It seems ols England's gone all of a sudden and I feel vaguely fearful, for some strange reason. I suppose you grow accustomed to these old men being around, always aware of their presence in the background of your life. Then they're gone and there's a bit less noise in the room, you look around to see who's missing.
Any Human Heart follows the amusing life of Logan Mountstuart, from his birth in an exotic Uruguay to his travels through Europe and America. It is a tale that traverses war and hardship, as well as love and lust, while the protagonist is constantly moved to find happiness somewhere.
Feeling like the clock is running out on him, he strives to make a change in the world and embrace longing while keeping in touch with old friends. It can be said that many of Mountstuart's musings are thoughts we ourselves encounter throughout our life. We start to wonder what we could have done differently, or what if we had been born on another decade?
Any Human Heart also talks about choices, what you decide to pursue and what you leave behind, how much it costs you and if it is worth the struggle. The protagonist reflects on places and how they change over time, and contexts and how they shape the way of life people carry around them.
One of his many literary triumphs, this brilliant writing by William Boyd explores the stream of consciousness of its narrator in the form of journals. Essentially urban by nature, as he describes himself, Logan Mountstuart needs the landscape of the city and constant variety to keep away from frustrations that stem from a boring life. Besides the city, his natural medium is to travel in order to avoid "desiccation and death".
I believe my generation was cursed by the war, that "great adventure" (for those of us who survived unmaimed) right bang slap in the middle of our lives - our prime. It lasted so long and it split our lives in two - irrevocably "Before" or "After".
With the ebb and flow of life, Logan Mounstuart changes with the progression of the 20th century. Even though the character takes us for quite a ride, his actions turn out to be somewhat predictable. His interaction with different social classes denotes how the protagonist is a collection of selves and experiences and how he evolves with age. What starts as a pretentious young man, changes over and over as any human heart that encounters blows and seeks hope. The reception of this novel is still great because every reader can identify their sins, crushed dreams and when life taught them invaluable lessons. Like Mountstuart, they can remember many defining moments and feel at ease with a character that can share them.
Comments