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A review by jacki_f
The Romantic by William Boyd
4.0
The first William Boyd book that I read - and still my favourite - was [b:Any Human Heart|77866|Any Human Heart|William Boyd|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386912980l/77866._SY75_.jpg|2237564], which was the autobiography of Logan Montstuart, a fictional character whose life unfolded over - and reflected the events of - much of the 20th century. (Later he revisited this concept with [b:Sweet Caress|23848587|Sweet Caress|William Boyd|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1428639374l/23848587._SY75_.jpg|43458464]). The Romantic has a similar premise but a different timeframe: it focuses on Cashel Ross, who is born in 1799 and lives until the 1880s. I've been going through something of a reading slump lately and this was absolutely the book to get me out of it. I tore through it in two days and while it's not quite as masterful as Any Human Heart, it is very, very good.
Cashel's life begins in County Cork, Ireland. He lives with his aunt who works for the local landowner. Later when he and his aunt move to England he gradually comes to understand that his upbringing wasn't quite what he thought and this prompts him to leave home early and join the army. From here his life is a series of non-stop adventures: he is a soldier in Waterloo and India, a farmer in the US, a smuggler in Trieste, an explorer in East Africa, a prisoner in the Marshalsea in London, a writer who befriends Byron and Shelley. He is a man who follows his gut instinct wherever it takes him and who never gets over his first great love. At times I thought things were going to take a different direction and if anything it highlights the way that impulsive decisions shape your life and that there are always multiple ways that things could unspool.
It's terrifically entertaining. I received an ARC from Net Galley (thank you Penguin) but this is a book that I will be buying to keep.
Cashel's life begins in County Cork, Ireland. He lives with his aunt who works for the local landowner. Later when he and his aunt move to England he gradually comes to understand that his upbringing wasn't quite what he thought and this prompts him to leave home early and join the army. From here his life is a series of non-stop adventures: he is a soldier in Waterloo and India, a farmer in the US, a smuggler in Trieste, an explorer in East Africa, a prisoner in the Marshalsea in London, a writer who befriends Byron and Shelley. He is a man who follows his gut instinct wherever it takes him and who never gets over his first great love. At times I thought things were going to take a different direction and if anything it highlights the way that impulsive decisions shape your life and that there are always multiple ways that things could unspool.
It's terrifically entertaining. I received an ARC from Net Galley (thank you Penguin) but this is a book that I will be buying to keep.