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adambwriter's review against another edition
4.0
Read the review at:
http://roofbeamreader.com/2012/10/17/review-the-swimming-pool-library-by-alan-hollinghurst-otherslitlgbt/
http://roofbeamreader.com/2012/10/17/review-the-swimming-pool-library-by-alan-hollinghurst-otherslitlgbt/
ebokhyllami's review against another edition
4.0
Mmmhh... ok pluss. Ikke helt overbevist, men samtidig svært godt skrevet. Moody.
ripavengers's review
2.0
so its 1:30am and i just finished writing a 2500 word essay on this book. ill be honest i only read the first 200 pages and then skim read parts of the rest for context and quotes + using the wiki page to help me complete because i ran out of time to finish reading it before the essay was due. but im marking it as read because i pretty much know what happens in it now.
i dont really have much to say about it. my essay was on sexual desires and hierarchies of power so i rambled on about how Will sleeps with people that are seen as lower than him in society in order to gain power and how homophobia and rejection make him lose power.
i didnt love this book though. the characters were all wildly unlikeable and the kind of casual racism was uncomfortable. i dont even like to read sex scenes but they were boring and quick despite being pretty much the whole plot.
a lot of what was going on seemed unnecessary tbh. the only good thing i could say about this book would be the sort of gay uptopia it created where nearly everyone is either gay or an ally (until obviously the homophobia plotlines come in towards the last few chapters)
perhaps revolutionary for the time it was written and set but not so much needed today.
i dont really have much to say about it. my essay was on sexual desires and hierarchies of power so i rambled on about how Will sleeps with people that are seen as lower than him in society in order to gain power and how homophobia and rejection make him lose power.
i didnt love this book though. the characters were all wildly unlikeable and the kind of casual racism was uncomfortable. i dont even like to read sex scenes but they were boring and quick despite being pretty much the whole plot.
a lot of what was going on seemed unnecessary tbh. the only good thing i could say about this book would be the sort of gay uptopia it created where nearly everyone is either gay or an ally (until obviously the homophobia plotlines come in towards the last few chapters)
perhaps revolutionary for the time it was written and set but not so much needed today.
deanjean_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
4.0
oliverhancock's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sloatsj's review against another edition
3.0
Above all, Alan Hollinghurst can put together a splendid sentence, and that is my weak spot. Plot, setting, character, voice - those matter less to me than the writer's ability to turn a gorgeous phrase.
"Morornic sideburns." "Urine-colored light." "Paramilitary butler." "Dowdy magnificence."
"I attended to my trout with a kind of surgical distaste."
The story is about a 25-year old, financially independent, flamingly gay Londoner named Will and his friendships and active sex life, which revolve around a men’s club called the Corinthian: “a gloomy and functional underworld full of life, purpose and sexuality.” He is romantically involved mostly with himself, but sexually with other men -always a step down socially or otherwise.
Being aimless, well-off and self-involved, Will does not work and has little to occupy him besides sex and gazing at himself in the mirror. One day he manages to save the life of an older man, himself a rich, gay old Lord named Charles Nantwich.
Charles attempts to engage the torporific Will in writing his memoirs, and the plot - which is not particularly strong - becomes a slow unfolding about how homosexuals are vulnerable to persecution and hate and violence of the body and soul. The book is crowded with male anatomy, and there is not one woman in the book, except for the very occasional mention of Will’s sister, who never appears.
I picked this up because I enjoyed [b:The Line of Beauty|139087|The Line of Beauty|Alan Hollinghurst|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1172099924s/139087.jpg|918312]. Although a priapic feast teeming with gay men old and underage is not my usual fare, the prose is wonderful and the plot is sufficiently interesting. It’s worth the little voyeuristic trip.
"Morornic sideburns." "Urine-colored light." "Paramilitary butler." "Dowdy magnificence."
"I attended to my trout with a kind of surgical distaste."
The story is about a 25-year old, financially independent, flamingly gay Londoner named Will and his friendships and active sex life, which revolve around a men’s club called the Corinthian: “a gloomy and functional underworld full of life, purpose and sexuality.” He is romantically involved mostly with himself, but sexually with other men -always a step down socially or otherwise.
Being aimless, well-off and self-involved, Will does not work and has little to occupy him besides sex and gazing at himself in the mirror. One day he manages to save the life of an older man, himself a rich, gay old Lord named Charles Nantwich.
Charles attempts to engage the torporific Will in writing his memoirs, and the plot - which is not particularly strong - becomes a slow unfolding about how homosexuals are vulnerable to persecution and hate and violence of the body and soul. The book is crowded with male anatomy, and there is not one woman in the book, except for the very occasional mention of Will’s sister, who never appears.
I picked this up because I enjoyed [b:The Line of Beauty|139087|The Line of Beauty|Alan Hollinghurst|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1172099924s/139087.jpg|918312]. Although a priapic feast teeming with gay men old and underage is not my usual fare, the prose is wonderful and the plot is sufficiently interesting. It’s worth the little voyeuristic trip.
malachyconlan's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
balkanbruiser's review against another edition
4.5
This really is a book that leaves you in utter melancholy with just the slightest bit of heart-breaking lurch, barely assuaged by an incessant search for tenderness. Queer people are flawed, queer people are real, we're here and we're not perfect. This book is an artifact of that.
There are some moments I wanted to skip, but there was something driving me forward to finish the book, and I'm glad I did.
There are some moments I wanted to skip, but there was something driving me forward to finish the book, and I'm glad I did.