This cinematic tale of globe-trotting adventure marks the beginning of a new series
hortly after leading the Democratic Republic of the Congo to independence in June 1960, the country’s first prime minster, Patrice Lumumba, was overthrown and murdered. Lumumba, whomon the day of independence, upbraiding the country’s former colonial power, Belgium, for its despotic and racist rule. This – and his suspected openness to cooperation with the Soviet Union – may have sealed his destiny. His premiership lasted ten weeks.
Gabriel’s Moon, Boyd’s 18th novel, skilfully performs double duty: working as a satisfying standalone story and setting Gabriel up for further escapades. The book is a vivid re-creation of the early 1960s, and one of the pleasures it offers is a feeling of agreeable time travel to fascinating corners of a vanished world. These are conveyed with a filmic vibrancy. An, Boyd fashions his story out of strongly visual and involving scenes.
The novel bears many of the hallmarks and preoccupations of Boyd’s previous work: artfully interlocking story strands, gentle humour, rootless young men trying to find their place in the world, the intersection of individual lives with historical events. There’s a strong echo – almost an Easter egg – harking back to Boyd’s second novel, An Ice Cream Warwhich also featured African landscapes and a central character called Gabriel with brother issues.
In addition to the mystery of the Lumumba assassination, there’s Gabriel’s current literary project , his insomnia , that tricky relationship with his brother, his ambivalent feelings towards his handler, and umpteen puzzles to figure out about the true motivation of other characters. There is also a challenging assignment to communist Poland with a scouse fellow-traveller, leftwing magazine publishers with inscrutable allegiances, stakeouts and at least two femmes fatales.
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