[.ca] Restless: A Novel (ISBN 1596912367)

very interesting book:
I could not not put this book down . It is a spy story with meanings on many levels. For example what do we really know about our friends and even our close relatives? What is truth and what is illusion? Appearances do not always reflect reality. A great writer. I highly recommend it. A great read.

exquisite use of detail:
I listened to an unabridged audio version of this book, and I can't say for sure how much I loved it because of the excellent quality of the reading, and how much I loved it for the characters and story. The mother-daughter storylines are somewhat imbalanced, but they have to be. The mother's story is revealed to the daughter who has to make sense of it in the midst of her own, complicated, young adult life. One character's narrative is completed (or is it?), while the other's is temporarily explored, midstream. There is a satisfying conclusion for one storyline, and merely a stopping place for the other. Somehow, these two add up to a compelling combination, like the mixed flavors of sweet and tart in a very good cherry pie. Yum.

This Book Won't Make You Restless:
I highly recommend this novel. Although I read an interview in which Boyd said he made up most of the spying details himself, it seemed very authentic. I was completely involved in the story. Given the strong female protagonist, Restless would make a good gift for intelligent women who like literary fiction.

First Rate:
This is a truly first-rate, smart, and literate thriller. It is both a page-turner and a profound meditation on identity--on what we think we know about others and ourselves. The flashback sections were definitely the strength of the book, but all-in-all a terrific novel.

Finest spy novel I've ever read.:
Cannot fathom the 4 stars reviews; especially the reviewer who states: "plot is hampered by a slightly overwrought literary device, the mother doling out her diaries at intervals, conveniently allowing the author to flip back and forth in time." The device is brilliant. You want to read straight forward and mundane, well, stick to Ludlum or Silva or whomever. The discerning reader will note the author's subtlety and craft. His slight of hand if you will. The slow way the substance of the tale is revealed. It's like being lost in a forest. You believe you know which path to take out. The sun is shining. You come upon a meadow here, a brook there. No, wrong way. It is only when all is revealed and you are safely out that you say, well, I knew where I was all the time. But, you didn't. Boyd never disappoints. I stumbled upon him long ago when I read The Ice Cream War. His novels are all dissimilar. He's vastly underrated because he's so accessible. I cannot wait to see what he gives us next.