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Content snapshot
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Violence
Some
Wartime violence and some physical danger across the 20th-century setting
Language
Some
Some strong language across different registers of 70 years
Sexual Content
Some
Multiple adult sexual relationships throughout a long life; handled with literary frankness
Substance Use
Some
Regular drinking across the social registers of the 20th century
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The accumulated weight of a life fully lived — its losses, regrets, and unexpected joys — creates a deeply melancholy and moving reading experience
What this book is about
William Boyd's novel takes the form of the lifelong journals of Logan Mountstuart — a British writer who crosses paths with Hemingway, the Duke of Windsor, Picasso, and Ian Fleming, and who lives through two world wars, multiple marriages, the sixties, and old age in rural France. The novel is ambitious and deeply pleasurable — a portrait of the 20th century through one life. Adult in content throughout: sexual affairs, violence in wartime, drinking, and the weight of accumulated loss.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Adult content throughout a 70-year span
Reader Verification
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