South Africa in the 1880s. A young and naive English doctor by the name of William Abbey witnesses the lynching of a local boy by the white colonists. As the child dies, his mother curses William.
William begins to understand what the curse means when the shadow of the dead boy starts following him across the world. It never stops, never rests. It can cross oceans and mountains. And if it catches him, the person he loves most in the world will die
The Pursuit of William Abbey is a book with a unique and exciting concept. There are people in the world that are known as “truth-speakers”, who are the recipients of a curse (or a blessing, depending on who you ask) that allows them to hear the thoughts and desires of those around them.
This truth comes at a cost. Truth-speakers are continually followed by the shadow of a dead person that only they or other truth-speakers can see. Should the shadow reach them, the person they love most will die. The shadow will then rise from the corpse of their loved one and start the whole process over again.
Truth-speakers are only able to hear the truth of others’ hearts when their shadow is near, and so their lives become something of a balancing act. Never let the shadow get too close. Never put yourself in a position you can’t run from. Never allow yourself to love someone enough to put them in danger.
Doctor William Abbey is one such individual. Cursed by a South African woman after he fails to intervene in the lynching of her son, the shadow of the child follows him for the rest of his life. A life which he relates to a nurse in the frame story, in a hospital close to the battlefield of the first World War.
I’ve never read anything by Claire North before, but to me The Pursuit of William Abbey seemed reminiscent of a classical style of fantasy. The book focuses more on the exploration of its concept than on things like plot and character development. Which isn’t to say that these things are lacking, just that they aren’t the focus. The plot kicks into high gear roughly halfway through the book, with plenty of action and twists, and William Abbey is a complex character full of contradictions.
It’s somewhat of a slower-paced novel, which suits the story very well. William Abbey is something of an unreliable narrator, and the reader often has to read between the lines to spot the truth of what actually happened, rather than taking Abbey’s tale at face value. The opening chapters are very short, giving glimpses of the wider story, but these progressively grow in length, digging down into the details.
North’s exploration of a world with truth-speakers is clever and engrossing. Intelligence agencies across the world employ or coerce truth-speakers for international espionage, and they are rare enough that a country will seize any opportunity they get to bind such a person into their service. North ties this into the troubles of the time, with nuanced commentary on political issues, colonization, and war.
William Abbey is pulled into the service of the UK government, and finds himself at the forefront of many of these issues. This brings him no small discomfort, and his inner-turmoil boils over on numerous occasions as he is forced to flee his shadow. Due to the nature of his curse, he’s somewhat of a private person with few close friends or family. This level of distance can make it seem like there are few secondary characters who feel “fleshed-out”, but again this makes narrative sense. Abbey is able to see the most personal thoughts and desires of a person at a glance. Everyone he loves is in danger of dying. Of course he isn’t going to grow close to anyone. At least not on purpose.
The writing is very evocative, with plenty of imagery and vivid description. I’m usually hit or miss with this kind of style, but fortunately it was more of the former in this case. Pacing-wise, I’m not really sure that this worked for me. I enjoyed the earlier chapters, but as they got longer I found that they started to drag a little. As I’ve already said, this slower pace is appropriate for the story, but it just didn’t mesh with me for whatever reason. Your mileage may vary.
It might not have been entirely my sort of book, but I can’t deny that Claire North has put together an objectively intelligent and well-constructed novel. It’s perhaps not for those who prefer a more character-focused read, but for those who enjoy a thoughtful and nuanced exploration of serious issues and inventive concepts, it’s fantastic.
