Claire North - The Pursuit of William Abbey

Claire North's books make an art out of the unusually framed narrative. Her novels have characters who enjoy, or suffer, from highly impossible conditions that allow them to travel in time by reliving their lives, change bodies, or see their own death. But The Pursuit of William Abbey is a particularly dark tale. William Abbey is cursed to be followed by a shade, whose close approach means he can read minds and feel peoples innermost emotions. The shades touch however, brings death to the living person that Abbey loves the most.

This setup in itself would allow a brilliant fantasy writer like North to tell a great story. But North's brilliance here is to frame this suffering in the context of colonialism. It is the late 19th century. European powers battle for supremacy across the globe, and Abbey's curse is utilised by British government so that he can spy on their rivals. They facilitate his constant moving to escape the shade but he himself becomes sort after by the country's rivals. If Britain and Germany are trying to outdo each other in building battleships, why not grab a spy who can read minds? It turns out, of course, that Abbey is not the only sufferer. There are many, and through human history they've played their roles - sometimes mystical, and at othertimes nefariously.

But it is in the carving up of the world in the run up to the First World War that North place's Abbey's power. It's this context, and indeed his very cursing, which comes out of his failure to even try to stop a racist lynching in Africa, that shapes the book. His curse, and the brutal ending, arise out of these contradictions. As North makes it clear - imperialist powers will take anything and use it to their ends - and they will stop at nothing to try and understand and control that power.

It's not an easy read. There's little humour as we follow Abbey's constant travels. But North certainly makes us think about how capitalism uses technology and information to pursue and protect its own interests. It's likely her best book so far.

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