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April 23, 2023 · 8:02 am

The Romantic – William Boyd

I have read Sweet Caress, and Any Human Heart, so I think I can say I am a bit of a William Boyd fan. I was keen to get hold of this one when I saw it at Dymocks. It was even on the long list for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction (and I do like historical fiction)

Here’s the blurb …

Set in the 19th century, The Romantic is the story of life itself. Following the roller-coaster fortunes of a man as he tries to negotiate the random stages, adventures and vicissitudes of his existence, from being a soldier to a pawnbroker, from being a jailbird to a gigolo to a diplomat – this is an intimate yet sweeping epic.

We follow the life of Cashel Greville Rosse, from his Irish early childhood, to suburban Oxford, the army (and of course Waterloo), India, Europe (where he meets Shelley and Byron), Africa (to find the source of the Nile), America (where he farms and starts a brewing company)A and back to Europe. It’s quite the ride.

I did enjoy this novel, but it’s not my favourite Boyd novel – that would be Any Human Heart. I felt this one was a bit long and could have done with some editing. It is, however, beautifully written and well-researched (without the research being obvious). Cashel was a sympathetic character and I wanted everything to work out for him.

A review.

Any Human Heart – William Boyd

I have read Sweet Caress and Love is Blind and I am sure I watched an adaptation of this (with Matthew Macfadyen) and I have had a copy on my Kindle for a very long time.

Here’s the blurb …

Every life is both ordinary and extraordinary, but Logan Mountstuart’s – lived from the beginning to the end of the twentieth century – contains more than its fair share of both. As a writer who finds inspiration with Hemingway in Paris and Virginia Woolf in London, as a spy recruited by Ian Fleming and betrayed in the war and as an art-dealer in ’60s New York, Logan mixes with the movers and shakers of his times. But as a son, friend, lover and husband, he makes the same mistakes we all do in our search for happiness. Here, then, is the story of a life lived to the full – and a journey deep into a very human heart.

Any Human Heart will be enjoyed by readers of Sebastian Faulks, Nick Hornby and Hilary Mantel, as well as lovers of the finest British and historical fiction around the world.

I enjoyed it – I do like learning a bit of history along the way. 4 out of 5.

A proper review

Sweet Caress – William Boyd

This one was recommended by my Mother-In-Law – I think her book club read it.

I found it to be a quick easy read – better in some parts than in others. The parts in Berlin were particularly interesting.

Here’s the blurb …

When Amory Clay was born, in the decade before the Great War, her disappointed father gave her an androgynous name and announced the birth of a son. But this daughter was not one to let others define her; Amory became a woman who accepted no limits to what that could mean, and, from the time she picked up her first camera, one who would record her own version of events.

Moving freely between London and New York, between photojournalism and fashion photography, and between the men who love her on complicated terms, Amory establishes her reputation as a risk taker and a passionate life traveler. Her hunger for experience draws her to the decadence of Weimar Berlin and the violence of London’s blackshirt riots, to the Rhineland with Allied troops and into the political tangle of war-torn Vietnam. In her ambitious career, the seminal moments of the 20th century will become the unforgettable moments of her own biography, as well.

In Sweet Caress, Amory Clay comes wondrously to life, her vibrant personality enveloping the reader from the start. And, running through the novel, her photographs over the decades allow us to experience this vast story not only with Amory’s voice but with her vision. William Boyd’s Sweet Caress captures an entire lifetime unforgettably within its pages. It captivates.

I have to say it reminded me of Forrest Gump – Amory just happened to be in the right place at the right historical time! Having said that though, it was interesting. Some sections appealed to me more than others – Berlin, working as a society photographer in the 20s and others less so – Vietnam, attempting to rescue her daughter from the ‘cult’. I suspect this novel will appeal to people of a certain age (i.e. baby boomers and older).

More reviews …

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/sweet-caress-by-william-boyd-book-review-the-novelists-new-mystery-is-his-best-in-years-10426858.html

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/sep/06/sweet-caress-william-boyd-review-textual-hall-mirrors-brilliant-story-life-well-lived

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