“Gabriel’s Moon” is the latest novel by the highly accomplished English writer William Boyd, adding to his long list of best-selling novels dating back to 1981. Boyd’s new offering is excellent—one of those rare books that’s actually difficult to put down. Even though this is only February, it currently sits at the top of my “favorite books read this year” list, and newcomers will have to work hard to knock it off its perch.
The story centers around the eponymous Gabriel Dax, a successful travel writer living in 1960s’ London. He lives a mostly quiet, enjoyable existence—a nice change compared to how his life started.
Gabriel’s father, we learn, was killed in a plane crash when he was only 2 years old. His childhood dream was to reunite with his late dad on the moon, a place his young mind confused with heaven. “You go to sleep, my sweet boy. We’ll all be with Daddy on the moon before you know it,” his mother tells a now 6-year-old Gabriel before he drifts off. These happen to be the last words his mother says to him and the last time he has any decent sleep.
An Opportunity With Odd Consequences
Now an adult, he appears to be coping admirably. He has a pretty and enthusiastic young girlfriend, some best-selling travel books to his name, and a job that pays him to satiate his wanderlust. Despite his constant nightmares, he maintains a laissez-faire attitude to life.Things take an interesting twist while traveling in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Newly released from the grip of colonialist Belgium, the nascent Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba, urgently wants to conduct an exclusive, tape-recorded interview with a foreign journalist. Gabriel is the only one available.
“The truth must be told,” says the Prime Minister, which he claims has a lot to do with the Russians, the Americans, and “uranium for nuclear bombs.” Gabriel leaps at the chance to bridge the gap between travel writing and more serious journalism.
However, Gabriel’s life after the interview becomes a series of strange occurrences and coincidences. He notices a person on his flight back to the UK who just happens to be reading one of his books. Later, he spots the same person in his neighborhood.
Coming home, his flat feels strangely wrong. Was it broken into while he was away? Objects aren’t quite in the right place—things are askew or minorly disturbed. But nothing seems missing, either.
Belief in Faith?
Stranger still, a mysterious woman named Faith Green shows up at his restaurant table one evening, claiming to work for MI-6. She proposes that the ministry will pay him an all-expenses-paid trip abroad to do a quick, no-risk job for them.Why him? True, he used to do similar one-off tasks for his older brother, Sefton, who works for the British Foreign Office, and the job Ms. Green describes seems easier than falling off a log, but it’s all very suspicious—and yet, admittedly, exciting.
The brother, Sefton, was away at a boarding school during the night of the terrible fire that killed their mother. The two have a cordial but not close relationship. Sefton is a cold enigma: inscrutable and aloof, perpetually mild and seemingly disinterested about everything. He’s a significant contrast to Gabriel’s affable and warm nature.
Later, Gabriel is told by sources he trusts that the MI-6 woman is likely legitimate. Even Gabriel’s uncle, Aldous Dax, a charming divorced bachelor artist who raised him after he was orphaned, is enthusiastic about the trip. The fact that Aldous would be used as part of Gabriel’s cover story just adds to his enthusiasm.
Are any of these events a result of his interview with Lumumba? Is all this just some harmless excitement? Or is he about to become a “useful idiot,” ready to be tossed away—or worse—when his usefulness runs out?
Highly Recommended
“Gabriel’s Moon” is part mystery, spy thriller, comedy, and drama but ultimately a truly enjoyable read. To look at the author’s impressive list of achievements, it isn’t hard to imagine why. Born in 1952 in Accra, Ghana, Boyd is a well-respected British novelist, screenwriter, and playwright known for works such as “A Good Man in Africa,” “Any Human Heart,” and “Restless.” He’s received a very admirable collection of literary awards as well as a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.Boyd’s writing style in “Gabriel’s Moon” is fluid and precise throughout the book, always finding the best elements to share with readers in order to set each scene. The plot flows with practiced expertise, allowing readers to experience Gabriel’s thoughts as he tries to make sense of these strange events.
Readers will enjoy the hero’s love of travel as he explores the hidden nooks of Madrid or the sun-baked streets of Leopoldville (now called Kinshasa). When in peril, readers are right there with him, not knowing how all this will be resolved but gleefully unable to look away.
