Recommendations from our site
“The Heart of the Matter, which is set in Sierra Leone – a country I had visited several times before I read the book – was revelatory in that I saw the place where I lived in a novel. Again, it’s one of those moments as a reader and a young writer that’s quite extraordinary. I would read Greene’s descriptions of sunset in the tropics or bars in slightly shambolic African towns, and then go out and see them with my own eyes. It’s quite extraordinary to have that experience of being able to authenticate the novelist’s imagination and vision. That’s why the book had a huge impact on me. The story itself is about this policeman Scobie…It’s a fantastically atmospheric and powerful read, and it really does hold up over the decades as one of his great novels.” Read more...
William Boyd on Writers Who Inspired Him
William Boyd, Novelist
