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Restless
It is 1939. Eva Delectorskaya is a beautiful 28-year-old Russian émigrée living in Paris. As war breaks out she is recruited for the British Secret Service by Lucas Romer, a mysterious Englishman, and under his tutelage she learns to become the perfect spy, to mask her emotions and trust no one, including those she loves most. Since the war, Eva has carefully rebuilt her life as a typically English wife and mother. But once a spy, always a spy. Now she must complete one final assignment, and this time Eva can't do it she needs her daughter's help.
337 pages, ebook
First published September 4, 2006
1266 people are currently reading
11998 people want to read
About the author
William Boyd
69 books2,475 followersNote: William^^Boyd
Of Scottish descent, Boyd was born in Accra, Ghana on 7th March, 1952 and spent much of his early life there and in Nigeria where his mother was a teacher and his father, a doctor. Boyd was in Nigeria during the Biafran War, the brutal secessionist conflict which ran from 1967 to 1970 and it had a profound effect on him.
At the age of nine years he attended Gordonstoun school, in Moray, Scotland and then Nice University (Diploma of French Studies) and Glasgow University (MA Hons in English and Philosophy), where he edited the Glasgow University Guardian. He then moved to Jesus College, Oxford in 1975 and completed a PhD thesis on Shelley. For a brief period he worked at the New Statesman magazine as a TV critic, then he returned to Oxford as an English lecturer teaching the contemporary novel at St Hilda's College (1980-83). It was while he was here that his first novel, A Good Man in Africa (1981), was published.
Boyd spent eight years in academia, during which time his first film, Good and Bad at Games, was made. When he was offered a college lecturership, which would mean spending more time teaching, he was forced to choose between teaching and writing.
Boyd was selected in 1983 as one of the 20 'Best of Young British Novelists' in a promotion run by Granta magazine and the Book Marketing Council. He also became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in the same year, and is also an Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He has been presented with honorary doctorates in literature from the universities of St. Andrews, Stirling and Glasgow. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005.
Boyd has been with his wife Susan since they met as students at Glasgow University and all his books are dedicated to her. His wife is editor-at-large of Harper's Bazaar magazine, and they currently spend about thirty to forty days a year in the US. He and his wife have a house in Chelsea, West London but spend most of the year at their chateau in Bergerac in south west France, where Boyd produces award-winning wines.
Of Scottish descent, Boyd was born in Accra, Ghana on 7th March, 1952 and spent much of his early life there and in Nigeria where his mother was a teacher and his father, a doctor. Boyd was in Nigeria during the Biafran War, the brutal secessionist conflict which ran from 1967 to 1970 and it had a profound effect on him.
At the age of nine years he attended Gordonstoun school, in Moray, Scotland and then Nice University (Diploma of French Studies) and Glasgow University (MA Hons in English and Philosophy), where he edited the Glasgow University Guardian. He then moved to Jesus College, Oxford in 1975 and completed a PhD thesis on Shelley. For a brief period he worked at the New Statesman magazine as a TV critic, then he returned to Oxford as an English lecturer teaching the contemporary novel at St Hilda's College (1980-83). It was while he was here that his first novel, A Good Man in Africa (1981), was published.
Boyd spent eight years in academia, during which time his first film, Good and Bad at Games, was made. When he was offered a college lecturership, which would mean spending more time teaching, he was forced to choose between teaching and writing.
Boyd was selected in 1983 as one of the 20 'Best of Young British Novelists' in a promotion run by Granta magazine and the Book Marketing Council. He also became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in the same year, and is also an Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He has been presented with honorary doctorates in literature from the universities of St. Andrews, Stirling and Glasgow. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005.
Boyd has been with his wife Susan since they met as students at Glasgow University and all his books are dedicated to her. His wife is editor-at-large of Harper's Bazaar magazine, and they currently spend about thirty to forty days a year in the US. He and his wife have a house in Chelsea, West London but spend most of the year at their chateau in Bergerac in south west France, where Boyd produces award-winning wines.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,865 reviews
May 4, 2013
Sjajan autor... mnoge knjige su mu i ekranizovane...
Nažalost, ovo je zasad jedina njegova knjiga prevedena na srpski... Ali ne gubimo nadu da ćemo mu opet naći izdavača :)
Nažalost, ovo je zasad jedina njegova knjiga prevedena na srpski... Ali ne gubimo nadu da ćemo mu opet naći izdavača :)
September 19, 2007
I've just posted all the William Boyd books on my bookshelf. I started reading him about five years ago (Armadillo, set in London) and over time I occasionally bought and read others. Lately after I read Brazzaville Beach I realised with surprise that I had now read all nine of his novels - and that's all until he writes another!
He creates wonderful characters in rich geographical settings and plots, often told within a twentieth century historical context: Africa commonly, and also America, other continents and the two world wars.
The latest, Restless (2006), typically occurs in more than one dimension - two time zones and two key characters - and with an espionage plot that characteristically carries you emotionally without drilling crudely into your head. He writes women well in the first person - other examples are Brazzaville Beach (set in Africa) and The Blue Afternoon (three continents).
Two of Boyd's books - The New Confessions and Any Human Heart - are long fictional biographies, both of male characters. Other books with male leads are Stars and Bars and two African books: A Good Man in Africa and An Ice Cream War.
If you haven't read Boyd you could start with any book. For a hint and the most typical, try A Good Man in Africa or The Blue Afternoon. You may find, like me, that whenever you want a reliably enjoyable read you know you can look for another Boyd - until you run out of them!
He creates wonderful characters in rich geographical settings and plots, often told within a twentieth century historical context: Africa commonly, and also America, other continents and the two world wars.
The latest, Restless (2006), typically occurs in more than one dimension - two time zones and two key characters - and with an espionage plot that characteristically carries you emotionally without drilling crudely into your head. He writes women well in the first person - other examples are Brazzaville Beach (set in Africa) and The Blue Afternoon (three continents).
Two of Boyd's books - The New Confessions and Any Human Heart - are long fictional biographies, both of male characters. Other books with male leads are Stars and Bars and two African books: A Good Man in Africa and An Ice Cream War.
If you haven't read Boyd you could start with any book. For a hint and the most typical, try A Good Man in Africa or The Blue Afternoon. You may find, like me, that whenever you want a reliably enjoyable read you know you can look for another Boyd - until you run out of them!
March 13, 2020
Restless by Wlliam Boyd is a very enjoyable WWII Spy Story and as you'd expect from Boyd, brilliantly written. It's such a nice change to see the two main characters in a spy story being females, mother Sally and daughter Ruth. I loved both of these characters.
The story is set in the 1970s with WWII flashbacks (the spy bits), for me it worked really well. Just as I was finishing a section of the 1970s part of the story, I was ready for the 1940s part, and vice versa. I thought it was a really fresh way of telling this story.
The Spy story was believable, and always interesting - there were also some excellent historical fiction aspects - leaving something to research after - in this case, the British Secret Service. Isn't it great how books consistently open new doors of new worlds for us readers?
I really like this author, and I really enjoyed this story.
4 Stars
The story is set in the 1970s with WWII flashbacks (the spy bits), for me it worked really well. Just as I was finishing a section of the 1970s part of the story, I was ready for the 1940s part, and vice versa. I thought it was a really fresh way of telling this story.
The Spy story was believable, and always interesting - there were also some excellent historical fiction aspects - leaving something to research after - in this case, the British Secret Service. Isn't it great how books consistently open new doors of new worlds for us readers?
I really like this author, and I really enjoyed this story.
4 Stars
July 14, 2015
I read this because I enjoyed Any Human Heart (http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...) so much; I don't normally read tales of wartime espionage. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it.
The story alternates between the wartime life of Eva, recruited as a spy, and ~30 years later, when she tells her adult daughter about it. There are also subplots relating to the daughter's life, though I think the book would have been better without them: Eva's story is exciting enough without trying to draw weak parallels a generation later. I found it a compelling read.
I opens with a vivid description of bucolic 1970s England, which contrasts with later wartime scenes. A major tactic was planting misinformation in minor publications and hoping the bigger ones would pick it up, gaining authenticity with each republication - rather as happens with urban legends on the internet today.
The fear, complexity and psychological aspects of living a duplicitous life are captured authentically, or so it seemed to me: you look at the world differently, never relax and never trust anyone. However, the voice of the 5 year old grandson was not at all authentic (with a few exceptions near the end).
Overall, a fascinating and enjoyable read, albeit imperfect.
Miscellaneous quotes:
* A dilapidated house "giving up its parched ghost to entropy".
* "Massive black-green yews that seemed to drink the light of day."
* Scotland: "There lingered in the landscape a memory of many winters' hardship."
* "I felt like a house shaken by some nearby explosion: tiles had fallen, there was a thick cloud of dust, windows had blown in."
* "Intelligence wasn't neutral... if it was believed or even half-believed, then everything began subtly to change as a result - the ripple effect could have consequences no one could foresee."
* "Sometimes it amazed Eva how fluently and spontaneously she could lie. Think everyone is lying to you all the time, Romer said, it's probably the safest way to proceeed."
* "The guileless child was already beginning to develop the opacities of the growing boy... where veils of ignorance and unknown exist even between the people you were closest to."
The story alternates between the wartime life of Eva, recruited as a spy, and ~30 years later, when she tells her adult daughter about it. There are also subplots relating to the daughter's life, though I think the book would have been better without them: Eva's story is exciting enough without trying to draw weak parallels a generation later. I found it a compelling read.
I opens with a vivid description of bucolic 1970s England, which contrasts with later wartime scenes. A major tactic was planting misinformation in minor publications and hoping the bigger ones would pick it up, gaining authenticity with each republication - rather as happens with urban legends on the internet today.
The fear, complexity and psychological aspects of living a duplicitous life are captured authentically, or so it seemed to me: you look at the world differently, never relax and never trust anyone. However, the voice of the 5 year old grandson was not at all authentic (with a few exceptions near the end).
Overall, a fascinating and enjoyable read, albeit imperfect.
Miscellaneous quotes:
* A dilapidated house "giving up its parched ghost to entropy".
* "Massive black-green yews that seemed to drink the light of day."
* Scotland: "There lingered in the landscape a memory of many winters' hardship."
* "I felt like a house shaken by some nearby explosion: tiles had fallen, there was a thick cloud of dust, windows had blown in."
* "Intelligence wasn't neutral... if it was believed or even half-believed, then everything began subtly to change as a result - the ripple effect could have consequences no one could foresee."
* "Sometimes it amazed Eva how fluently and spontaneously she could lie. Think everyone is lying to you all the time, Romer said, it's probably the safest way to proceeed."
* "The guileless child was already beginning to develop the opacities of the growing boy... where veils of ignorance and unknown exist even between the people you were closest to."
June 16, 2013
3.5 stars really.
Fairly competent world war two spy thriller which goes along at a good pace without taxing the brain too much (not a bad thing as I'm also immersed in Proust and Gass at the moment).
Set in 1976 with flashbacks to 1940/1941. The central characters are Sally and her daughter Ruth. Sally decides to let Ruth knowabout her hidden past as a spy and does so in a series of written chapters which gradually reveal her story. SWhe does so because she thinks someone is trying to kill her and feels she needs to tidy up a loose end or two.
I liked the fact that there are two strong female protagonists and the tension is maintained at a pretty good level; the spy part of the story is also believeable.
However there are plenty of cliches and too much stating the obvious. I also had some difficulty with Ruth's situation. She is a single mother, her son's father being a German academic. All of a sudden she discovers her mother's history. Her ex-lover's brother and girlfriend also turn up. They appear to be loosely attached to Baader-Meinhof. Ruth also teaches English to foreign students and one of her regulars is an Iranian who opposes the Shah and may be of interest to SAVAK. Just too many layers of coincidence.
First Boyd I've read in a long time; it was ok but just a bit insipid compared to Wish Her Safe at Home which was so haunting. Nevertheless it was enjoyable.
Fairly competent world war two spy thriller which goes along at a good pace without taxing the brain too much (not a bad thing as I'm also immersed in Proust and Gass at the moment).
Set in 1976 with flashbacks to 1940/1941. The central characters are Sally and her daughter Ruth. Sally decides to let Ruth knowabout her hidden past as a spy and does so in a series of written chapters which gradually reveal her story. SWhe does so because she thinks someone is trying to kill her and feels she needs to tidy up a loose end or two.
I liked the fact that there are two strong female protagonists and the tension is maintained at a pretty good level; the spy part of the story is also believeable.
However there are plenty of cliches and too much stating the obvious. I also had some difficulty with Ruth's situation. She is a single mother, her son's father being a German academic. All of a sudden she discovers her mother's history. Her ex-lover's brother and girlfriend also turn up. They appear to be loosely attached to Baader-Meinhof. Ruth also teaches English to foreign students and one of her regulars is an Iranian who opposes the Shah and may be of interest to SAVAK. Just too many layers of coincidence.
First Boyd I've read in a long time; it was ok but just a bit insipid compared to Wish Her Safe at Home which was so haunting. Nevertheless it was enjoyable.
August 19, 2020
A rare spy novel I saw recommended and recommend myself for its well-drawn, fascinating female protagonist (Eva) and her daughter Ruth, the other major character. Chapters move between the two women's POVs, two different time periods (early WWII and the 1970s), and two (general) locations--US in the 1940s and England in the 1970s.
Cerebral yet gripping and humane. Highly recommended. The biggest surprise is that this book is not better known and more celebrated.
Cerebral yet gripping and humane. Highly recommended. The biggest surprise is that this book is not better known and more celebrated.
December 17, 2025
Tag me as a Boyd fan! There aren't many male writers who can genuinely pull off the voice of a woman, but in his case, he did that twice.
Here we have a young-ish single mother who works as a language tutor to professionals who've arrived extremely capable in their professional pursuits but who can barely speak a word of the Queen's tongue. She's also procrastinating on a thesis at Oxford, but between hosting uninvited international house guests, suddenly being courted by one of her students, and worrying that her mother might be suffering from early dementia, her plate is more than full.
Her aging mother has been acting a bit paranoid as of late, but when our language tutor arrives at her mom's house to drop off her little boy for their weekly overnight visit, things are really weird. Her mother is in a wheelchair, is in process of getting a gun license, and most oddly of all, declares that her identity is false and has been for 40 some years (what??!).
Thus fires off two sets of intrigue - we read about the supposed past of a 65 year old who claims to have been a spy during World War II and who's been in hiding ever since. Was this her real life or just fantasy? There is intrigue in her tales of recruiting, the spycraft technique, and - the most enlightening - her efforts in writing "fake news" to be used to manipulate governments.
I love spy novels, complex female characters, and quirky lives, but to read that "reporters" fabricated articles to prompt outrage or worry certainly hit home. Boyd manaaged to not only grab my attention but made things entirely believable and relatable. The only reason this didn't garner a five star rating from me is that it rather fell off a cliff for me at the ending... it just.. stopped. There were other little threads I'd have liked to see tied up, and that rather makes me think there'll be a sequel or prequel. Or not. Boyd has me guessing, and I like it.
Here we have a young-ish single mother who works as a language tutor to professionals who've arrived extremely capable in their professional pursuits but who can barely speak a word of the Queen's tongue. She's also procrastinating on a thesis at Oxford, but between hosting uninvited international house guests, suddenly being courted by one of her students, and worrying that her mother might be suffering from early dementia, her plate is more than full.
Her aging mother has been acting a bit paranoid as of late, but when our language tutor arrives at her mom's house to drop off her little boy for their weekly overnight visit, things are really weird. Her mother is in a wheelchair, is in process of getting a gun license, and most oddly of all, declares that her identity is false and has been for 40 some years (what??!).
Thus fires off two sets of intrigue - we read about the supposed past of a 65 year old who claims to have been a spy during World War II and who's been in hiding ever since. Was this her real life or just fantasy? There is intrigue in her tales of recruiting, the spycraft technique, and - the most enlightening - her efforts in writing "fake news" to be used to manipulate governments.
I love spy novels, complex female characters, and quirky lives, but to read that "reporters" fabricated articles to prompt outrage or worry certainly hit home. Boyd manaaged to not only grab my attention but made things entirely believable and relatable. The only reason this didn't garner a five star rating from me is that it rather fell off a cliff for me at the ending... it just.. stopped. There were other little threads I'd have liked to see tied up, and that rather makes me think there'll be a sequel or prequel. Or not. Boyd has me guessing, and I like it.
June 4, 2024
William Boyd goes all John John le Carré and has written a pretty good spy thriller that felt like reading a movie, with it's fast-paced tense narrative, and moments that were utterly gripping.
Central to the story is Eva Delectorskaya, the daughter of a Russian family in 1930s Paris. After mourning her brother's death she is approached, wooed to attraction, by the dapper Lucas Romer, who wants her to leave her shipping company to work for his mysterious British organisation against the Nazi threat. He convinces her with the revelation that her brother worked for him, and died in the line of duty.Trained in espionage techniques to become a top spy, in one of the most successful sections she is put work in Romer's London agency, using a sophisticated network to feed false stories into the news networks in the hope of damaging enemy confidence. she no doubt is playing a dangerous game, risking her life for Queen and country. Eventually Eva is moved to New York, where Romer's team uses similar propagandist means to convince America to join Britain in the war, and it's here where things turn sour when sent to New Mexico.
Cleverly done, Boyd is telling this story through the daughter of Eva, Ruth, who has her own story also, in 1970's Oxfordshire involving student politics and the Baader-Meinhof gang. When her indomitable widowed mother starts worrying her life is in danger she enlists the radical single mum Ruth to help in a potentially dangerous mission, but digging around in the past is never a good idea. Although a solid enough read, Boyd seems a decent storyteller, but it's certainly nothing new, and this territory has been covered to far greater effect by other writers. The easy to read page-turning nature may have been welcoming to some, but I was hoping for something deeper and darker, which it didn't really deliver on, a good satisfying ending was my high point. And the fact it won a Costa novel award shows it's limitations.
April 30, 2008
i just about stayed with this to the end but for a good writer like william boyd , i found it underwhelming .
the characters are very thin and a lot of them pointless , the plot creaks like a House of Horror film door , and most of the writing is cliched . most of what Boyd seems to know about spying seems to have come from the Mail on Sunday
here are some gems that i noticed
here is Romer , supposedly a big cheese spy ,explaining the rules of spying " don't trust anyone " he said ..........
god i'm glad i was not a spy . i just could not keep up with the pace of it at that level
here is Eva the herione being advised by a woman " a little world weary , she said there is nothing easier in this world , than getting a man to kiss you .. how do you do that ? just stand close to a man ..blah blah blah
" it was always going to be a dirty war " . yes that really is there in black and white on page 173 and it was not said in a WW11 spoof but in this book by " one of our most celebrated contemporary novelists " . that's what the sunday times thinks anyway .
there's more
" does the name "mr x " help you identify anyone ?" that's on page 192 just in case you think i'm making it up . funnily the answer was negative
the heroine is always " looking shrewdly " at people . that's because she was a spy you see .
A lot of the setting is Oxford and Oxfordshire based . a spy thriller with a whiff of the upperclass and priviledged now where have i heard that before . ah yes Burgess , Blunt etc . this is just lazy on Boyd's part .
pointless characters in no particular order ; some german bloke who was in porno films and walks around naked and had something to do with 70's radicalism , the son Jochen who talks like a forty year old , Hamid an iranian engineer who proposes marriage to the daughter , the daughter who we are led to believe is brilliant but seems to twig on pretty slowly , the german father of jochen and his languid wife . i must have forgotten the other ones perhaps because they were yup pointless .
cliches abound particularly in the description of a london gentleman's club whose members and staff look down on our plucky daughter because she is , gasp , a woman . she inevitably is upset by this . i forgot to mention that she is a single mother which seems to be a sort of short hand for being interesting , different and so clever . she is not working class i hasten to add , perish the thought . the other great cliche is the University academic who features strongly . make that up yourself , you know part Evelyn Waugh , part Patrick Moore .
the plot device where the mother explains her past to the daughter in written in installments and is a totally unbelievable in method apart from being boring .
i think the reason that this book irritated me so much was that apart from being poor , there are dozens of better thriller and spy writers around whose books get ignored because their name is not William Boyd and they are not thought of as literary . it's all so unfair . Robert Wilson's " a small death in lisbon " knocks the spots off ( oops i've caught the cliche bug ) this novel , not too mention Le Carre . so i won't .
the characters are very thin and a lot of them pointless , the plot creaks like a House of Horror film door , and most of the writing is cliched . most of what Boyd seems to know about spying seems to have come from the Mail on Sunday
here are some gems that i noticed
here is Romer , supposedly a big cheese spy ,explaining the rules of spying " don't trust anyone " he said ..........
god i'm glad i was not a spy . i just could not keep up with the pace of it at that level
here is Eva the herione being advised by a woman " a little world weary , she said there is nothing easier in this world , than getting a man to kiss you .. how do you do that ? just stand close to a man ..blah blah blah
" it was always going to be a dirty war " . yes that really is there in black and white on page 173 and it was not said in a WW11 spoof but in this book by " one of our most celebrated contemporary novelists " . that's what the sunday times thinks anyway .
there's more
" does the name "mr x " help you identify anyone ?" that's on page 192 just in case you think i'm making it up . funnily the answer was negative
the heroine is always " looking shrewdly " at people . that's because she was a spy you see .
A lot of the setting is Oxford and Oxfordshire based . a spy thriller with a whiff of the upperclass and priviledged now where have i heard that before . ah yes Burgess , Blunt etc . this is just lazy on Boyd's part .
pointless characters in no particular order ; some german bloke who was in porno films and walks around naked and had something to do with 70's radicalism , the son Jochen who talks like a forty year old , Hamid an iranian engineer who proposes marriage to the daughter , the daughter who we are led to believe is brilliant but seems to twig on pretty slowly , the german father of jochen and his languid wife . i must have forgotten the other ones perhaps because they were yup pointless .
cliches abound particularly in the description of a london gentleman's club whose members and staff look down on our plucky daughter because she is , gasp , a woman . she inevitably is upset by this . i forgot to mention that she is a single mother which seems to be a sort of short hand for being interesting , different and so clever . she is not working class i hasten to add , perish the thought . the other great cliche is the University academic who features strongly . make that up yourself , you know part Evelyn Waugh , part Patrick Moore .
the plot device where the mother explains her past to the daughter in written in installments and is a totally unbelievable in method apart from being boring .
i think the reason that this book irritated me so much was that apart from being poor , there are dozens of better thriller and spy writers around whose books get ignored because their name is not William Boyd and they are not thought of as literary . it's all so unfair . Robert Wilson's " a small death in lisbon " knocks the spots off ( oops i've caught the cliche bug ) this novel , not too mention Le Carre . so i won't .
December 12, 2021
2.5 Stars
Well for a book about a spy not much spy-y type of stuff actually happened.
It was quite well written and I liked the characters but it was more of a reminiscing type yarn than clandestine spy thriller. I'm stoked I finished it because it was a book club book and I pretty much never get around to reading them because of my other job related reading. Just okay for me.
Well for a book about a spy not much spy-y type of stuff actually happened.
It was quite well written and I liked the characters but it was more of a reminiscing type yarn than clandestine spy thriller. I'm stoked I finished it because it was a book club book and I pretty much never get around to reading them because of my other job related reading. Just okay for me.
August 8, 2011
William Boyd (born 1952) is a Scottish novelist and screenwriter. In 1983, he was one of the 20 ‘Best of Young British Novelist’ in a promotion run by Granta magazine and the Book Marketing Council. Restless (published 2006) tells the story of a young woman who finds out that her mother used to work as a spy for British government prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. However, unlike Susan Isaac’s Linda Voss (Melanie Griffith) in the 1992 movie, Shining Through, this is about a Russian-born spy hired by British government to work in the US. Her job was to manipulate the American government to support, i.e., draw Americans into the conflict, Europe’s war against Hitler. Of course, her job became useless after Pearl Harbor because the US had to take revenge against Japan and Hitler in Europe. This book won the Novel Award in the 2006 Costa Book Awards.
The story is told in the alternating points of view of the daughter (Ruth) and the mother Eva Delectorskaya. Because of this, the book continually switches between the time periods and, in doing so, from first to third person. The life of her mother serving as a British spy is very interesting as the danger lurks in every scene with the first rule in espionage at the back of the reader’s head: never trust anyone. However, the most interesting part is the similarities between the mother and her daughter despite their generation gap and the situation their lives are in. This includes their preference on a certain types strong like concrete of men and their passion for truth and justice. I mentioned this because the book includes explicit sex scenes amidst the historical background of Europe at the brink of Hitler’s rampage.
Boyd should be credited in his flawless, engaging and arresting prose. He was able to express the viewpoints of the two narrators effectively including their sexual fantasies that made we doubt whether Boyd was just a pseudonym of a woman writer. Wiki says no and he even has a smiling picture in there.
The title refers to the years after the war ended and her mother still feels that somebody is still haunting her and is bound to kill her. She constantly rebukes Ruth by saying: ”One day someone will come and kill me and then you’ll be sorry’; or ”They’ll appear out of the blue and whisk me away – how would you like that?” This was the only part of the book that made me smile because I oftentimes used this technique to pacify the tantrums of my daughter particularly when she was a lot younger. I used to tell her that if she would not stop, what if I died while driving to the office? And then she would be sorry for the rest of her life having angered me few hours before I died. It worked! It worked!
What I am saying is that this book is not funny at all. But if you love spy-thrillers with a bit of historical background (for indeed there were British spies in American soil to lobby of their compatriots’ support), peppered with hot sex scenes, then this book is for you.
The story is told in the alternating points of view of the daughter (Ruth) and the mother Eva Delectorskaya. Because of this, the book continually switches between the time periods and, in doing so, from first to third person. The life of her mother serving as a British spy is very interesting as the danger lurks in every scene with the first rule in espionage at the back of the reader’s head: never trust anyone. However, the most interesting part is the similarities between the mother and her daughter despite their generation gap and the situation their lives are in. This includes their preference on a certain types strong like concrete of men and their passion for truth and justice. I mentioned this because the book includes explicit sex scenes amidst the historical background of Europe at the brink of Hitler’s rampage.
Boyd should be credited in his flawless, engaging and arresting prose. He was able to express the viewpoints of the two narrators effectively including their sexual fantasies that made we doubt whether Boyd was just a pseudonym of a woman writer. Wiki says no and he even has a smiling picture in there.
The title refers to the years after the war ended and her mother still feels that somebody is still haunting her and is bound to kill her. She constantly rebukes Ruth by saying: ”One day someone will come and kill me and then you’ll be sorry’; or ”They’ll appear out of the blue and whisk me away – how would you like that?” This was the only part of the book that made me smile because I oftentimes used this technique to pacify the tantrums of my daughter particularly when she was a lot younger. I used to tell her that if she would not stop, what if I died while driving to the office? And then she would be sorry for the rest of her life having angered me few hours before I died. It worked! It worked!
What I am saying is that this book is not funny at all. But if you love spy-thrillers with a bit of historical background (for indeed there were British spies in American soil to lobby of their compatriots’ support), peppered with hot sex scenes, then this book is for you.
Read
November 23, 2025DNF
Ficou a meio… Gostei da escrita mas não achei a história empolgante.
Ficou a meio… Gostei da escrita mas não achei a história empolgante.
October 2, 2012
I disappeared into this book like I would have in a good movie. In fact I could see the movie play as I read the book. William Boyd manages to tiptoe around a few different genres here: thriller, historical fiction, fiction...Ah, is it all the French and different languages in the book that makes me want to say, C'est Magnifique? I don't know. What I do know is that 3-4 days reading the book and I was sad when it ended. It was one of those books that makes you savor each word.
Ruth always knew that her mother was a little strange, but what she didn't know was that her mother, Sally, was also Eva Delectorskaya--a former British spy with lots of secrets. When her mother learns that someone is trying to kill her, she finally tells her daughter everything. This is when the story unfolds.
Part of the book takes place during the World War II era. My favorite character was Eva and the adventures that came with her story: the different countries, different languages, escapades, etc. that came with this sexy, strong-minded, and smart heroine. I liked the way Boyd chose to tell her story parallel to Ruth's (in third person) and not as a narration from Eva herself. Ruth may have seemed a little too normal, compared to her mother, but I think her character worked because you needed her life and the small town to show how different Eva was--and how you may not really know your neighbors that well after all.
Ruth always knew that her mother was a little strange, but what she didn't know was that her mother, Sally, was also Eva Delectorskaya--a former British spy with lots of secrets. When her mother learns that someone is trying to kill her, she finally tells her daughter everything. This is when the story unfolds.
Part of the book takes place during the World War II era. My favorite character was Eva and the adventures that came with her story: the different countries, different languages, escapades, etc. that came with this sexy, strong-minded, and smart heroine. I liked the way Boyd chose to tell her story parallel to Ruth's (in third person) and not as a narration from Eva herself. Ruth may have seemed a little too normal, compared to her mother, but I think her character worked because you needed her life and the small town to show how different Eva was--and how you may not really know your neighbors that well after all.
November 18, 2010
Ho girato intorno a questo libro per alcuni giorni senza trovare il coraggio di tiralo su dalla pila e acquistarlo. Poi un pomeriggio, alla fermata Colosseo della Metro B, mentre stavo proprio pensando al perché e al percome di questa mia difficoltà è uscita dal vagone della metro una donna sprofondata nella lettura proprio di questo libro, quasi investendomi. Ho letto questo accadimento come un segno, come un incrocio momentaneo di destini, come uno scherzo del caso, come un gioco delle possibilità. Sono corso a comprare il libro. A fine lettura ho capito che tutte le teorie intorno agli scherzi del caso, ai destini che s'incrociano ecc..ecc.. son solo delle emerite cavolate letterarie. Se qualcuna si riconoscesse in quella donna è pregata di contattarmi in privato per un eventuale bonifico a mio nome di euro 17.
May 3, 2015
As usual my rating only expresses my personal reaction to a book and thus my personal preferences. Two stars reflects that spy novels are not my cup of tea, even if the artist is a magician with words. I do appreciate Boyd’s writing. It just works for me! A character enters a room and observes that the spider plant in the corner was “dying of thirst”. Another character remarks at the placard on the door “Ladies Drawing Room” and says, “How do you know I am a lady?” The writing is subtly humorous. The dialogs match the character portrayals of each separate individual. A child speaks as a child would, an English Lord too. The author accurately mirrors how people behave in a given scene. Nevertheless, I had serious problems with decisions made by some of the characters, because I didn’t find them credible. While the details are spot-on, the trajectory of the plot goes astray. In my view the love affair between Eva
The central theme of the novel is spying. What are the long term effects from which a spy can never escape? Once a spy, always a spy and along with that goes ALL aspects of that career. Look at the title: Restless. After you have quit spying you remain cautious, suspicious of all and everything. Even the lives of your children will be altered by that initial choice. I find this obvious, but this is the central theme of the book. At the same time, you do get an exciting spy story with love knots thrown in. Even if the sex is well written by Boyd, is the love thrown in because a spy thriller should have that?
A secondary theme is the mother / daughter relationship and modern feminism. Most novels today emphasize the strength of women. I take this strength for granted, so I don’t need a book to point it out to me. We look at a mother (a spy) and her daughter (a single, strong and independent woman employed as a language teacher). We analyze their choices, with little attention paid to the men’s thought processes. I wanted to know more about why Romer chose to become a double agent. I don’t think that is made clear. He declares that a person betrays his nation for money, blackmail or revenge. None of those makes sense to me in the scenario drawn. Too much emphasis is directed toward the women, and not enough on the men. Is feminism thrown in because modern readers want that? Because it is popular?
At the end of the novel there is an interview with the author, but it says very little. He states that he loves to use his imagination. He talks about the themes mentioned above. Nothing is said about the truth of the historical content. Only the episode in the Netherland’s do I recognize as being true, Is nothing said about history because the historical content is slim? Remember he stresses the value of imagination!
The narration was absolutely stunning. Couldn’t have been better. Rosamund Pike is a narrator to keep an eye on, to choose whenever possible. The kids sounds exactly as a kid would sound, his self-assured mother and grandmother too. I loved the voice used for the spy-master, the famed English gentleman. One character has a lisp and he always has a lisp. The narration is not over-dramatized. It is clear, has a perfect tempo and in all respects impeccably executed.
So two stars from me, but I highly recommend this book if you are looking for an exciting spy novel with good lines, strong women characters and romance. Not a book meant to be scrupulously analyzed.
The central theme of the novel is spying. What are the long term effects from which a spy can never escape? Once a spy, always a spy and along with that goes ALL aspects of that career. Look at the title: Restless. After you have quit spying you remain cautious, suspicious of all and everything. Even the lives of your children will be altered by that initial choice. I find this obvious, but this is the central theme of the book. At the same time, you do get an exciting spy story with love knots thrown in. Even if the sex is well written by Boyd, is the love thrown in because a spy thriller should have that?
A secondary theme is the mother / daughter relationship and modern feminism. Most novels today emphasize the strength of women. I take this strength for granted, so I don’t need a book to point it out to me. We look at a mother (a spy) and her daughter (a single, strong and independent woman employed as a language teacher). We analyze their choices, with little attention paid to the men’s thought processes. I wanted to know more about why Romer chose to become a double agent. I don’t think that is made clear. He declares that a person betrays his nation for money, blackmail or revenge. None of those makes sense to me in the scenario drawn. Too much emphasis is directed toward the women, and not enough on the men. Is feminism thrown in because modern readers want that? Because it is popular?
At the end of the novel there is an interview with the author, but it says very little. He states that he loves to use his imagination. He talks about the themes mentioned above. Nothing is said about the truth of the historical content. Only the episode in the Netherland’s do I recognize as being true, Is nothing said about history because the historical content is slim? Remember he stresses the value of imagination!
The narration was absolutely stunning. Couldn’t have been better. Rosamund Pike is a narrator to keep an eye on, to choose whenever possible. The kids sounds exactly as a kid would sound, his self-assured mother and grandmother too. I loved the voice used for the spy-master, the famed English gentleman. One character has a lisp and he always has a lisp. The narration is not over-dramatized. It is clear, has a perfect tempo and in all respects impeccably executed.
So two stars from me, but I highly recommend this book if you are looking for an exciting spy novel with good lines, strong women characters and romance. Not a book meant to be scrupulously analyzed.
December 30, 2020
This was a great read! It’s a historical spy thriller novel told in two timelines, the first during WWII and the second in the 70s. Ruth is a young single mother and English language teacher. She is surprised when her mother tells her that her real name is Eva Delectorskaya and she worked for British intelligence during the war. So it’s about secrets and what do you really know about other people. It’s a plot that was easy to get involved particularly Eva’s story and this section is rounded up really well. Ruth’s story is more open ended but her relationship with her mother is the most explored part of her life.
I haven’t read William Boyd before and I’m not sure why but I’ll definitely read more. Well written and well constructed novel that kept me reading.
I haven’t read William Boyd before and I’m not sure why but I’ll definitely read more. Well written and well constructed novel that kept me reading.
January 16, 2014
Picked this up in a bookshop as a Christmas present for someone but then read it myself; as this is how I got hooked on the earlier works of Michael Morpurgo whilst buying them as presents for my nephews and nieces whilst young it looks like a bit of a christmas hazard.
The shape of the chapters, alternating between the reminiscences and betrayal of the 1940's with the ' present time ' account of the sweltering summer of 1976 was simple but effective. As a young lad in 1976 I remembered that summer of hosepipe bans and stand pipes quite well and so got hooked into the imagining of all Eva's story unfolding whilst i enjoyed that remarkable few months. This seems to me to be a clever hook because i am sure many people of my generation would clearly recall that time and therefore would, like me, associate the time in their minds quite clearly.
The machinations of a spy's brain as she twisted and turned to escape and then cover her tracks was quite fascinating and the fact that Sal seemed at first sight a rather two dimensional character was also clever because, as we were seeing her through her daughter's eyes, we would only know what Sal had been prepared or able to reveal to her daughter.
The sub plot of Hamid and his opposition to the Shah seemed rather 'shoved in' to pad out the weaker part of the narrative; i am not sure what its point was supposed to be other than showing perhaps the irresponsibility of a woman who would take her young son to a demonstration in which she had no real interest or opinion and secondly no certainty that it would not turn horribly violent.
There were a few moments when I took a sharp intake of breath as I was reading and i suppose that is what you want in a thriller. All in all i was quite happy to have spent my time reading this but not the best thing i have ever read in the genre.+
The shape of the chapters, alternating between the reminiscences and betrayal of the 1940's with the ' present time ' account of the sweltering summer of 1976 was simple but effective. As a young lad in 1976 I remembered that summer of hosepipe bans and stand pipes quite well and so got hooked into the imagining of all Eva's story unfolding whilst i enjoyed that remarkable few months. This seems to me to be a clever hook because i am sure many people of my generation would clearly recall that time and therefore would, like me, associate the time in their minds quite clearly.
The machinations of a spy's brain as she twisted and turned to escape and then cover her tracks was quite fascinating and the fact that Sal seemed at first sight a rather two dimensional character was also clever because, as we were seeing her through her daughter's eyes, we would only know what Sal had been prepared or able to reveal to her daughter.
The sub plot of Hamid and his opposition to the Shah seemed rather 'shoved in' to pad out the weaker part of the narrative; i am not sure what its point was supposed to be other than showing perhaps the irresponsibility of a woman who would take her young son to a demonstration in which she had no real interest or opinion and secondly no certainty that it would not turn horribly violent.
There were a few moments when I took a sharp intake of breath as I was reading and i suppose that is what you want in a thriller. All in all i was quite happy to have spent my time reading this but not the best thing i have ever read in the genre.+
March 1, 2012
I was surprised to find this book on a list of the "best" spy novels, but not when I read it. It's not only a good one but it's different.
A woman tutoring foreign students in English while she half-heartedly completes a dissertation in history visits her mother in a picturesque village a short drive away. Her mother is a widow, in reasonable good health and in possession of her faculties. But Sally (the mother) has decided it's time to tell Ruth (the daughter) the truth about her life. She's really Russian (well, she had an English mother)--left with family after the Revolution, ended up in Paris by way of Shanghai--where the family exists as "stateless persons". She's persuaded by a dashing British spy to work for him in return for British citizenship etc.
The chapters alternate between Sal's memoir of her life as a spy and Ruth's life in the present. The two converge as Sal urges Ruth to help her track down the suave British spy who seems to have tried to kill off everyone who worked for him during the war. Sal alone escaped.
A woman tutoring foreign students in English while she half-heartedly completes a dissertation in history visits her mother in a picturesque village a short drive away. Her mother is a widow, in reasonable good health and in possession of her faculties. But Sally (the mother) has decided it's time to tell Ruth (the daughter) the truth about her life. She's really Russian (well, she had an English mother)--left with family after the Revolution, ended up in Paris by way of Shanghai--where the family exists as "stateless persons". She's persuaded by a dashing British spy to work for him in return for British citizenship etc.
The chapters alternate between Sal's memoir of her life as a spy and Ruth's life in the present. The two converge as Sal urges Ruth to help her track down the suave British spy who seems to have tried to kill off everyone who worked for him during the war. Sal alone escaped.
February 22, 2009
This may well be the book that brings me back to fiction. I devoured it in seven days, rising and falling asleep with it. It's the story of a young British woman who discovers her mother was a British spy in the years leading up to the second world war. The story weaves back and forth as the mother retells the story. Boyd develops such interesting characters and his subplots are all so very interesting. If you want a good escape this is your book!
September 19, 2016
Restless, senza riposo.
Un solido romanzo di “spionaggio”, classico nella forma (due linee narrative alternate, con protagoniste madre e figlia, la prima delle quali si svolge negli anni della II guerra mondiale) ma originale per molti aspetti che si celano dietro l’apparenza di una tipica opera “di genere”.
Boyd in effetti non è Forsyth o Le Carré ma un autore contemporaneo inglese che in patria vanta una prestigio paragonabile ai McEwan, Coe o Barnes ed è un habitué dei premi letterari (questo “Restless” ad esempio ha vinto il Costa Book Award nel 2006, un autorevole riconoscimento nell’ambito della narrativa mainstream).
La storia è già anomala per l’ambientazione: conoscendo la narrativa (e il cinema) di genere spionistico ci si aspetterebbe che nel 1940-41 una potenziale spia, dopo il meticoloso addestramento all’arte del pedinamento, del depistaggio, della dissimulazione, fosse inviata in missione in Germania o in Unione Sovietica o nella Francia occupata… e invece no! (e qui mi fermo per evitare spoiler).
Un altro elemento particolare è relativo allo stile e alla struttura del romanzo; l’aspettativa in linea con le attuali tendenze, o diciamo pure “mode”, consiste nell’accumulo di una pletora di colpi di scena che si sovrappongono nel finale fino a sfiorare, e spesso a superare ampiamente, la soglia della credibilità. Qui invece le svolte impreviste della narrazione, pur inevitabili in questo tipo di romanzo, sono accuratamente dosate lungo il corso del racconto fino ad un finale che potrà sembrare fiacco e prevedibile ai cultori dei fuochi d’artificio conclusivi, ma è semplicemente aderente alla realtà e coerente col corso degli eventi.
Va da sé che Boyd, visto il suo pedigree nella narrativa inglese “colta”, scrive molto bene, benché lo stile di scrittura adottato non rinneghi la compattezza e la concisione richiesta dalla tipologia del racconto: i personaggi sono ben disegnati e caratterizzati e le situazioni sono costruite con abilità e proprietà. Su tutto aleggia, soprattutto intorno alla figura della madre Eva/Sally ormai anziana, una sottile malinconia che si mescola alla tenace persistenza dell’inquietudine di chi si sente ancora alle prese con i fantasmi del passato.
Il romanzo meriterebbe forse tre sole stelline ma, soprattutto chi come il sottoscritto ha letto o visto tante (troppe…) storie di questo tipo, tende a gratificare anche oltre i meriti intrinseci la “particolarità” del libro:
il sapiente equilibrio fra l’abilità nel saper conferire un taglio inedito ed originale al racconto, senza tuttavia perseguire una deliberata decostruzione dell’oggetto nella logica dei post-generi (o post-tutto).
Un solido romanzo di “spionaggio”, classico nella forma (due linee narrative alternate, con protagoniste madre e figlia, la prima delle quali si svolge negli anni della II guerra mondiale) ma originale per molti aspetti che si celano dietro l’apparenza di una tipica opera “di genere”.
Boyd in effetti non è Forsyth o Le Carré ma un autore contemporaneo inglese che in patria vanta una prestigio paragonabile ai McEwan, Coe o Barnes ed è un habitué dei premi letterari (questo “Restless” ad esempio ha vinto il Costa Book Award nel 2006, un autorevole riconoscimento nell’ambito della narrativa mainstream).
La storia è già anomala per l’ambientazione: conoscendo la narrativa (e il cinema) di genere spionistico ci si aspetterebbe che nel 1940-41 una potenziale spia, dopo il meticoloso addestramento all’arte del pedinamento, del depistaggio, della dissimulazione, fosse inviata in missione in Germania o in Unione Sovietica o nella Francia occupata… e invece no! (e qui mi fermo per evitare spoiler).
Un altro elemento particolare è relativo allo stile e alla struttura del romanzo; l’aspettativa in linea con le attuali tendenze, o diciamo pure “mode”, consiste nell’accumulo di una pletora di colpi di scena che si sovrappongono nel finale fino a sfiorare, e spesso a superare ampiamente, la soglia della credibilità. Qui invece le svolte impreviste della narrazione, pur inevitabili in questo tipo di romanzo, sono accuratamente dosate lungo il corso del racconto fino ad un finale che potrà sembrare fiacco e prevedibile ai cultori dei fuochi d’artificio conclusivi, ma è semplicemente aderente alla realtà e coerente col corso degli eventi.
Va da sé che Boyd, visto il suo pedigree nella narrativa inglese “colta”, scrive molto bene, benché lo stile di scrittura adottato non rinneghi la compattezza e la concisione richiesta dalla tipologia del racconto: i personaggi sono ben disegnati e caratterizzati e le situazioni sono costruite con abilità e proprietà. Su tutto aleggia, soprattutto intorno alla figura della madre Eva/Sally ormai anziana, una sottile malinconia che si mescola alla tenace persistenza dell’inquietudine di chi si sente ancora alle prese con i fantasmi del passato.
Il romanzo meriterebbe forse tre sole stelline ma, soprattutto chi come il sottoscritto ha letto o visto tante (troppe…) storie di questo tipo, tende a gratificare anche oltre i meriti intrinseci la “particolarità” del libro:
il sapiente equilibrio fra l’abilità nel saper conferire un taglio inedito ed originale al racconto, senza tuttavia perseguire una deliberata decostruzione dell’oggetto nella logica dei post-generi (o post-tutto).
May 8, 2018
2.5 Stars.
A very basic thriller, which is quite disappointing. I enjoyed the flashbacks though at some times the whole Spy shtick was quite ridiculous. "Don´t trust anyone" .. oh really?
Ruth is the daughter of the ~spy~ and she is a single mother which in the 70s wasn´t as widely accepted as today and that´s about the only relatively interesting thing about her. She is a teacher, and she gets involved conveniently with some dangerous people. Meh
Eva´s story was fine but I found the premise of telling your daughter your story in installments quite unvelievable. I am not sure about you but if my mom told me she used to be a spy I would´t let her go anywhere until she finished her story. I´d probably even pester her when she goes to the toilet haha
Anyway, if you are interested in spy novels and you have already read a few (or even seen some films) I don´t think this is going to offer you anything new.
A very basic thriller, which is quite disappointing. I enjoyed the flashbacks though at some times the whole Spy shtick was quite ridiculous. "Don´t trust anyone" .. oh really?
Ruth is the daughter of the ~spy~ and she is a single mother which in the 70s wasn´t as widely accepted as today and that´s about the only relatively interesting thing about her. She is a teacher, and she gets involved conveniently with some dangerous people. Meh
Eva´s story was fine but I found the premise of telling your daughter your story in installments quite unvelievable. I am not sure about you but if my mom told me she used to be a spy I would´t let her go anywhere until she finished her story. I´d probably even pester her when she goes to the toilet haha
Anyway, if you are interested in spy novels and you have already read a few (or even seen some films) I don´t think this is going to offer you anything new.
April 18, 2011
This was the second book by William Boyd I have read. I didn't like it as much as Any Human Heart--it didn't seem as rich. But it was still a good read. Spy novels tend to focus on men. This was an interesting perspective on what it would be like for a woman to live a double life--to hide much of who she is from her daughter.
April 2, 2022
With many complex characters, double agents, secret agencies, and hidden agendas, BSC (British Security Co-ordination), set up by MI6, and what they were doing in the USA before the Pearl Harbour attack is the central theme of this book.
Overall, this is the kind of book that helps you get over your reading slump. Pick this one if you like spy books with historical fiction backgrounds.
Read the detailed review here - Books Charming
Overall, this is the kind of book that helps you get over your reading slump. Pick this one if you like spy books with historical fiction backgrounds.
Read the detailed review here - Books Charming
February 12, 2008
I must say that this is one of the finest mystery stories I've listened to. It is a beautifully-written novel and I'm planning to get more by this author. He is amazing.
The long and the short of the story is this:
Ruth Gilmartin is a graduate student with a young son, working as a tutor while she is supposed to be working on her thesis. She visits her mother Sally dutifully every weekend, and on one weekend, her mother makes the startling announcement that she thinks someone is trying to kill her. Ruth notices that there's an edge to her mother; she seems quite paranoid and has been acting very strangely. Sally hands Ruth some papers, which turn out to be the story of Eva Delectorskaya, an emigree from Russia whose story begins with the death of her brother Collier. At Collier's funeral, Eva notices a strange man, who says that he knew Eva's brother and eventually Eva finds out that this man is the head of a clandestine spy operation. It does not take long until Eva is recruited to work for the same organization, and the book details Eva's life as a spy in the 1930s through the present, while it simultaneously looks at Ruth and her relationship to her mother; a mother she obviously realizes that she does not really know.
Even if you don't like spy novels, you'll REALLY like this one, because it is so well written that the story grips you from the outset and does not let you go. I can definitely recommend it, especially the audio version; one of the best audio presentations I've ever heard.
The long and the short of the story is this:
Ruth Gilmartin is a graduate student with a young son, working as a tutor while she is supposed to be working on her thesis. She visits her mother Sally dutifully every weekend, and on one weekend, her mother makes the startling announcement that she thinks someone is trying to kill her. Ruth notices that there's an edge to her mother; she seems quite paranoid and has been acting very strangely. Sally hands Ruth some papers, which turn out to be the story of Eva Delectorskaya, an emigree from Russia whose story begins with the death of her brother Collier. At Collier's funeral, Eva notices a strange man, who says that he knew Eva's brother and eventually Eva finds out that this man is the head of a clandestine spy operation. It does not take long until Eva is recruited to work for the same organization, and the book details Eva's life as a spy in the 1930s through the present, while it simultaneously looks at Ruth and her relationship to her mother; a mother she obviously realizes that she does not really know.
Even if you don't like spy novels, you'll REALLY like this one, because it is so well written that the story grips you from the outset and does not let you go. I can definitely recommend it, especially the audio version; one of the best audio presentations I've ever heard.
June 7, 2022
This book was recommended to me by the bookseller at the "Reasons to Live" bookshop in Gibsons on the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia. I'm happy to pass this recommendation on to you.
This is a superb spy thriller. There are two strands of narrative that are interspersed. The first is set in 1976 and the second is set between 1939 and 1942 and flits from Paris to Ostend to London to the USA and back to London during the earlier years of WW2.
The book is the story of Eva Delectorskaya who is a Russian emigre living in Paris.
In 1939 she is recruited by Lucas Romer to the British Secret Service and is trained to become the perfect spy. She undertakes certain tasks during WW2 but is betrayed, however she survives barely.
In 1976, having met a man, married him, and had children she is now known as Sally Gilmartin. Sally has one final assignment she feels she must complete but she needs her daughter Ruth's help. This is the narrative set in 1976.
Sally has written down her wartime memories and these form the strand of the narrative set between 1939 and 1942.
The story moves effortlessly between the narratives and is superbly written.
This is a superb spy thriller. There are two strands of narrative that are interspersed. The first is set in 1976 and the second is set between 1939 and 1942 and flits from Paris to Ostend to London to the USA and back to London during the earlier years of WW2.
The book is the story of Eva Delectorskaya who is a Russian emigre living in Paris.
In 1939 she is recruited by Lucas Romer to the British Secret Service and is trained to become the perfect spy. She undertakes certain tasks during WW2 but is betrayed, however she survives barely.
In 1976, having met a man, married him, and had children she is now known as Sally Gilmartin. Sally has one final assignment she feels she must complete but she needs her daughter Ruth's help. This is the narrative set in 1976.
Sally has written down her wartime memories and these form the strand of the narrative set between 1939 and 1942.
The story moves effortlessly between the narratives and is superbly written.
Read
February 5, 2009Every critic agrees that William Boyd is a shamefully overlooked author on this side of the Atlantic. A powerful storyteller whose novels span genres and continents, Boyd often subtly ruminates on the thin line between private and public life. In Restless he fictionalizes a little-known moment of international espionage while using the conventions of spy thrillers to explore a generation gap. Critics roundly praise Sally's story. It's her daughter's story that's the trouble: a few reviewers find it sorely mismatched with the more dramatic elements of the book. A frequent prizewinner in England (including the Whitbread First Novel Award for A Good Man in Africa), Boyd has yet to catapult to the popularity of the Ian McEwans of the world. Whether Restless is the book to push him into wider renown is up for debate
This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.
August 25, 2021
A solid 3.5. First spy story I have read in eons. It was well written set in 1976 and 1940-41. The story is about Ruth’s mother Sally aka Eva/Eve Delectorskaya who is not what she seems living in the Oxfordshire countryside.
The story is about Ruth’s elderly mothers life as a spy and betrayal. Her mother reveals her past to a surprised Ruth. I liked the plot and it was different with how England by duplicitous means tried to get the USA into WW11. Weird maps, fake news and propaganda all sounds familiar.
I did not like the parallel story of Ruth and her German connections with possible terroist connections. There is also her Iranian student who might be a spy as well. To many strands with no real tie ups. It all seemed superfluous.
Lucas Romer was a wonderful character. I also liked Eva she was both strong and naive. A perfect spy who trusts no one and masks her emotions. The escape I thought was excellent and believable. The ending was good with the Russian connection slightly unbelievable given Lucas’s lifestyle and his motivation to me unsatisfactory. But I did like the continuing paranoia of Eva.
The story is about Ruth’s elderly mothers life as a spy and betrayal. Her mother reveals her past to a surprised Ruth. I liked the plot and it was different with how England by duplicitous means tried to get the USA into WW11. Weird maps, fake news and propaganda all sounds familiar.
I did not like the parallel story of Ruth and her German connections with possible terroist connections. There is also her Iranian student who might be a spy as well. To many strands with no real tie ups. It all seemed superfluous.
Lucas Romer was a wonderful character. I also liked Eva she was both strong and naive. A perfect spy who trusts no one and masks her emotions. The escape I thought was excellent and believable. The ending was good with the Russian connection slightly unbelievable given Lucas’s lifestyle and his motivation to me unsatisfactory. But I did like the continuing paranoia of Eva.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 3, 2019
Boyd’s writing is seamless and attests to the strength of his craft. I loved the twin narratives of Sally Gilmartin and her daughter Ruth, both strong but flawed protagonists. Many authors struggle with propelling intertwining narratives from different eras, but not Boyd. Both were fascinating and each story had a significant impact on the events of the other. Since this is a novel of espionage, secrets and lies abound, but it is also a deeply personal story, one where a mother and daughter each learn about what the other is capable of and where her own strengths and weaknesses lie. Well-researched and, frankly, pretty flawless. There’s plenty of action, but Boyd imbues his characters with depth and humanity. 4 1/2 stars.
September 23, 2015
Restless is an entertaining. World War Two spy novel. T
He only reason I'm giving it only four stars is because the ending was weak.
He only reason I'm giving it only four stars is because the ending was weak.
July 29, 2021
This was a good read and a quick one. It kept my attention. Female spy story written by a man. There were a few places where I thought...."a woman wouldn't say that, or more accurately, wouldn't say it like that." Interesting historical detail. This has been on my TBR a long time and I'm glad I finally read it. I'm looking forward to reading another by this author.
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