar, mobil kedua dengan empat petugas bersenjata untuk mengamankan gedung dan mobil ketiga, kendaraan anti bom,dan sampai delapan belas bulan sebelumnya masih menjabat sebagai perdana mentri Inggris Raya dan Irlandia Utara, Adam Lang. Kenapa mantan perdana mentri mau mengindetifikasi mayat seseorang, walau itu adalah mayat mantan ajudannya.

Tawaran menjadi penulis bayangan bagi seorang mantan perdana mentri dan bayaran yang didapat rupanya membuat sipenulis bayangan mengabaikan keanehan tersebut. Belum lagi keanehan bahwa penulisan harus dilakukan ditempat tertentu, di Amerika . Tepatnya l di rumah peristirahatan mewah di Martha's Vineyard. Begitu menyerahkan paspor saja, penjaga sudah menyambutnya dengan kata-kata, “Selamat datang di rumah gila” Semuanay sekana-akan terabaikan

Adam Lang, dituduh melakukan kejahatan perang. Penyelidikan mengenai kasusnya akan dilakukan oleh Mahkamah Internasional. Untuk itu, Adam berusaha berada dinegara yang tidak mengakui Mahkamah Internasional, termasuk Indonesia(hal 140). Masak sih....? saya malah baru tahu.

Banyak pertanyaan dalam diri saya, namun semua bisa dituntaskan hanya dengan membaca sebuah kalimat di akhir cerita. Semua jadi jelas! Padahal di pertangahan buku ada kalimat “Kunci segalanya dapat ditemukan dalam autobiografi Lang, kalau ada orang yang mau repot-repot memeriksanya-bahwa semua ada disana pada awalnya”

Kalau saja saya membaca dengan lebih teliti, mengikuti rasa penasaran saya. Pastilah jawaban atas semua pertanyaan bisa segera saya temukan tanpa perlu membaca hingga akhir.

Jadi teringat dengan buku dongeng ke tiga belas. sama-sama bercerita mengenai seorang penulis. Di dongeng ketiga belas, sang penulis diijinkan mengecek segala informasi yang diberikan guna melengkapi buku yang ditulisnya. Sedangkan di Ghost, justru setelah mengecek informasi yang didapat, malah menimbulkan bahaya bagi jiwanya

Kalimat yang menyentuh dibuku ini adalah, ” Buku yang ditulis merupakan semesta menggairahkan dengan kemungkinan tak terbatas. Namun, begitu satu kata diletakkan, segera saja segalanya terlmbat ke bumi. Begitu satu kalimat disertakan, seketika ia sudah menjadi satu dari banyak buku terkutuk yang pernah ditulis. Meski demikian, hal-hal yang terbaik tidak boleh menghalangi munculnya apa pun yang cukup bagus. Bila kejeniusan tidak ada, keterampilan selalu mengambil alih”
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Feb 12, 2010

whiskyprajer Reimer rated it:

(review of isbn 0091796261)

Read in February, 2010

After gobbling down Toby Young's How To Lose Friends & Alienate People my appetite was roused for yet more servings of contemporary British shame. To that end, I finally dusted off my old remaindered copy of Robert Harris' The Ghost a thriller in which a cocky ghost writer agrees to a last-minute request to write a former Prime Minister's memoirs. Said writer is just intelligent enough to get on the fast track to more trouble than he can handle -- rather like Toby Young -- and the ex-Prime Minis...more

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May 09, 2009

Heather rated it:

(review of isbn 0091796261)

Read in May, 2009

Phew! It's good to have Robert Harris restored to his rightful position as good in my book. I initially didn't think this book was going to hook me - how exciting can the life of a ghostwriter be after all? But it got its hooks into me just quickly enough, and then all the intrigue of who really did what to whom and who killed who and who did what started to kick in and ultimately I was very into it. In case you are wondering, the book is about a ghostwriter who is ghostwriting the memoirs of a ...more

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Feb 20, 2010

John rated it:

(review of isbn 0091796261)

Read in February, 2010

Great premise. Great Britain's Prime Minister is out of office, his memoirs are due to be published, and his ghostwriter just died. Along comes a politically naive ghostwriter to pick up the job and finish it in a month. Then mysterious events occur, the Prime Minister (resembling Tony Blair to some extent) finds himself in deep trouble, and the ghostwriter finds himself investigating a deep mystery.

Robert Harris' writing is smooth and the ghostwriter is a sympathetic character. I c...more

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Mar 01, 2010

Kristine rated it:

(review of isbn 1416551816)

Read in March, 2010

I read this book after already having seen Roman Polanski's film, The Ghost Writer, so my view of the book has definitely been influenced by the excellent film. And as sometimes happens when I compare a film to book, it's whichever I've experienced first that has my favor, and it's no exception in this case. Harris's story is of a former British prime minister's current ghostwriter collaborating with the PM on an unfinished manuscript of his memoirs on an isolated estate in Martha's Vineyard i...more

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Dec 06, 2009

Simon rated it:

(review of isbn 1416551824)

Read in December, 2009

2.5 stars - A ghostwriter is hired to help controversial ex-Prime Minister Adam Lang finish his memoirs after the previous collaborator dies under mysterious circumstances. It's an interesting and timely premise; the War on Terror and the "Special" US-British relationship are practically supporting characters. The nameless main character's naivete kept getting in the way for me. Less than a day after meeting his subject he's helping draft a statement after Lang is accused of war crimes...more

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May 04, 2009

Greg Stragnell rated it:

(review of isbn 0091796261)

Read in May, 2009

A friend recommended this and although Robert Harris writes great books, this is not one of them. It's fine for a light read but it hasn't got the substance of some of his other work. The former prime minister of Great Britain (based on Tony Blair) is writing his memoirs when the colleague assisting him dies in somewhat suspicious circumstances. Enter the Ghost Writer, the narrator of the book, who begins to uncover some inconsistencies in the prime minister's account. Although it's all dressed ...more

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