William Boyd’s entertaining story of a life apparently lived to the full turns into a journey deep into a very human heart
An Ice-Cream War
Written by William Boyd
- Shortlisted
- The Booker Prize 1982
- Published by Hamish Hamilton
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Set in a baking-hot East Africa during the First World War, William Boyd’s darkly comic debut novel illustrates the chaos and confusion of conflict
As millions are slaughtered on the Western Front, a ridiculous and little-reported campaign is being waged in East Africa - a war they continued after the Armistice because no one told them to stop. The novel centres on an obscure but decisive moment in World War I, and revolves around two English brothers whose love for each other and their country is sorely tested when they fall for the same woman.
William Boyd
Born in Ghana, William Boyd is the author of one work of non-fiction, multiple collections of short stories and 17 novels
More about William Boyd Features
- Reading guides
- Long read
Reading guide: Any Human Heart by William Boyd
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