 |
 |
   |
|
|
|
|
Any Human HeartEditions
Review
Early literary success turns sour after Logan’s disastrous marriage, and so begins the downward spiral that , with complete conviction, shapes this book. He seems to be rich; he hobnobs cheerfully with Evelyn Waugh, Cyril Connolly and other literary figures of the time: what more could he want? Love, of course. When he finds this, in the form of Freya, he goes off immediately to report on the Spanish Civil War (enter Hemingway) where he picks up a few Miro canvasses. Then the Second Wold War comes, with an interlude in the Bahamas spying on the Duke of Windsor & Mrs Simpson, followed by a spell in a Swiss prison. But the war represents a complete caesura across his life, of which he is aware. Nothing is the same again. His literary career does not recover, and instead he makes a living as an art critic, and a dealer for Ben in New York. In this section it is delightful to encounter the subject of Nat Tate - An American Artist: 1928 -1960 |
|
John Sandoe [Books] Ltd |
Although I must admit to being predisposed in favour of any new novel by William Boyd, I have to say that I enjoyed this novel as much as I hoped I would. Written in the form of an intermittent diary of one Logan Mountstuart, its scope – in true Boyd fashion – is the history of the twentieth century. Born in Uruguay (his mother is Uruguayan, his father is from Birmingham, in the meat-packing business), Logan attends a minor public school in Norfolk after his parents move back to England, where he fights off boredom with the help of two friendships that last his lifetime – Peter, and Ben.
Fax:
020 7581 2084