Reviews

The Swimming-Pool Library by Alan Hollinghurst

cuntlander's review against another edition

2.0

by far the stupidest book i've ever read.

danfoskett's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

emhinse's review against another edition

5.0

This novel has no discernible plot. It’s a rambling, sex-driven narrative with a deeply unlikable protagonist who is entirely self-centred and self-absorbed. Yet, the prose is beautiful, and the author creates a vivid and intense picture of life. The investigation into the life of Lord Charles Nantwich allows the reader to draw their own conclusions about morality, and about our own mortality. This novel had SO MANY flaws, but I loved it.

sandropology's review

challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

sorchagd's review against another edition

challenging slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

cwatson17's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

diana_dea's review against another edition

I've been feeling conflicted about this book for a while - I really liked the writing style and some of the themes as observations that were brought up, and I thought the relationship between Will, the protagonist, and Charles, an older man whose life he saves and who then asks him to write his biography, was interesting. I really wanted to see where the plot was going and what mysteries lay in Charles' past, but the little pieces of interesting plot where just buried in so many pointless episodes of Will having sex with basically every man he sees. Seriously, I don't need to know about every character's genitals, neither do I need to know just how horny Will is like all of the time (seriously, how does he get anything done in his life? He literally says himself that he can't take the subway with getting a hard on). There was also some weird sense of fetishising Black men, but since I didn't finish the novel, I can't comment on if that is every challenged or discussed more in depth. Also, in the half of the book that I read theere was literally only one female character, and she was the protagonist's sister who appears for all of one page and doesn't add anything to the story. I get that this is a novel focusing on gay men, but that doesn't mean women don't exist? 

I finally decided to dnf the book after the main character basically said that having sex with a child is okay if he's over 14. Yikes. 

Thing is, I don't know how much of this might be a realistic portrayal of what life for a privileged gay man in that time and place would have been, which is why it took me so long to decide to stop reading it. I think there is some value in this book, but it's just not for me. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Homophobia, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, and Rape

sammystarbuck's review against another edition

2.0

When you know nothing about a book but pick it up because it has the word "library in the title...

(Ok, so I'm slowly working my way through the 1001 books to read before you die and I would have gotten around to it sooner or later, but still...)

Very well written. But ultimately not at all my cup of tea.

veronikagajdosikova's review

Četli jsme si ji s Teri nahlas před spaním. Trvalo nám to půl roku.. oops

zwsimon's review against another edition

lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0