Gabriel's Moon
From the internationally bestselling author beloved by readers everywhere, William Boyd offers his most exhilarating novel yet, following a reluctant spy drawn into the shadows of espionage and obsession
Gabriel Dax is a young man haunted by the memories of a fire that took his mother's life. Every night, when sleep finally comes, he dreams about his childhood home in flames. His days are spent on the move as an acclaimed travel writer, capturing the changing landscapes of Europe in the grip of the Cold War. When he is offered the chance to interview Patrice Lumumba, newly elected president of the People's Republic of the Congo, he finds himself drawn into a web of duplicities and betrayals.
Falling under the spell of Faith Green, an enigmatic and ruthlessly efficient MI6 handler, he becomes "her spy," unable to resist her demands. But amid the peril, paranoia, and passion consuming Gabriel's new covert life, there will also be revelations closer to home that may change his own story, and the fates of those around him.
Traveling from the vibrant streets of sixties London to the sun-soaked cobbles of Cadiz and the frosty squares of Warsaw, Gabriel's Moon is a remarkable accomplishment from one of our greatest storytellers.
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William Boyd was born in 1952 in Accra, Ghana, and grew up there and in Nigeria. He is the author of sixteen highly acclaimed, bestselling novels and five collections of stories. Any Human Heart was longlisted for the Booker Prize and adapted into a TV series. His books have won many literary awards, including the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, the Los Angeles Times Book Award for Fiction, and the Costa Book Award. He was named a Granta Best Young Novelist in 1983, and in 2005, he was awarded the CBE. Boyd is married and divides his time between London and southwest France.
Praise for Gabriel's Moon:
"A spy story to rival Restless . . . A masterly tale . . . Sure-footed, comfortably managing at once to deliver all the pleasures of the genre while also subtly undercutting and questioning them . . . Boyd takes such obvious, infectious pleasure in telling his story, bounding along just in front of the reader, scattering clues and red herrings. I'm not sure that there's a more reliably entertaining novelist working today."--Alex Preston, The Guardian
"A retro-thriller . . . A portrait of a vanished world . . . A new William Boyd novel is always a pleasure, and this is a read that will keep you completely hooked to the very last page."--Erica Wagner, Financial Times
"Hugely enjoyable . . . Skillfully performs double duty: working as a satisfying standalone story and setting Gabriel up for further escapades . . . A vivid re-creation of the early 1960s, and one of the pleasures it offers is a feeling of agreeable time travel to fascinating corners of a vanished world. These are conveyed with a filmic vibrancy."--Marcel Theroux, The Guardian, "Book of the Day"
"A cracking read . . . Deliberately and satisfyingly stuffed with incident, Cold War history, romance and any number of mysteries."--James Walton, The Spectator (UK)
"Boyd is a pro: the pages turn easily and his imagination never lets us stop before dragging Gabriel to his next locus of drama and confusion."--John Self, The Times (UK)
"No scene is flat, no sentence is flabby . . . If you want to enjoy a gripping ride--and who doesn't?--you could do much worse than Gabriel's Moon."--George Monaghan, New Statesman
"An electric espionage thriller that calls to mind the best of John le Carré and Len Deighton . . . Boyd's prose is crisp, his dialogue zings, and the heaps of dramatic irony he places on Gabriel's stumble into spyhood buoys the narrative rather than weighing it down. Readers will hope to hear more from Gabriel soon."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Gabriel is a kind of Evelyn Waugh naif caught in a Graham Greene plot, and one of the book's pleasures is his entirely plausible resourcefulness as challenges grow more perilous. While Boyd craftily ramps up the complications for his reluctant spy, he also gives him a full life apart from intelligence errands . . . A highly entertaining book . . . An exceptional storyteller in fine form."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"This first-rate complex and suspenseful historical thriller will resonate with fans of John Le Carre and Alan Furst."--First Clue
"A wonderfully intricate novel of espionage and elegant skullduggery, richly imagined, meticulously researched and unflaggingly readable."--John Banville
"I enjoyed it hugely. Boyd is one of my favourite authors--he never disappoints."--Kate Atkinson
"William Boyd once again brings to the spy novel his particular storytelling genius. The result is brilliant fun."--Mick Herron
Praise for William Boyd:
"Sheer, truly brilliant storytelling. He has probably written more classic books than any of his contemporaries."--Daily Telegraph
"If it's true escapism you're after, William Boyd can always be relied upon to transport the reader from reality."--Vogue
"A master storyteller."--Observer
"Simply the best realistic storyteller of his generation."--Sebastian Faulks
"What could be more reassuring in troubling times than a new William Boyd novel?"―Sunday Telegraph
"Boyd is abundantly talented at capturing life's disconnections."--Guardian
"One of our best contemporary storytellers."―Spectator
