The Ghost

 

The Ghost – Robert Harris

This was a bit of a strange one. Not strange in terms of content, but strange in terms of not really what I was expecting from this author. Robert Harris, I can now honestly say, is one of my favorite authors in the mystery/history department. I guess you can call him “historical fiction” but his works seem a bit different than those that I’ve read who fit into that particular genre. Harris tends to write about well known historical events, and fill them with a fictitious tale of mystery and intrigue. From my perspective he always succeeds. This one is a bit different – at least on the surface.

The “Ghost” is a ghostwriter. We never learn of his name as the story is told in first person. ‘Ghost’ has been challenged to ghost write an autobiography of a former controversial British Prime Minister (Adam Lang) who, according to the tabloids at least, took a bit of liberty with the law while in office and managed to due some illegal killing where alleged terrorists may or may not have been involved. Some have argued that this story is a thin-veiled attempt to really tell the story of the Tony Blair administration.  Perhaps, but such similarities were not completely necessary.

As the story begins, the original ghost writer who is assigned to ‘write’ the autobiography dies mysteriously off the coast of Martha’s Vinyard which is where Lang now resides. ‘Ghost’ soon arrives and picks up the task while trying to uncover several strange occurrences. Did the first ghost writer really die of a suicide?  Was Lang really involved in illegal activities? What other strange things may or may not be involved?

What makes this story a bit unique (and a bit better) is that author Robert Harris introduces to the world of ghost writing. Oh sure, the story by itself is a good one, and it can probably stand on its own, but it’s a fun learning experience to learn about such an occupation.  Example: Adam Lang has already ‘written’ his autobiography, but ‘Ghost’ has to make it interesting enough to where it will actually sell some books.  It’s humorous when ‘Ghost’ begins to flip through the manuscript and feels a churn in his stomach while reading just how dull and lifeless this account is.  Sometimes readers (me and you) need to be reminded just how difficult it is to write well.

So the story is adequate and the reader learns more about the intriguing world of ghost writing.  To be honest, I was hoping and expecting more from Robert Harris, but this was a good read and the pages turned rather nicely in the ‘quickness’ department.  It’s definitely one of Harris’ least consequential works, but it was overall enjoyable just the same.