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jiayuanc's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
This was my first Hollinghurst book and I've since been informed this wasn't a great place to start. On GoodReads, I rated this 3 stars, rounded up from 2.5 stars. My thought process is such: loved Part 1 and wished we saw more from Freddie Green's perspective. I was very disappointed to come to the end of Part 1, only to be thrust into an entirely different POV for the remainder of the novel. I felt almost cheated when Part 1 ended and we were then forced into the perspective of 14 year old Johnny. We stay hovering around Johnny's life for the remainder of the book. I kept hoping Freddie Green's POV would return, but we only get glimpses from an outsider view.
The remaining parts follow Jonathan Sparsholt (Johnny) who I found rather dull. Hollinghurst's prose and fusion of speaking on art with his characters is lovely but the titular Sparsholt Affair is never directly confronted and we merely get talked around it. I understand this was the point but it was frustrating and made it an added difficulty with trying to empathize with the characters it impacted. David Sparsholt is only ever talked about by characters who know / knew him and we never get to see from his perspective anything that happens at all. A choice no doubt but one that just didn't work for me and one that definitely made the whole thing less impactful.
The remaining parts follow Jonathan Sparsholt (Johnny) who I found rather dull. Hollinghurst's prose and fusion of speaking on art with his characters is lovely but the titular Sparsholt Affair is never directly confronted and we merely get talked around it. I understand this was the point but it was frustrating and made it an added difficulty with trying to empathize with the characters it impacted. David Sparsholt is only ever talked about by characters who know / knew him and we never get to see from his perspective anything that happens at all. A choice no doubt but one that just didn't work for me and one that definitely made the whole thing less impactful.
Content Warnings
Minor: Drug use, Outing, and Sexual assault
anduman's review
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
mehrangezmr's review
4.0
Yet another beautifully-written and wildly absorbing novel from the pen of Alan Hollinghurst. When I say absorbing, I mean I missed my stop on the tube while reading this, multiple times! The irony is that - a lot happens in the novel but all off-the-page as it were. The much-vaunted 'affair' of the title is never clarified - it's up to us to piece it together. The eponymous David Sparsholt is never really fleshed out but remains an enigmatic locus for the yearnings of the other characters, all of whom are fully realised and appealing; I loved his gentle son Johnny and the verbal stylings of one of his legions of university admirers, Freddy. Evert Dax, whose perspective we don't enter very frequently, seems to me the emotional heart of this novel. I was glad he found happiness at last. I was sorry to say goodbye to the characters in this book. Just lovely.
damc's review against another edition
3.0
good enough story. dialogue was often forced. nice opening section in oxford.
melonpea's review
3.0
A good story overall but a bit slow and it was a bit cringe worthy at times. I did enjoy the following of a life through the decades.
salbei's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-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
5.0
nadia_g's review
4.0
I'm a great fan of stories about secrets, how they are made, and how they always eventually resurface and burst into the open. Truth will out.
The Sparsholt Affair is about love, and how we negotiate our place in and out of a couple, with secrets at the core of Hollinghurst's narrative.
The secret here it bubbles up & bursts midway in the life of David Sparsholt but Hollinghurst focuses his story, not on David, but on the people David knew by showing how their lives were shaped in relation to David's secret & its revelation.
The novel is divided in five parts and spans over a period of 60 years. It opens in the 1940s and ends in the noughties. Its underlying current is the decriminalization of homosexuality.
Hollinghurst's style is impressive, it is crafted, stylish, and sensual. The second part, located on the sea, is breathtaking.
The Sparsholt Affair is about love, and how we negotiate our place in and out of a couple, with secrets at the core of Hollinghurst's narrative.
The secret here it bubbles up & bursts midway in the life of David Sparsholt but Hollinghurst focuses his story, not on David, but on the people David knew by showing how their lives were shaped in relation to David's secret & its revelation.
The novel is divided in five parts and spans over a period of 60 years. It opens in the 1940s and ends in the noughties. Its underlying current is the decriminalization of homosexuality.
Hollinghurst's style is impressive, it is crafted, stylish, and sensual. The second part, located on the sea, is breathtaking.
eoinpatrick's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
pdestrienne's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
1.5
Disappointing - at such a remove from its characters that nothing is really felt and no one is really known. Would have loved to have read a real story about Pat and Johnny. The title sets the reader up to be miffed, since the actual Sparsholt Affair is not gone into, only hinted at. We never get into the thoughts of David Sparsholt, in fact, just his son.