Rating: AdmirableWilliam Boyd is another writer with a connection to David Bowie, having co-engineered an infamous art hoax when they were both on the board of Modern Painters journal. Boyd wrote and Bowie published a book, Nat Tate: An American Artist 1928-1960 (1998) about a lost American artist called Nat Tate. Launched on April Fools day, both Bowie and Gore Vidal read excerpts and fooled the world, for a while at least. Boyd's current literary excursion is the second part of a trilogy (the first being Gabriel's Moon, published in 2024), featuring travel writer and reluctant spy, Gabriel Dax. Set in 1963 Dax is again called into action by his MI6 handler, the seductive Faith Green, whom Gabriel is romantically drawn to, despite his best, but ultimately pathetic efforts. Dax is a quintessential charming Englishman, who's general befuddlement regarding his circumstances remains despite being drawn ever further into the world of cold war espionage. He's posing as a double agent to reel in (attractive) KGB female agents and then he's sent to Guatemala to gain intel on a popular left-wing leader. Off course it all goes pear-shaped, but at least he makes some progress on his travel book about famous rivers. Later, in West Berlin, he's liaising with another (attractive) agent, and, of course, Faith Green, to head off a potential assassination attempt on John F Kennedy during his famous visit to West Berlin. This part of the book is convincingly rendered, with period flourishes bringing some authenticity to proceedings.
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| Bowie and Boyd, April Fools tricksters |
Boyd is a self professed fan of Graham Greene and despite mentioning in an interview that he believes that he is not channelling the author, I couldn't help but think of Greene when reading
The Predicament. Greene split his works into more serious literary fiction and what he called his 'entertainments', light and humorous excursions aimed at the everyday reader. The Predicament definitely has a light tone and although Boyd's writing is sophisticated and erudite, it is an easy read, with the narrative moving along with an engaging pace, and yes, it is entertaining. Dax is a relatable character, convincingly out of his depth, yet plucky in his resolve to rise to the various challenges in his path. He has a tendency for self reflection and therefore does moan a bit, but fortunately he does see a therapist, an (attractive) Dr Haas, which provides some insight into his character and some also humour. The main problem, for me anyway, was that there was little tension generated throughout, even when Dax's life was in danger. There's some spy thriller action tropes that play out that are very well written, but the overall light tone means that there doesn't seem to be that much at stake. Still, the plot is good enough and there are some great satirical scenes that are also homages to the spy genre; Dax is schooled in tailing suspects by an amiable agent, who takes Dax on a merry chase, whilst also pausing to eat at every available opportunity. Dax is also given a lesson in self defence by an old hand, which comes across as a playful James Bond moment, without any gadgets, just good old fashioned practical advice. This was a book club read and about half of the members were impressed and rated The Predicament highly, whilst some others were less impressed, citing Dax's tendency for having a good old moan and the lack of palpable tension. Still, a fine novel that serves a particular purpose - to engage and entertain, and there's nothing wrong with that.
