French adventures of a Scottish piano tuner with a Russian twist

William Boyd’s 15th novel manages to cram snapshots of Belle Epoque Paris, pre-revolutionary Russia and late-19th century Scotland into its heady embrace

William Boyd: inspired by Russian epics Pic: Eamonn Mccabe

FICTION: Love Is Blind, By William Boyd, Viking, €21.85

William Boyd is no stranger to sweeping historical novels. His masterpiece, Any Human Heart, spans the major events of the 20th century, and was even made into an equally ambitious mini-series with Jim Broadbent in 2010. Boyd’s 15th novel may not have the genre-defining epic narrative arc of that book, yet it still manages to cram snapshots of Belle Epoque Paris, pre-revolutionary Russia and ...