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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Well do not want to continue, it would be too much agony. I am just not a fan of hollinghurst writing. It’s like putting walnuts in brownies or cookies, an acquired taste.
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Elegant prose, perfectly reflective and character driven, but the pace definitely has its sluggish moments.
The main character, Dave, recounts his life—an eclectic acting career; love interests; connections/friendships forged—leading up to the present day, with a rather shocking epilogue from another perspective.
Based off the synopsis (and prologue), I thought this was going to concentrate more on the main character and his classmates relationship—how it developed and changed throughout Dave's life. After his teenage years the classmate, Giles, is used mostly as a timestamp throughout the 60-ish years Dave reflects on in the memoir-like novel. (This left me a bit disappointed, but I adjusted to the actual storyline upon realization.)
The narrator was exemplary, making this a relaxing, intimate listen. Unfortunately, I still ended up struggling with the pace that was set throughout.
The main character, Dave, recounts his life—an eclectic acting career; love interests; connections/friendships forged—leading up to the present day, with a rather shocking epilogue from another perspective.
Based off the synopsis (and prologue), I thought this was going to concentrate more on the main character and his classmates relationship—how it developed and changed throughout Dave's life. After his teenage years the classmate, Giles, is used mostly as a timestamp throughout the 60-ish years Dave reflects on in the memoir-like novel. (This left me a bit disappointed, but I adjusted to the actual storyline upon realization.)
The narrator was exemplary, making this a relaxing, intimate listen. Unfortunately, I still ended up struggling with the pace that was set throughout.
As a devoted Alan Hollinghurst fan, it’s hard for me to rein in the superlatives in describing “Our Evenings”. It’s his seventh novel and shows him at the peak of his powers. As always, his elegant (and eloquent) prose shines but this time in a way more reflective of mortality and life’s inescapable deceleration into ageing. More subtle and less blatantly gay than his previous work, it demonstrates a perceptibly deeper compassion for the foibles of his characters.
Dave Win is the son of an English mother and a Burmese man she met in mysterious circumstances in Burma but never married. We first encounter Dave at the age of thirteen when he’s staying at the country house of the wealthy family who’ve sponsored his scholarship to boarding school. The story follows Dave as his life unfolds through adolescence when he discovers he’s attracted to men and all the anguish of unrequited love that entails, a stint at Oxford, then an acting career in experimental theatre which takes him all over the country and, although never ascending to stardom, brings him the sense he’s doing what he does best. Inevitably, given Dave’s biracial identity, sexual orientation, and class, British bigotry in all its overt and covert manifestations is an important theme and motivates some of Hollinghurst’s most compelling scenes. Underscoring all the rest and endowing the novel with an unsentimental tenderness is his steadfast bond with his mother, a deceptively strong, independent character, as masterfully crafted as the protagonist.
Often funny, Hollingworth’s scenes are always brilliantly observed and spiced with an incisive skewering of the pomposities and prejudices of the very British world he writes about, much in the way of his earlier Booker Prize winning novel “The Line of Beauty”. This is a book with no suspense packed plotlines, just the rare pleasure of brilliant prose, deeply human characters and the persuasive authenticity of life.
Dave Win is the son of an English mother and a Burmese man she met in mysterious circumstances in Burma but never married. We first encounter Dave at the age of thirteen when he’s staying at the country house of the wealthy family who’ve sponsored his scholarship to boarding school. The story follows Dave as his life unfolds through adolescence when he discovers he’s attracted to men and all the anguish of unrequited love that entails, a stint at Oxford, then an acting career in experimental theatre which takes him all over the country and, although never ascending to stardom, brings him the sense he’s doing what he does best. Inevitably, given Dave’s biracial identity, sexual orientation, and class, British bigotry in all its overt and covert manifestations is an important theme and motivates some of Hollinghurst’s most compelling scenes. Underscoring all the rest and endowing the novel with an unsentimental tenderness is his steadfast bond with his mother, a deceptively strong, independent character, as masterfully crafted as the protagonist.
Often funny, Hollingworth’s scenes are always brilliantly observed and spiced with an incisive skewering of the pomposities and prejudices of the very British world he writes about, much in the way of his earlier Booker Prize winning novel “The Line of Beauty”. This is a book with no suspense packed plotlines, just the rare pleasure of brilliant prose, deeply human characters and the persuasive authenticity of life.
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Beautiful prose, as expected, but I just felt there was a familiarity in characters: boy from poor background, gets involved with his "betters"
emotional
reflective
This is a really wonderful reading (by Prasanna Puwanajarah) of a great book.
David Win, a biracial, fatherless, working class scholarship boy, is nevertheless thoroughly rooted in his white and privately educated world, and thoughtfully narrates the story of his long life through reflective vignettes.
It sounds slight, but this is such a thoughtful, graceful, kind hearted wander through time. Important social and political events are shown rather than told, and this technique of showing how events affect the individual is quietly effective because of this personal approach.
Without caricature, his wonderfully heroic and stoic mum Avril, and abusive villain Giles add drama, but ultimately this is a thoughtful book that reflects on big themes from the perspective of old age.
The ending is devastating, I actually had a nightmare about it after I finished listening
David Win, a biracial, fatherless, working class scholarship boy, is nevertheless thoroughly rooted in his white and privately educated world, and thoughtfully narrates the story of his long life through reflective vignettes.
It sounds slight, but this is such a thoughtful, graceful, kind hearted wander through time. Important social and political events are shown rather than told, and this technique of showing how events affect the individual is quietly effective because of this personal approach.
Without caricature, his wonderfully heroic and stoic mum Avril, and abusive villain Giles add drama, but ultimately this is a thoughtful book that reflects on big themes from the perspective of old age.
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
4.5/ A classic British novel for the modern age. Hollinghurst has great command of the page and his writing is on another level; this is my first of his and I hope to read more. David tells the story of his life largely from an outsider's perspective, which gives the novel a flair of the anthropological at times. His observations of class and standing within the British culture felt genuine and on point. This novel spans around 55 years and we see the ups and downs of Great Britain (and gay culture) going on in the background of David's life. Hollinghurst shows us all of this through character and he does it well. I loved how everything culminated, though it was a sad ending (again classic British novel!). Overall a beautiful portrait of a man's life.