RESTLESS by William Boyd

GeraldineGransnet

Hope those of you who watched the television adaptation over Christmas enjoyed it and reading the book is proving an interesting compare-and-contrast.

Also that those who received a copy worked out eventually that it was from Gransnet [fsmile]

William Boyd will be joining us for a live webchat on Wednesday 23 January from 1-2pm. Do add a question here.

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crostini

What were the biggest challenges you faced in adapting the book? I found Romer's sending Eva to La Cruces rather perplexing without all the backstory of Russia's changing fortunes in the war.

And what did you make of the direction? I couldn't understand what that weird country house was where Ruth went to interview Romer. In the book she goes to his club, I think, which makes far more sense.

It's always the same challenge, the art forms are so different. You can do ANYTHING in a novel -- film is a world of parameters, compromises and impossibilities. It's photography - everything is seen through the lens of a camera. It's a wholly different medium. So - what can't you do is the first question when you adapt and most of your decisions revolve around what you leave out. You cannot just faithfully replicate what's in the book.

I was fantastically pleased with the films (i wrote the script) and I thought the director Ed Hall did a superb job.

Alphafemale

For a literary novelist, you are very good at plot. I do like a book with plot!

Do you have it all worked out before you start writing - and if so, how do you then stop the writing process from feeling formulaic?

Yes, it takes me twice as long to figure out and research a novel as it does to write it. I don't start until I know exactly how my story is going to end. Every novelist has his/her own method and because my novels have very complicated plots I'd be quickly lost if i didn't spend so much time working out the layers of narrative. There's nothing formulaic about it, believe you me!

topcat

Hi William,

I am a big fan of your books. What is the secret of longevity for a novelist? Does it get easier or harder?

Thank you, Topcat. I think the secret is to do with having a well-functioning imagination -- and also stamina. It takes me three years to invent and write a novel -- so there has to be something dogged about the process. I have ideas for my next two novels (I've written 12 so far) so the imagination is still working. If that packed up all the stamina in the world would be no use

granIT

The spy story is a genre but restless doesn't really feel like a genre novel. Do you like using genre as a basis for writing and how much of a struggle is it to escape the conventions and do something different?

I go to genre a lot to add some dynamism to the story I'm telling -- a motor. Armadillo is a conspiracy thriller set in the City. The Blue Afternoon (a love story) borrows from the serial-killer novel.

The spy novel is so alluring because it deals with such big questions -- identity, duplicity, betrayal, jeopardy -- for this reason many so-called literary noveists have been drawn to it; Joseph Conrad,Graham greeene, Muriel Spark, Anthony Burgess, John Banville, Ian McEwan, for example have all written at least one spy novel. As a rule, the easiest way to escape genre is to avoid cliche -- cliches of narrative, character and language.

frangipane

Hi, is it true that you make wine? Are you very hands on? And is the wine you produce any good?!

I'm the proprietor of a small vineyard in SW France. I don't actually make the wine (talented winemakers do that) but it's marketed under my name and the name of our house -- if you're interested, frangipane! We make a rose, a dry white and a good drinking red -- called CHATEAU PECACHARD

hopefulgran

Do you have a view about what happens to Ruth at the end of the book? I was rather hoping she was going to end up with the academic, Thomas or whatever he was called.

I think she may well end up with him. But I don't like to tie up all the loose ends at the end of my novels. Life isn't like that -- we don't know the answers to everything and the end of every individual journey and I want my novels to reflect that ambiguity about the human condition

Goodjeans

Hello William

I really loved Restless and would love to read more of your work. Where would you recommend I start, given that Restless was definitely my type of thing? Are your other books similar?

You might like my latest novel, Goodjeans. It's called Waiting for Sunrise and is about a young actor who becomes a reluctant spy in World War 1.

eurggh

Is Delectorskya an actual Russian name? Did you mean people to think "delectable" when they read it?

Yes it is -- the female patronymic of Delectorski. I stole the name from a Russian model of Matisse -- he painted her a lot and was his muse, after a fashion. And you're absolutely right -- the @delectable@ echo is definitely there to be picked up!