Any Human Heart

Any Human Heart
First edition cover
AuthorWilliam Boyd
LanguageEnglish
GenreRealism
PublisherHamish Hamilton
Publication date
2002 (2002)
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint novel
Pages503 pp
ISBN0-241-14177-X
OCLC48753788
823/.914 21
LC ClassPR6052.O9192 A64 2002

Any Human Heart: The Intimate Journals of Logan Mountstuart is a 2002 novel by William Boyd, a British writer. It is written as a lifelong series of journals kept by the fictional character Mountstuart, a writer whose life (1906–1991) spanned the defining episodes of the 20th century, crossed several continents and included a convoluted sequence of relationships and literary endeavours. Boyd uses the diary form to explore how public events impinge on individual consciousness, so that Mountstuart's journal alludes almost casually to the war, the death of a prime minister, or the abdication of the king. Boyd plays ironically on the theme of literary celebrity, introducing his protagonist to several real writers who are included as characters.

The journal style of the novel, with its gaps, false starts and contradictions, reinforces the theme of the changing self in the novel. Many plot points simply fade away. The novel received mixed reviews from critics on publication, but has sold well. A television adaptation was made with the screenplay written by Boyd, first broadcast in 2010.