The Ghost Writer: A Novel [Paperback]

Robert Harris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2, 2010

Don’t miss the major motion picture staring Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan. An eerily timely thriller of power, politics, corruption, and murder from bestselling author Robert Harris.

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

The role of a ghostwriter is to make his client look good, not to uncover the truth. But what happens when the client is a major political figure, and the truth could change the course of history? Adam Lang, the controversial former prime minister of Britain, is writing his memoirs. But his first ghostwriter dies under shocking circumstances, and his replacement—whose experience lies in portraying aging rock stars and film idols—knows little about Lang’s inner circle. Flown to join Lang in a secure house on the remote shores of Martha’s Vineyard in the depths of winter, cut off from everyone and everything he knows, he comes to realize he should never have taken the job.

It’s not just his predecessor’s mysterious death that haunts him, but Adam Lang himself. Deep in Lang’s past are buried shocking secrets . . . secrets with the power to alter world politics . . . secrets with the power to kill.

Named Novel of the Year by the International Thriller Writers

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Displaying enviable versatility, Harris, who first achieved acclaim with his alternative history, Fatherland, and who more recently showed his mastery of the historical novel in Pompeii, hits one out of the park with this dark paranoid thriller. Former British prime minister Adam Lang (clearly modelled on Tony Blair) is up against a firm deadline to submit his memoirs to his publisher, and the project is dangerously derailed when his aide and collaborator, Michael McAra, perishes in a ferry accident off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. To salvage the book, a professional ghostwriter is hired to whip the manuscript into shape, but the unnamed writer soon finds that separating truth from fiction in Lang’s recollections a challenge. The stakes rise when Lang is accused of war crimes for authorizing the abduction of suspected al-Qaeda terrorists in Pakistan, who then ended up in the CIA’s merciless hands. As the new writer probes deeper, he uncovers evidence that his predecessor’s death may have been a homicide. Harris nicely leavens his cynical tale with gallows humor, and even readers who anticipate the plot’s final twist will admire the author’s artistry in creating an intelligent page-turner that tackles serious issues. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Bookmarks Magazine

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 States in the Middle East. Some critics felt that the fictional backdrop weakened the political invective. Other complaints included some stock characters, formulaic plot points, and far-fetched twists, but most critics dismissed these as trivial and agreed with USA Today that Harris has produced "one of the most politically informed novels of the year."
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books (March 2, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439190550
• ISBN-13: 978-1439190555
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (119 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #779,133 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robert Harris is the author of Pompeii, Enigma, and Fatherland. He has been a television correspondent with the BBC and a newspaper columnist for the London Sunday Times and The Daily Telegraph. His novels have sold more than ten million copies and been translated into thirty languages. He lives in Berkshire, England, with his wife and four children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When reading this latest work of his, you cannot avoid making parallels with the real thing, October 29, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Ghost: A Novel (Hardcover)

the former PM and his entourage, his political adventures and disasters, and so on and so forth. But the way Harris narrates his story is enticing and thrilling, issuing suspense right and left with a skilled hand: the ambience is right, the dialogue fits, the main characters tally, the spinning is familiar and the cynicism is sharp. I enjoyed the book in a single reading, and I think I'll go back to it with more attention to detail, since it seems to me this is a super parody of Blair and his retinue, and of the publishing world from which the author extracts true images surely derived from real experience. Also, if you missed reading Tino Georgiou's masterpiece--The Fates, go and read it. I'm reading it at a rapid pace because it's so addictive. There is something about his books that bring you in and get you hooked. and I'm loving this one. Highly Recommend!

32 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Book...Great Ending, October 24, 2007

By 

Holden Caulfield (Bear, DE USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ghost: A Novel (Hardcover)

I own and enjoyed Harris' other works "Fatherland," "Archangel" and "Enigma." While this definitely is a bit of a different historical fiction, (set in present day or not so distant future), I found it to be a good read. Harris is a master of the thriller, and you won't be disappointed. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, I just happen to disagree with the notion that fans of Harris who enjoy reading intelligent writing should skip this book. The ending alone is worth it, as Harris employs an unusual and possibly original technique that leaves the reader satisfied. I usually don't review the books I read (this is my first) but I felt this book was worthy of defense against a one star rating.

31 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great novel with many levels, March 25, 2008

By 

C. Keith Conners "Professor Emeritus" (Durham, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ghost: A Novel (Hardcover)

This book quickly draws you into its story before you realize why. The first level is probably because the writing is so witty and graceful that you immediately feel entertained.

At another level you feel drawn to the author-protagonist because of his self-deprecating humor and the acceptance of his fate, which is to be a ghost writer rather than a "real" writer. The politics of being a ghost writer, always humbly in the background, while nevertheless creating stunning works for celebrity non-authors gives insight into the mind of actual ghost-writers, whom Harris liberally quotes in each chapter.

Then of course there is a level of political analysis thinly veiled from the real world of a discredited (in Harris' mind) Tony Blair. Harris hits upon a deep sense of regret felt by many of us because of Blair's foolish entanglement with the arrogant American president in the Iraq war. As one who admired Blair's entertaining performances in Parliament (seen at home on C-Span)I can heartily share the sense of tragedy of a great man who, like Chamberlain, falls from grace by commiting a remarkable stupidity of judgment. While the Prime Minister in this story is fictional, the parallels with Blair are inescapable.

Finally, there is the plot itself, which starts off with a suspicious death, weaves its way into the private life of the fallen PM, maintains a sense of urgency and tension until the climax is revealed, in the best tradition of mystery thrillers. The value of this book is that it is much more than a thriller, without eroding the central plot.

A wholly entertaining, engrossing, and instructive book. This one immediately sent me looking for other books by this exceptional writer. None have been disappointing.