Arrow paperback - 2008
It is awhile since I finished Robert Harris' compelling novel - quite simply, my myopia with the Turkish series Black Money Love (see previous Blog) has taken over. So, this will be a relatively short Blog and only about The Ghost (I will Blog on An Officer and a Spy once I have read it).
A ghost writer (never named) is persuaded to cross the Atlantic to take over a part-completed Memoir of a former Prime Minister, Adam Lang. Tension mounts when it becomes clear that the previous 'ghost' writer had been found drowned after presumably falling off a ferry - (suicide? increasingly unlikely). Lang is staying at a house at Martha's Vineyard, with his wife Ruth. The story takes a deeper turn when it appears likely that Lang is to be charged with war crimes - he had been seemingly hand in glove with the CIA over the capture and torture of probably terrorists (one actually dies). The new ghost writer realises that the content of the book may have to change radically - he finds himself trying to uncover the events surrounding the probable murder of his predecessor, Mike McAra, and the attempts by the CIA is keep any subterfuge hidden.
I am afraid I kept on thinking of 'call me Tony' Blair and his wife Cherie, although one could pull Bush, Clinton and Cameron into the frame. The 'deep state' is regularly referred to in the MSM and Online, while the phrase 'Black Arts' is ever valid. I didn't find myself being attracted to any of the characters - probably because the author had described real life personalities too accurately. The final paragraph was eerie but clever:
Am I supposed to be pleased that you are reading this, or not? Pleased, of course, to speak at last in my own voice. Disappointed, obviously, that it probably means I'm dead. But then, as my mother used to say, I'm afraid in this life you just can't have everything.
Roman Polanski's film - 2010
Having quite enjoyed the book, I decided to purchase the DVD of the movie. There was a high profile cast: Pierce Brosnan as the ex-Prime Minister, Adam Lang; Ewan McGregor as the unnamed second Ghost writer; Olivia Williams as Ruth Lang; and Kim Cattrall as Lang's media-handler turned mistress, Amelia. There was also a decently sinister turn by Tom Wilkinson as the CIA spook Emmet. The movie stuck pretty closely to the novel, the main difference being the ghost writer spilling the beans to Lang on the latter's final plane journey. I am not clear why, but I switched off at the end slightly underwhelmed. I am not sure the actors put a lot of effort into the production. It appeared to go at a snail's pace. There were no shocks or twists for me, but that is probably because I had read the book. A workmanlike production, which did not live up to the panegyric comments on the DVD's covers: Electrifying. A brilliantly-crafter Hollywood thriller...Blistering. A mystery thriller tour-de-force...an edgy, atmospheric and enthralling thriller...
Perhaps I am being too harsh.
No comments:
Post a Comment