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elemmakil's review against another edition
3.0
The first part of the book was very gripping, but with the second part came a change of style and a change of atmosphere, and somehow after that they story really never caught my interests. And if it did, the abrupt changes of location, time and people smothered that interest.
samidhak's review against another edition
I loved it. Gripping from the start till the end :)
Basically a very good read, you can expect each new tale in the different parts that the book has been divided into, but at the same time not losing your favourite characters.
Great character sketches and in depth reality in the people he has portrayed.
Too real actually.
Only problem I had was with the ending, it could've been better.
Apart from that I am glad I read it :D
Basically a very good read, you can expect each new tale in the different parts that the book has been divided into, but at the same time not losing your favourite characters.
Great character sketches and in depth reality in the people he has portrayed.
Too real actually.
Only problem I had was with the ending, it could've been better.
Apart from that I am glad I read it :D
sofiasandstrom's review against another edition
3.75
Cecil sawle är poet och blir känd ett tag efter att han varit på two acres med sin kompis som är kär i honom och hans lillasyster. Andra världskriget. Andra halvan av boken är om en kille som ska skriva cecils biografi.
bookbirder's review against another edition
2.0
This book is not what is suggested by the back cover. It is split into 5 parts, and spans over 100 years. Not a single character is alive both in the first and final book, and every character either has the same personality or becomes less likeable/relatable (or dies) as time progresses.
I think the book had a lot of potential, and the style of writing allowed me to keep reading fairly easily, but there were so many loose threads and forgotten storylines that I enjoyed it less as time went on. I think leaving 20 year gaps between each part of the book meant that a lot of time was spent getting used to new characters, and many events unfolding in the previous part were left forgotten.
I think the book had a lot of potential, and the style of writing allowed me to keep reading fairly easily, but there were so many loose threads and forgotten storylines that I enjoyed it less as time went on. I think leaving 20 year gaps between each part of the book meant that a lot of time was spent getting used to new characters, and many events unfolding in the previous part were left forgotten.
kfront's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
2.5
abroadwell's review against another edition
3.0
Hollinghurst writes beautifully, but this book was difficult. It is set in a number of different eras in England (WWI, the 40's, the late 60's, now). The eras are all connected by gay (or bi) men, and in particular by a celebrated WWI poet Cecil Valance.
But it is hard for the reader to have the characters constantly shifting from part to part. Just as you understand the new cast of characters and gain some sympathy for them, this part is over, and you are now twenty years later.
There is something interesting about the way in which the first parts tells us very frankly about the sex life of Cecil from the viewpoint of an omniscient narrator, while the later parts involve biographers and book collectors trying to figure out what actually happened.
But it is hard for the reader to have the characters constantly shifting from part to part. Just as you understand the new cast of characters and gain some sympathy for them, this part is over, and you are now twenty years later.
There is something interesting about the way in which the first parts tells us very frankly about the sex life of Cecil from the viewpoint of an omniscient narrator, while the later parts involve biographers and book collectors trying to figure out what actually happened.
aw2418's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0