Saturday, May 7, 2011

The Ghost Writer By Robert Harris

The Ghostwriter by Robert Harris tracks the journey of an author in the writing of ex prime minister Adam Lang's memoirs. The author who goes unnamed and is the narrator is a ghostwriter for Lang and writes his book for him by taking his memories and experiences and making a book out of them. He gets no credit for writing the book and no one will know who he is. One day he his called up by his publisher to work on this book and accepts with out realizing what he is getting into. He is offered $250,000 to get the book rewritten in a month. He must rewrite it in a month because the original ghostwriter drowned but his cause of death is disputed throughout the book. The first few days of interviewing go well. Soon after he joins Lang reports come out that he authorized torture of four suspected terrorists. This sends him across the East Coast to defend himself while on a lecture tour in the U.S. While Lang is gone the author goes into researching Lang more deeply. This detracts from his ability to write his book and get it in on time. What he finds will change the lives of him and everyone associated with Lang. The end of the book is very suspenceful and I can not say anmore without revealing to much of the book


Discussion Questions

1. Would you accept a job just for money without knowing what the job entails?


2. If news came out that the person you were working had commited a serious crime what like what Lang supposedly did would you still work for that person?

16 comments:

Unknown said...

1. No, I would have to know what kind of job I was getting myself into.

2. Im pretty sure if I knew he or she commited a serious crime I would not want to work for them anymore. It would be too risky.

Sevgim A.1-2 said...

I wouldn't accept a job from someone without knowing what the job was, even if the pay was high.

Laura P 7-8 said...

1.) I don't think I would ever accept a job without knowing what it could lead me too. Even if the pay is high, money may not be worth what I could happen in said job.

Ashlyn W. 7-8 said...

1). I'd want to know what kind of job it is before I accept the offer. Even If the pay is really high, I don't think I'd accept a job until I knew what I'd be doing.

Mia G. 1-2 said...

1. i guess it depends on the amount of money, and if i was allowed to back out if i didnt wanna do it when i found out what it was. if its writing a book, heck yeah, id love to write.

2. it depends, do i like lang? if i trust/like him, i would confront him. but probably believe him over poopy little rumours that dont matter.

Abby M. 1-2 said...

1. I don't think that money should be the deciding factor in whether or not you take a job. Plus, if it is too good to be true, like it was in the book, something is probably wrong. Therefore, I wouldn't take the job.

Leah K. 7-8 said...

1. I would want to know what I would be doing first so I know what I am getting myself into because I might not like the job and money shouldn't make me decide to take it or not. I would want to like what I'm doing and not do a job just because of the money.
2. I would not want to work for that person becasue they might commit another crime again and that would make me look bad in a way because I'm working for that kind of person.

Monica J. 1-2 said...

1. If i was desperate for the money and wanted the adventure i would exept the job without knowing what it was for.
2. I would still work for that person, its a job nothing personal and a rumor could just be a rumor.

Sydney M 7-8 said...

1. No, I wouldn't get into something without knowing all the details. The job could be highly illegal and no amount of money would be worth getting in trouble for.
2. It depends on what the crime was. How bad was it? If it was terrible then I wouldn't work for them. I wouldn't want to put my reputation in jeopardy for my boss.

Jacob C. 1-2 said...

1. It depends. If I had the impression that I could trust the person assigning me the job and I was desperate for money then I might.

2. I would not work for that person. I would get myself out of that situation as soon as possible.

Millie W. 7/8 said...

1) Agreeing with the majority of the people here I wouldn't take the job. It sounds to good to be true. Also I'd be afraid that it's something illegal.

Lottie W. 7-8 said...

1. I do not think I would ever accept a job without knowing what exactly that entails. There are so many things that could go wrong with randomly agreeing to do something without any knowledge of what you just agreed to do.

2. It would depend on what they did/what they are being accused of doing. It would also depend on how close I was to that person and if I was willing to trust them over other people's accusations. If they in fact did do something truly terrible then I would not work for them.

Kaitlyn K 7-8 said...

1) No I would want to know what i was getting myself into first.
2) It would depend on what the accusations against the person were.

AnaleeL7-8 said...

1) No I would not accept the job just for money no matter how good the pay was. I would need to know what it entails

Rafiq O. 1-2 said...

1.) No, I wouldn't do anything without knowing what it involves. Just not common sense.

2.) No, but I'd be too afraid to leave.

Hannah J. 7-8 said...

1. no, to me that just screams risky business.
2. yes, because it isnt any of my business why they did it.