Any Human Heart — William Boyd

One of my favourite of William Boyd’s; it follows the life of the fictional writer, Logan Mountstuart (1906-1991), written with extracts from his diary entries. Spanning through the 20th century, it jumps through decades and countries, including, pre to post WWI, the financial crash and 30s depression, Spanish civil war, WW2 & the 70s in London. His travels are littered with well known names, artists such as Hemingway, Picasso & Pollock; authors including Virginia Woolf & Ian Fleming; and the Duke and a Duchess of Windsor play a conniving role.

Logan himself has many character flaws but his diary entries have a self awareness that leads one to sympathise with him. A long book, it ends with Logan looking back on his existence and his many different lives that he has experienced. Through the historical references, Boyd shows how an ordinary human can live at the edge of many chronicled events. The prose is written as elegantly as ever and if you are a fan of Boyd you will definitely enjoy Any Human Heart.