I really enjoyed this book. I loved the inner look we got into Logan Mountstuart’s life via his diary. Whilst it was semi-frustrating where there was a gap in the diary entries I also felt that it was true to form. We often don’t write everyday or at times our narrative my laspe. The diary style also made me reflect on my own life. Occasionally the questions Logan asked himself were resonant of the questions I had. In a word, the book felt very human.
I initially picked up the book because the blurb mentioned famous writers’ including Virginia Woolf and Ernest Hemmingway. I was intrigued how the protagonists life would intersect with theirs. It didn’t disappoint. I won’t say too much (no spoilers here!) but the book surprised me. There seemed to be a person of historical interest around every corner. And yet, it didn’t feel forced. From the book’s beginning in Uruguary, where we do not stay long, to the more prolonged visit to an English boarding school I felt I knew where the book was going. A familiar landscape if you will. Only to find that I was continuously lobbed with curve balls which kept me reading. It’s definitely worth hanging in there through the dreary English countryside, it’s worth the ride.
My favourite part, how real it felt and the semi-illicit thrill I felt as if I truly was reading someone’s diary and being privy to their personal thoughts.