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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
This is the life story of David Win. Half Burmese, half British, he grows up in a small, country market town in the care of his mother, a local seamstress. His progress through public school and Oxford and on into a career as an actor is charted against the thousand small indignities meted out to him because of the colour of his skin and because of his sexuality. This is a masterclass in novel writing. Hollinghurst takes what seems like the traditional novel form and subverts it into something far darker, more anxiety inducing and angry. Bigotry and the rise of the far right are never far from the surface and as the timeline speeds towards Brexit and Covid, things tip over into the disasters that were foretold in the school rooms and playing fields of David's youth.
emotional
reflective
medium-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
An impeccably told story, a masterclass in characterisation that unfolds via beautiful prose in a leisurely manner. It follows David Winn, son of a Burmese man he has never met and a talented British seamstress. He's bright, wins a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school, and goes on to forge a career as an actor. We follow David from his teen years in the 1960s up until the time of Covid. His race and his sexuality (he's gay), along with his class are key factors affecting his lived experience as it plays put against a political backdrop which in his latter years featured the growing influence of the far right, Brexit and racism linked to Covid. This isn't a book that tries to do anything new or different structurally or thematically. But what it does, it does incredibly well. I was never less than fully absorbed by the life of David Winn.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, Racism
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
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:
N/A
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
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
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
slow-paced
ARC REVIEW
Being granted this ARC is one of my biggest achievements as a reviewer.
Alan Hollinghurst is one of the greats, and Our Evenings helps prove that.
It is a completely engrossing novel following the life and times of a gay, mixed-race man from the time of his birth in 1948 to the COVID-19 pandemic. Each character is brilliantly written and show their character types and tropes well without being stereotypical.
The plot can drag a little, but this is common with Hollinghurst’s work and allows the novel to read like a lived experience.
The prose is captivating and so remarkably Hollinghurst, and the novel’s ending is handled really well.
Hollinghurst is a true, inspiring novelist.
Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan/Picador for the ARC.
Being granted this ARC is one of my biggest achievements as a reviewer.
Alan Hollinghurst is one of the greats, and Our Evenings helps prove that.
It is a completely engrossing novel following the life and times of a gay, mixed-race man from the time of his birth in 1948 to the COVID-19 pandemic. Each character is brilliantly written and show their character types and tropes well without being stereotypical.
The plot can drag a little, but this is common with Hollinghurst’s work and allows the novel to read like a lived experience.
The prose is captivating and so remarkably Hollinghurst, and the novel’s ending is handled really well.
Hollinghurst is a true, inspiring novelist.
Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan/Picador for the ARC.
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
This is a rambling whole of life story of a gay boy with Asian heritage getting a public school scholarship, going to Oxford and living his life as a professional actor.
I just felt the whole book was strong on writing, some paragraphs are a joy to read, but I was never taken with David, so found it hard to enjoy the book. It took me 5 weeks to read, and I seriously considered DNF at 90%.
I’m sure some people are going to love this book, particularly if any lived experiences are similar.
I just felt the whole book was strong on writing, some paragraphs are a joy to read, but I was never taken with David, so found it hard to enjoy the book. It took me 5 weeks to read, and I seriously considered DNF at 90%.
I’m sure some people are going to love this book, particularly if any lived experiences are similar.