Review: Restless by William Boyd (book 2006; series 2012)

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 We were dropping our subscription to the Acorn streaming service and took one last browse through the selections. Restless popped up and with only one season with two episodes we weren't going to get sucked into a long term binge. We enjoyed it and I decided to read the book to see if it expanded on any of the plot points. As I read, I was pleased that the series adhered closely to the book and then had a doh! moment when I realized that Boyd wrote both the book and the screenplay. Both the book and tv series have a split time narrative, 1976 and the 1940s.

The Series

Selected cast: Charlotte Rampling, Michelle Dockery, Hayley Atwell, Rufus Sewell, Michael Gambon

The story opens in 1976 with Ruth Gilmartin (Dockery) and her young son visiting her mother, Sally Gilmartin (Rampling) in her remote house in the English countryside. Ruth is an English tutor and working on her PhD in History. Sally had always been a bit strange, telling young Ruth that she's likely to disappear one day or be taken away. On this visit she's convinced that she is being watched from the woods. As Ruth is about to leave, Sally hands her a folder of papers with the name Eva Delectorskaya on the cover. Who's Eva Delectorskaya asks Ruth. I am, replies Sally.

The scene then shifts to Paris in 1939. where we learn that Eva (now played by Hayley Atwell) and her family have recently arrived from Russia. Her brother Kolia is beaten to death by — she later learns — fascist thugs. After the funeral she is approached by Lucas Romer who tells her that Kolia was working for him in British intelligence and that he hoped Eva would as well, it was something Kolia wanted. Eva initially resists but later accepts. 

The 1939/40s timeline follows Eva, now  Eve Dalton, a British citizen with a well used passport, through training and joining Lucas' unit, Actuarial and Accountancy Services or AAS. the unit's real job is disinformation and misdirection through planting false news stories which not only to mislead the Nazis to influence US foreign policy. Though AAS is seemingly an office job, Eve does see field work. Later the unit is relocated to the US where a disastrous operation forces Eve to take desperate steps to survive.

In 1976, Ruth finds out that Sally/Eve/Eva needs her help to find a solution to her problem.

The series is riveting with excellent performances from everyone and with terrific production values. The 1939/1940s timeline is visually very appealing. 1976 is, well, 1976. Charlotte Rampling is marvelous as the steely-eyed former spy and Hayley Atwell does justice to the younger Eve who will become Sally. There is one bit of miscasting that I think would be too much of a spoiler.

In the US, Restless is available through Acorn. Not sure about the rest of the world.

The Book

I wrote above that the tv series closely follows the book and the book delivers exactly what I hoped, it provides much more detail. We also see that Boyd altered some scenes in the series to heighten the drama for a visual medium and I agree with the author's choices. There are a couple of examples I can provide that won't be spoilers. We see more of Eve's training in spy school and that level of detail strongly appeals to me. The emphasis on memory is especially interesting. We also see more of the disinformation operations of AAS. For me it rang of authenticity and how I imagined such operations would be carried out. Everything in the early Eve chapters felt real.

Restless is a cracking good WWII spy thriller (both book and series) that spills over into the 1970s. My recommendation is that if you've seen the tv series, then read the book. There's more than enough in the book that you won't be bored. If you've only read the book then watch the series. It's a visual treat with very good performances.

Keywords: WWII, spies