It had been on my to read list for sometime, so I was really glad when Linda recommended "Any Human Heart" by William Boyd. But when I found that this long, 500 page, book was written as a journal, I was not initially impressed. However it turns out to be a terrific piece of fiction. Logan Mountstuart starts his journal at the end of 1923 in his last year at his private school and follows his life from his time at Oxford University (Jesus College) to his working life, wartime and up until his death at a good old age. His entries are sometimes haphazard with gaps at certain times, but it makes for fascinating reading as it follows the main events of the twentieth century.
Logan's life is one of ups and downs, sometimes too much so, but otherwise it would not have been the great story it is. He becomes a writer, but although he is published, he never makes use of his talents. He is an attractive and charismatic man, but a pretty immoral one. He is married three times (once very happily but tragically) and has numerous affairs. He visits many countries for various reasons and during the second world war has the best of times and the worst of times.
One of the main themes of the book is that Logan meets many significant real life characters: Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, Ian Fleming, Viginia Woolf, Evenlyn Waugh and Jackson Pollock to name but a few. But it is his (surreal) relationship with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor which is most dramatic, especially the period in the Bahamas. Sometimes the feeling of unreality creeps through, but it is nonetheless highly entertaining. I read the last 100 pages in one go, something very rare for me. But that says something for the brilliant novel it is.
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