The World of Books Sweet Caress William Boyd by Richa Mohan ©

Hello and welcome to another episode of the World of Books at EnglishWaves. Today we take up the book Sweet Caress - The Many Lives of Amory Clay, by William Boyd. In this masterpiece, Boyd, beautifully, brings to life Amory Clay, a female war photographer, in an inventive, clever and masterful way. The novel is written in the first person and interspersed with photos, bringing home the point that we are reading not just another book or autobiography but that of a photographer. The Prologue straightaway tells you about the first moment Clay gets hooked on photography, “In my hands I had the power to stop time, or so I fancied.” The book is divided into different parts, spanning almost a decade, as you travel with the protagonist on her life journey. Some parts, such as entries in her “The Barrandale Journal 1977,” are dotted throughout the book, recording flashbacks and other aspects of her life at that moment. The story starts with Amory, talking about her growing up years, the influence of her uncle, who first hands her a camera at the age of 7, and her way of killing perceptions of the people of her time. When she is born her father, who always wanted a son, gives her an androgynous name and announces that he has a son. The way she relates the incident makes it clear that she is a woman with a mind of her own, and as we watch her life unfold we see her not only unwilling to fit into a box but is restricted by no limits. You can sense the strength of Clay’s character as you watch her make different choices starting from telling her school headmistress that she will be a photographer rather than go to Oxford to the time she is almost drowned by her father but survives, though scarred for life. We view the major events of the times such as the Second World War and then Vietnam, through her eyes. Boyd creates the drama of the last decade, realistically, through his prose. William Boyd is an extremely gifted storyteller, something which is evident from the way he handles the complex narrative. The fact that Amory Clay is a fictional character is hard to believe. Her fictional voice seeming real as we travel between London and New York, watch her take risks and be a trailblazer as she becomes a war photographer and even look at photos that she is supposed to have snapped! Intriguing, compelling, captivating and beautiful, it is a story that will stay with you for a long a time. And the ending… well, it is as unexpected as the heroine herself. Do pick up the book and enter the unbelievable world of William Boyd. Boyd is a Scottish novelist and screenwriter. Born in Accra, Ghana, in 1952, Boyd grew up there and in Nigeria. He wrote his first novel, A Good Man in Africa while teaching English at Oxford. Apart from novels, Boyd has written a number of film and television productions and even a James Bond novel titled Solo. He has also adapted two Anton Chekov short stories for stage by creating the play Longing. He is the recipient of a number of awards including the Whitbread Award and the Somerset Maugham Prize. Read the book and let us know what you think. Until next time, keep listening to EnglishWaves.