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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.
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.
(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
dargent94's review
5.0
I lived and breathed this book. Never before has a story spoke to me in such a way. It's a perfect time capsule to a pre-AIDS gay London so that already cuts out most of the misery of modern queer fiction. I'm already missing the characters and their cosy little privileged lives. Such well written filth too.
EDIT: Changed to 5 stars because I still miss reading this book.
EDIT: Changed to 5 stars because I still miss reading this book.
sprainedbrain's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-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? Yes
4.0
evareading's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
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? Yes
4.0
earth_to_haley's review against another edition
challenging
funny
reflective
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
3.75
eliemoon's review against another edition
2.0
I really don't understand all the hype.
The Swimming-Pool Library is problematic on so many levels. If at any point the story would've at least made clear to the reader that fancying underage boys and fucking them IS NOT OK, that the obvious racial, predominantly afro-fetishism IS NOT OK, well at least then it might've read well. Or perhaps not. Going to prison for PAEDOPHILIA seems to be put off rather quickly and nobody seems to get the point. Everybody was doing it apparently? So what's the matter right? No!
I understand that it is a book from the 80s depicting gay life in a time before the AIDS crisis really hit etc. etc. And I appreciate that in a way it is really rather open about gay sex, gay life in general. But to me all this book was really was tasteless. This book reads as if it tried to be both the being-gay-is-forbidden book and the one in which everyone is gay and it's no big deal at all. It makes sense that as human beings some didn't have any issues with it, but others did. What doesn't make sense though is how during the 80s these gay men seemed to just be so open about it and find "a good fuck" around every corner. Is this what London in the 80s was? With how open some of the characters showed their lust I am surprised to only have seen one violent scene in the entire novel. It seems quite unrealistic. Very idealistic. And isn't that the opposite of what this book is supposed to be? I am confused.
I also do seem to find a lot of positive reviews by straight people and quite a few queer people absolutely hating this book. Make of that what you will, but even beside all the sex (of which there was so much I might say at least three quarters of the "plot" revolved around it) there just wasn't a catching storyline. I was bored and frankly disgusted and almost put it away completely numerous times, but since I'm not the type of person to ever really DNF a book ...
The turn of events at the end of The Swimming-Pool Library was admittedly the only interesting part, but even that could not save it. I am disappointed and honestly curious why on Earth so many people seem to love this book so much. I do enjoy a good multi-faceted book with some letters in it, so I was quite interested and excited at first. Unfortunately the parts of Beckwith and Nantwitch read the same, so there wasn't much character to it either. With their age difference and so much time and history of the UK and the world between them and them obviously, logically having to lead different lives, it doesn't make sense for Beckwith to be so much like Nantwitch.
I would love to give this book at least a three-star review, especially since there seems to be something big I am missing, but I just can't. I didn't like it. It's problematic and doesn't even address it and I would never recommend it to anyone, unless of course I'd want to hate-rant with somebody else. It's a great book to hate, that's for sure!
The Swimming-Pool Library is problematic on so many levels. If at any point the story would've at least made clear to the reader that fancying underage boys and fucking them IS NOT OK, that the obvious racial, predominantly afro-fetishism IS NOT OK, well at least then it might've read well. Or perhaps not. Going to prison for PAEDOPHILIA seems to be put off rather quickly and nobody seems to get the point. Everybody was doing it apparently? So what's the matter right? No!
I understand that it is a book from the 80s depicting gay life in a time before the AIDS crisis really hit etc. etc. And I appreciate that in a way it is really rather open about gay sex, gay life in general. But to me all this book was really was tasteless. This book reads as if it tried to be both the being-gay-is-forbidden book and the one in which everyone is gay and it's no big deal at all. It makes sense that as human beings some didn't have any issues with it, but others did. What doesn't make sense though is how during the 80s these gay men seemed to just be so open about it and find "a good fuck" around every corner. Is this what London in the 80s was? With how open some of the characters showed their lust I am surprised to only have seen one violent scene in the entire novel. It seems quite unrealistic. Very idealistic. And isn't that the opposite of what this book is supposed to be? I am confused.
I also do seem to find a lot of positive reviews by straight people and quite a few queer people absolutely hating this book. Make of that what you will, but even beside all the sex (of which there was so much I might say at least three quarters of the "plot" revolved around it) there just wasn't a catching storyline. I was bored and frankly disgusted and almost put it away completely numerous times, but since I'm not the type of person to ever really DNF a book ...
The turn of events at the end of The Swimming-Pool Library was admittedly the only interesting part, but even that could not save it. I am disappointed and honestly curious why on Earth so many people seem to love this book so much. I do enjoy a good multi-faceted book with some letters in it, so I was quite interested and excited at first. Unfortunately the parts of Beckwith and Nantwitch read the same, so there wasn't much character to it either. With their age difference and so much time and history of the UK and the world between them and them obviously, logically having to lead different lives, it doesn't make sense for Beckwith to be so much like Nantwitch.
I would love to give this book at least a three-star review, especially since there seems to be something big I am missing, but I just can't. I didn't like it. It's problematic and doesn't even address it and I would never recommend it to anyone, unless of course I'd want to hate-rant with somebody else. It's a great book to hate, that's for sure!