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likecymbeline's review against another edition
4.0
I read [b:The Swimming-Pool Library|30106|The Swimming-Pool Library|Alan Hollinghurst|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388450054s/30106.jpg|2776591] last September (while I was training around Europe) and loved it and still think of it often (the prose more than the plot). I'm still looking to read [b:The Line of Beauty|139087|The Line of Beauty|Alan Hollinghurst|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1172099924s/139087.jpg|918312] and am sure I will soon, but for the time being I started on this one, not quite certain of what to expect. It affected me oddly--I was so frustrated by the way that social mores interfere with the biographer's ability to get the whole picture (I won't use the word 'truth'). It reminded me in so many ways of my own plight when conducting research on figures from the past who were forced to conceal their identity. The men I worked on were even faithful keepers-of-records a la Harry Hewitt in this novel, and yet still concealed a great deal in their letters to each other out of necessity. I know very well the difficulty of forming an accurate picture, and in this case it's especially frustrating for the reader because we know the things that actually happened, we read about them in the earlier parts.
The breaks between each part were wonderfully executed, as you attempted to figure out where the thread picked up from the previous section. There were such strong elements of Waugh and Forster running through it, and I found in some ways, especially in the middle parts, that it seemed like Hollinghurst was kind of re-writing a Forster novel, pursuing things past the end and on into the spanning decades (those decades Forster ceased publishing in). I really enjoyed it, but the ending didn't go quite where I expected (though the ultimate disappointment was as masochistically satisfying as The Swimming-Pool Library).
The breaks between each part were wonderfully executed, as you attempted to figure out where the thread picked up from the previous section. There were such strong elements of Waugh and Forster running through it, and I found in some ways, especially in the middle parts, that it seemed like Hollinghurst was kind of re-writing a Forster novel, pursuing things past the end and on into the spanning decades (those decades Forster ceased publishing in). I really enjoyed it, but the ending didn't go quite where I expected (though the ultimate disappointment was as masochistically satisfying as The Swimming-Pool Library).
carolynf's review against another edition
2.0
I only made it about halfway through, and that took real effort. Part of the problem is that nothing much happened in it. The main theme seemed to be how people dealt with homosexuality at various periods from the 1910s to the modern day. But the book jumped from period to period with too many changes in cast. I guess it is supposed to be suspenseful, trying to figure out how the new characters being introduced will connect up to the ones introduced at the beginning. But I just found it irritating. Daphne is introduced in the first section of the book and reappears the most often in later parts. Because one of the characters introduced in the first part is a poet, another theme is how writers are interpreted by society after their death, which I also did not find particularly interesting.
wizard_of_uhhh's review
3.0
Ehhhhhhh.
If sprawling family sagas are your thing, you'll enjoy this. The writing is excellent, and the characters are convincing. The thing is though that reading this book helped me realise something: sprawling family sagas aren't my thing.
There's something about the way the story goes all over the place, spread out over decades, that just doesn't appeal. The book is divided into sections that take place in different time periods, and each one is too short for me, not going into enough character depth to hook me. I like my plot thicker and more centred somehow, I think.
I'm going to stop rambling now and find something more satisfying to read.
If sprawling family sagas are your thing, you'll enjoy this. The writing is excellent, and the characters are convincing. The thing is though that reading this book helped me realise something: sprawling family sagas aren't my thing.
There's something about the way the story goes all over the place, spread out over decades, that just doesn't appeal. The book is divided into sections that take place in different time periods, and each one is too short for me, not going into enough character depth to hook me. I like my plot thicker and more centred somehow, I think.
I'm going to stop rambling now and find something more satisfying to read.
laurelkane's review against another edition
4.0
I hate that it took me so long to finish this book because I really enjoyed it. Just picked a bad time to start it. Makes you think about how much the past - particularly certain time periods - are romanticized by those who didn't live them... I felt tense and anxious through most of the book, not always in a good way. It was really impossible to tell what was going to happen and where Hollinghurst was going to take you next...
I saw an exhibit at the British Library last month called Writing Britain: Wastelands to Wonderlands, in which this book was the only new artifact (unless you count a J.K. Rowling original manuscript) on display. It was a surprise to me considering it was sitting on my night stand half-read at home. And then when I got back and picked it up again, Paul Bryant (narrator for the middle sections of the novel) is doing research in the British Library. Weird.
I saw an exhibit at the British Library last month called Writing Britain: Wastelands to Wonderlands, in which this book was the only new artifact (unless you count a J.K. Rowling original manuscript) on display. It was a surprise to me considering it was sitting on my night stand half-read at home. And then when I got back and picked it up again, Paul Bryant (narrator for the middle sections of the novel) is doing research in the British Library. Weird.
clem's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
4.5
mamasquirrel's review against another edition
2.0
A real slog; I finished simply to find out the end of the literary critic libel controversy. By the end I was ever-so-slightly impressed with the author's weaving together of characters through history. But I've seen it done better elsewhere. Also: this author really pushes the homosexuality issue--it's clear that it's his big cause.
chrishell's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
catfoy's review
3.0
It was interesting and I liked the story more or less... it just seemed like it was unnecessarily long
njensen's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5