"Any Human Heart" is an ambitious, all-encompassing novel. Through the intimate journals of Logan Mounstuart we travel from Uruguay to Oxford, on to Paris, the Bahamas, New York and West Africa, and meet his three wives, his family, his friends and colleagues, his rivals, enemies and lovers, including notables such as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Ernest Hemingway and Virginia Woolf.
Any Human Heart
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Amazon Review
Logan Gonzago Mountstuart, writer, was born in 1906, and died of a heart attack on October 5, 1991, aged 85. Any Human Heart is his disjointed autobiography, a massive tome chronicling "my personal rollercoaster"--or rather, "not so much a rollercoaster", but a yo-yo, "a jerking spinning toy in the hands of a maladroit child". From his early childhood in Montevideo, son of an English corned beef executive and his Uraguayan secretary, through his years at a Norfolk public school and Oxford, Mountstuart traces his haphazard development as a writer. Early and easy success is succeeded by a long half-century of mediocrity, disappointments and setbacks, both personal and professional, leading him to multiple failed marriages, internment, alcoholism and abject poverty.
Mountstuart's sorry tale is also the story of a British way of life in inexorable decline, as his journey takes in the Bloomsbury set, the General Strike, the Spanish Civil War, 1930s Americans in Paris, wartime espionage, New York avant garde art, even the Baader-Meinhof gang--all with a stellar supporting cast. The most sustained and best moment comes mid-book, as Mountstuart gets caught up in one of Britain's murkier wartime secrets, in the company of the here truly despicable Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Elsewhere author William Boyd occasionally misplaces his tongue too obviously in his cheek--the Wall Street Crash is trailed with truly crashing inelegance--but overall Any Human Heart is a witty, inventive and ultimately moving novel. Boyd succeeds in conjuring not only a compelling 20th century but also, in the hapless Logan Mountstuart, an anti-hero who achieves something approaching passive greatness. --Alan Stewart --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
Any Human Heart tells the story of Logan Mountstuart's long and rackety life, one which spans every decade of the 20th century, in all its fantastic and humdrum, dangerous and tranquil, tragic and humorous aspects.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
162 of 168 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I suppose that the measure of a good book is whether you want it to end or not.
I certainly didn't want "Any Human Heart" to end. In fact I was trembling when I read Logan Mountstuart's final diary entry. Now I am mourning the passing of a man I could not possibly have known, existing as he did only in the minds of the author and myself in the two days I have done little else but read this book.
On the face of it, "Any Human Heart" has little to recommend it. It has no plot, a character with more flaws than qualities and seemingly no message to impart.
But Boyd's book is about a life. A life that is very different from yours or mine, in as much as mine is different from yours and ours are different from anyone else's. All our lives are plotless and for the most part very ordinary. Most of us have qualities that pale into insignificance when measured alongside our faults. Logan Mountstuart enjoyed his 15 minutes of fame which - despite Andy Warhol's assertions to the contrary - we don't all experience. "Every dog has his day" is probably closer to the mark.
But in reading "Any Human Heart" we get a rare insight into someone else's life - Logan Mountstuart's - from the minutiae of what he ate for lunch to the experiences that rocked his world and changed him for better or worse. Remarkably, it didn't matter to me that Logan Mountstuart was an entirely fictional character. I suppose this is because all our lives are fictions to those who don't live them.
The title confused me at first, but now I understand. We all have our stories to tell and even the most superficially "ordinary" life is extraordinary to someone else. Just consider the popularity of television's "Big Brother" to realise how fascinating we find other people's experiences - presumably because we find our own so dull. But that is not to say that others will.
We all have our ups and downs, our foibles and our virtues and experiences that make or break us. Most of our stories go untold, but Logan Mountstuart's did not. But swap his experiences for your own and this really could have been "any human heart".
Nothing I have read for years has had such a profound effect on me as this has. I don't think I could ever read it again - lives after all are only lived once. But I shall certainly be seeking out more of Mr Boyd's books.
84 of 87 people found the following review helpful
By R. Blain
Format:Paperback
Read this book! This is the kind of book you chance upon just once or twice every few years - a real journey. Not many authors are capable of what Boyd achieves in these pages: a clever interweaving of fact with fiction and a kaleidoscope of emotions that runs the complete gamut of human experience. I read pretty much continuously, but was unable to pick up another book for almost two weeks after finishing this - there was no point, I was...replete. It stayed with me for ages - this is the literary equivalent of a nine-course meal with a great bottle of wine. Deeply satisfying.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By "amarsh130"
Format:Paperback
This book made me want to write books, travel the world, fall in love and abandon fear for the rest of my days...! Logan Gonzago Mountstuart, the half English and half Uruguayan writer of these journals, infuses them with honesty and black humour and documents his life from being a school boy to an old man. This book is about his life, passions and loves; his writing, friends and war and finally his loyalties, weaknesses, losses and fears. Boyd has really outdone himself this time. Logan is a powerful, witty, emotional protagonist who is unashamedly himself in all of the many situations he finds himself . I think Englishmen aspire to be like him. This book moved me, made me laugh and most importantly it made me dream. Tremendous! Thank you William Boyd!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Most favorite book-A life!
This is a story of a life...I felt I had led it when I finished the book. I have read some of his other stuff, however none match this travel through 80 years of a man's life. Read more
Published 19 hours ago by KJB
5.0 out of 5 stars
Any human heart
An excellent book and very readable, you felt you were living the journey with ( Logan G Mountstuart ) with every twist and turn, very recommended read.
Published 1 day ago by Philip R Thompson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Any Human Heart
Rich & evocative description of Mountstuart's fascinating worldwide life. Boyd has a unique grasp of the English language - precise yet free. No one can match this.
Published 1 day ago by David, Sussex
5.0 out of 5 stars
A life made extraordinary for its numerous failings
Round every corner I expected Logan to be successful, to have good fortune or just have some good luck. Read more
Published 7 days ago by Mrs. Elizabeth H. Sheldon
5.0 out of 5 stars
Any Human Heart
Another intriguing and well-written book by William Boyd. Held my attention throughout. A fascinating character study of a man from his childhood until his death.
Published 17 days ago by maryloo
2.0 out of 5 stars
Ploughed through this one
Did not enjoy this at all. I found it a trial to try and finish it. I could not relate to Logan the main character in this book. The book is in diary form which I am not a fan of. Read more
Published 23 days ago by Sabrina Stynes
4.0 out of 5 stars
This books pulls you in
A fabulous book, which slowly pulls you into the world of Logan Mountstuart. The diary entry format of the book works very well and allows a very personal insight into the events... Read more
Published 25 days ago by Miss J M Trafford
5.0 out of 5 stars
Portrait of the twentieth century
I enjoyed the recent tv adaptation of this novel and, having also enjoyed a few other William Boyd books, thought this would be good to read. Read more
Published 27 days ago by Janie U
4.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent book
In his inimitable way W Boyd has once again written an excellent book about the 1st world war and the actions of spies in it. Read more
Published 1 month ago by dotmac
5.0 out of 5 stars
Boyds best book
A truly great read.This is the type of book he does best(life stories).
Also consider 'The New Confesions' which is similar.
Also consider 'The New Confesions' which is similar.
Published 1 month ago by David Barry
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