Waiting For Sunrise By William Boyd

 I am about to confess one of the greatest literati sins, so brace yourselves friends.

I bought this book after having seen the BBC's adaptation of William Boyd's Restless.
Yes, that's right, I saw something on the telly and only then bought the book.

Feel free to stop reading now if this is too big a crime for you to forgive.

I'm sorry, but sometimes that's just the way it happens! Something catches your eye in non literary form and you like it so you explore the author. Obviously I didn't pick up Restless as I knew all the spoilers. I was tempted by Any Human Heart, Boyds best known but it was also made into a TV adaptation that I missed, but had seen trailers for - I like to be able to imagine characters from my own mind so prefer not to have seen one else's projections on screen.
Incidentally one of the only books I've ever read after having 'seen the movie' was The Hunger Games but the books are not exactly Shakespeare and I very much enjoy Jennifer Lawrence so it didn't ruin them at all. ANYWAY, I digress.

So, no matter how I got there I settled on this. A story of an actor with unexpected sexual difficulties escaping his life in Vienna and then half way through it turns into a WW2 spy drama.

This book has to be reviewed in two parts because that it what it is, its like two separate books pushed into one.

The first half, is notably not as interesting but very well written, we explore Lysander Rief's character, his troubles as his sits through therapy and a doomed from the start relationship with an unpredictable femme fetal but actually not a huge amount happens. The character of Hettie Bull, the doomed lover, is excellently played out. Its clear from the start you are not supposed to like her but you are intrigued by her.
She is not remotely likeable but Boyd captures Lysander's feelings well and even though as reader you dislike her you understand why he wants her.

The second half of this book is where all the action happens. Finding refuge back in England after a dramatic exit from Vienna Lysander becomes a soldier and the war breaks out. The book becomes a classic 'spy thriller' and is very engaging as he hunts out a mole in the war office. You find yourself second guessing all the characters you've met so far finally turning this book into the page turner it should have been from the beginning.

To add to Boyd's praises, it ends fantastically. Very dramatic and satisfying, just what is needed after a fast paced tension building hunt for an informant.
It is just such a shame the beginning half of this book is so slow. Its not that's its boring, its an interesting character development but it would have been a much better book if that part were cut in half and the second half were longer. I felt as thought I spent most of the book waiting for the big thing to happen, I knew it was coming but the story was just taking ages to get there.

In review, Waiting For Sunrise is good. Its very well written as you would expect and by the end its captivating but it falls short of great purely for frustratingly slow beginning.


The End.


End Notes:


 For fans of: William Boyd, Alan Furst.

 Do keep in mind, reviews are subjective. Different opinions are cool friends, so feel free to share.