Chalk and cheese but William Boyd's "Any Human Heart", and Victoria Hislop's "The Island" both proved a great read. I found The Island a bit disappointing for the first 20 pages, but then I got drawn in and really ploughed through it. Also, it's set in the Elounda area of NW Crete, where we have enjoyed a family holiday, so it was nice to have some personal knowledge of the the area and to have actually visited the island of the title, "Spinalonga". It's a really touching story and full of emotion. "Any Human Heart " is really compelling. Apparently Boyd's focus is on writing books for men, and part of why I found the book so interesting, as a girl, was the way emotional and physical incidents are described and assessed from a male perspective; I think it's brilliantly written.
