It is 1939. Eva Delectorskaya is a beautiful 28-year-old Russian emigree 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 alone: she needs her daughter's help.
Restless
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Review
`A hypnotic read, effortlessly accelerating towards a moral
reckoning' -- Jonathan Beckman, Daily Mail
`Boyd is English fiction's master storyteller ... Restless is that
rare thing: a spy thriller from a first-rate narrative intelligence' -- Independent on Sunday
`Boyd is one of our finest storytellers, and he's at his best in
this wonderfully atmospheric espionage thriller' -- Sunday Express
`Fast moving, densely plotted, beautifully observed and probably
one of the best things Boyd has done' -- Esquire
`Heart-stoppingly exciting ... a riveting tale of wartime
derring-do' -- Time Out
reckoning' -- Jonathan Beckman, Daily Mail
`Boyd is English fiction's master storyteller ... Restless is that
rare thing: a spy thriller from a first-rate narrative intelligence' -- Independent on Sunday
`Boyd is one of our finest storytellers, and he's at his best in
this wonderfully atmospheric espionage thriller' -- Sunday Express
`Fast moving, densely plotted, beautifully observed and probably
one of the best things Boyd has done' -- Esquire
`Heart-stoppingly exciting ... a riveting tale of wartime
derring-do' -- Time Out
Book Description
The Richard & Judy bestseller, now a major BBC TV series
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
111 of 114 people found the following review helpful
By BookWorm
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
Although a fan of Boyd's writing, I was quite pleased to see his latest novel, Restless, was something of a departure from his usual storyline centring on a bumbling Englishman plauged with absurd misfortune, usually in some exotic setting. It's always a test of a good writer to see if they can pull off a story in a different genre to their staple area - and Boyd passes the test.
Restless is a spy thriller, with two strong and interesting central characters, fast paced, well plotted, and with a couple of good, original twists. The story is told in alternating first and third person chapters; the first person narrator being Ruth, a single mother in 1970s Britain; the third person narrative telling the story of Eva, a young woman recruited into the murky world of British spying/propaganda in Europe and America during WWII. The lives of the two overlap in modern times as Eva turns out to be Ruth's mother - now living an apparently ordinary life as an English widow - and has decided the time has come to settle some old scores.
Boyd's writing style is always a pleasure to read, and lends itself surprisingly well to this genre. His attention to detail and ability to make the mundane seem interesting, as well as bringing out the absurdities of life, are ideal for creating atmosphere and setting the scene, and it seemed somehow much more plausible than many spy stories.
The idea of combining the war era with peace times isn't entirely original, but it did work quite well here and brought home the story's central point of how spy work changed the mindset of a person forever.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and found it very gripping - one of those it's difficult to put down. Maybe not a book that would stay with me forever, but certainly a good read whilst it lasts. I would place Boyd up there along with masters like Le Carre, and would look forward to reading anything else he writes in this genre.
Restless is a spy thriller, with two strong and interesting central characters, fast paced, well plotted, and with a couple of good, original twists. The story is told in alternating first and third person chapters; the first person narrator being Ruth, a single mother in 1970s Britain; the third person narrative telling the story of Eva, a young woman recruited into the murky world of British spying/propaganda in Europe and America during WWII. The lives of the two overlap in modern times as Eva turns out to be Ruth's mother - now living an apparently ordinary life as an English widow - and has decided the time has come to settle some old scores.
Boyd's writing style is always a pleasure to read, and lends itself surprisingly well to this genre. His attention to detail and ability to make the mundane seem interesting, as well as bringing out the absurdities of life, are ideal for creating atmosphere and setting the scene, and it seemed somehow much more plausible than many spy stories.
The idea of combining the war era with peace times isn't entirely original, but it did work quite well here and brought home the story's central point of how spy work changed the mindset of a person forever.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and found it very gripping - one of those it's difficult to put down. Maybe not a book that would stay with me forever, but certainly a good read whilst it lasts. I would place Boyd up there along with masters like Le Carre, and would look forward to reading anything else he writes in this genre.
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
By Mick Read
Format:Paperback
It is 1976 and Ruth Gilmartin is a single mother living in Oxford with five-year-old son Jochen and getting by teaching English to foreign students. Sally, her mother, now in her seventies, lives an hour away by car and they see each other regularly at weekends. It is on one such hot summer Saturday that Sally hands her daughter a large file of loose pages to read and, in so doing, introduces Ruth to Eva Delectorskaya, beautiful Eva, multi-lingual Russian émigrée living in Paris in 1939, soon to become a wartime British spy and Ruth's mother.
From here on Boyd skilfully, wonderfully interleaves the unfolding story of Eva Delectorskaya during those war years with the here and now of 1976, as Sally Gilmartin, once again the spy, inveigles her daughter into one last assignment. The use of two time-lapsed stories is seamless, working perfectly to develop the total picture; when reading a chapter of Eva's racy history I found myself itching to get back to Ruth's here and now, and when catching up on Ruth's life and her mother's calculating plan I was desperate to know what happened next with Eva.
Boyd delivers a gripping, grass-roots story of disinformation and subterfuge, more in the vein of Alec Lemas than James Bond, where brain is more important than brawn and only the sharpest minds survive. And Eva Delectorskaya is not only very beautiful but very, very sharp.
Enjoy this book.
From here on Boyd skilfully, wonderfully interleaves the unfolding story of Eva Delectorskaya during those war years with the here and now of 1976, as Sally Gilmartin, once again the spy, inveigles her daughter into one last assignment. The use of two time-lapsed stories is seamless, working perfectly to develop the total picture; when reading a chapter of Eva's racy history I found myself itching to get back to Ruth's here and now, and when catching up on Ruth's life and her mother's calculating plan I was desperate to know what happened next with Eva.
Boyd delivers a gripping, grass-roots story of disinformation and subterfuge, more in the vein of Alec Lemas than James Bond, where brain is more important than brawn and only the sharpest minds survive. And Eva Delectorskaya is not only very beautiful but very, very sharp.
Enjoy this book.
79 of 83 people found the following review helpful
By sisaun
Format:Kindle Edition
I really enjoyed the story and am a fan of Boyd's writing in general.
But the Kindle edition has very low production values. Missing words, the same names spelled different ways in different places, extra hyphens for no apparent reason. And not just the odd instance, but many of them. It's as little as though they have used some poor OCR and failed to proof read properly. I'm not massively picky about such things, but this was so bad it distracted from the book. I wouldn't mind if the Kindle editions were cheaper than the physical book, but at these prices proper quality is a must. Will be complaining direct to Amazon.
But the Kindle edition has very low production values. Missing words, the same names spelled different ways in different places, extra hyphens for no apparent reason. And not just the odd instance, but many of them. It's as little as though they have used some poor OCR and failed to proof read properly. I'm not massively picky about such things, but this was so bad it distracted from the book. I wouldn't mind if the Kindle editions were cheaper than the physical book, but at these prices proper quality is a must. Will be complaining direct to Amazon.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
a great read
Terrific thriller, enjoyed it immensely. theTelevision adaptation was also brilliant, i shall read more of his books. i have lent this to a friend and he rated it too.
Published 2 days ago by starbabe
5.0 out of 5 stars
An exciting thriller
Really enjoyed this book. Well written and interesting themes. This would I think make a good basis for a film I feel.
Published 4 days ago by Mrs Isabel Ford
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent
This book has great pace, good story, believable characters,
good use and description of locations, and creates atmosphere of
the times it is set. Read more
good use and description of locations, and creates atmosphere of
the times it is set. Read more
Published 10 days ago by clemi
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant
A friend recommended this book for me. I found it to be one of the best books I have read for a very long time. Highly recommend this to anyone.
Published 11 days ago by jc
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gripping Yarn!
Excellent read, a page turner. Kept me guessing until the end. Certainly worth a read would be excellent on holiday.
Published 12 days ago by S. GREEN
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant
Well written, had me gripped, some people say he goes into too much detail but i personally like that, makes the story more believeable
Published 26 days ago by B E S
5.0 out of 5 stars
interesting idea
This book is a very interesting concept. The central protaganist is a young teaching engliish to foreign students and out of the blue her mother tells her that she, her mother was... Read more
Published 1 month ago by dotmac
4.0 out of 5 stars
An enjoyable and informative read
I had no idea about this aspect of espionage during the Second World War. Lots of fascinating detail but never too heavy. Read more
Published 1 month ago by CJS
5.0 out of 5 stars
very good
found this book very good could not put it down. will certainly read more books by William Boyd. Recommend to every one to read.
Published 1 month ago by john jacobs
4.0 out of 5 stars
An interesting book, rather common...enjoyable!!!
After reading Any human heart, this one came across as an ordinary spy story. I will read his other novels however with the same enthusiasm that I felt when I start reading any... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Evelina Dumitru
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