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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
We follow the story of David Win, who is an Anglo/Burmese man in England from childhood until late in life. He goes to a boarding school where he encounters many people, but it is Giles Hadlow that seems to be in the shadows as we go through the story. David becomes an actor and Giles a politician. There were a lot of parts that I liked. I liked the gay coming of age parts, and the relationships that David tells us about. This novel also addresses racism throughout, and it is well done. Hollinghurst has a great way with words. My issue is that this novel felt crowded at times. There were too many peripheral characters that made it hard to keep up. I compare this to Caledonian Road. O'Hagan wrote a macro book with macro sensibilities. It was executed well. This is more a micro book written in a macro way, and it doesn't always serve it well. This could have been great but it is merely just ok. David's story is good but the other stuff stifled this a bit. I give this a 3.8/5.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
it took me a long time to get into this book -- I didn't feel invested in it until Esme shows up nearly halfway into the book. given the very slow start, I'm really glad I kept going because this is a novel that gradually builds on itself and kept improving as it went on. granted, there were easily 150 pages that could have been cut with very little consequence to the story.
I was surprised by how deeply moved I felt by the ending and I'm trying to not let that paper over the cracks of some of the shortcomings.
I was surprised by how deeply moved I felt by the ending and I'm trying to not let that paper over the cracks of some of the shortcomings.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Nothing happens but everything happens. I am a huge fan of Alan Hollinghurst's work and I thought this was a quite beautiful novel. Yes, it's long, and yes, I suppose it's slow if you're waiting for a big twisty plot development but it was exactly my cuppa at this point in time.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A very slow, melancholy book. I enjoyed meandering through his somewhat uneventful life experiences, from a very young age all the way through an elderly man.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Our Evenings ought to win the Booker. This is an epic novel following a man through decades of his life - growing up queer and biracial, through schooling and his career as a stage actor, through loves and losses. The ending is perfect and left me in tears, loving yet another fictional queer man, grieving the end of this book and his story.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The writing felt a bit old-fashioned, which I found refreshing at first, but as the story dragged on, it became tedious. I liked the themes and thought Dave’s character was well fleshed out, but I found myself bored through a lot of the book. It had some interesting ideas, especially about his career in "experimental theater", but honestly, there’s really nothing about that. Dave is just an actor who does plays, and while some have risqué elements, he’s not involved in true experimental theater. Plus, he came off as too passive of a character, which made the story feel less exciting. At first, it seemed like there would be an interesting rivalry with Giles, but that never really happened.
In the end, I get that there’s a lot of realism and authenticity, and some readers might appreciate the depth of Dave’s journey, but for me, it just lacked excitement and a hook to keep me really invested.
In the end, I get that there’s a lot of realism and authenticity, and some readers might appreciate the depth of Dave’s journey, but for me, it just lacked excitement and a hook to keep me really invested.