The Swimming-Pool Library by Alan Hollinghurst

The Swimming-Pool Library

Alan Hollinghurst

336 pages • first pub 1988 (view editions)

fiction historical lgbtqia+ literary reflective medium-paced
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The Swimming-Pool Library by Alan Hollinghurst is ideal for readers drawn to elegantly written, introspective explorations of LGBTQIA+ history and identity, blending the intimacy of personal relationships with the weight of societal change.

Description

The dazzling first novel from the best-selling, Booker Prize-Winning author of The Line of Beauty and The Sparsholt Affair.  An enthralling, darkly erotic novel of homosexuality before the scourge of AIDS; an elegy, possessed of chilling clarity, ...

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Community Reviews

3.42
based on 1,048 reviews

Moods

reflective: 74%

emotional: 41%

challenging: 34%

dark: 27%

sad: 27%

mysterious: 22%

tense: 18%

funny: 14%

lighthearted: 12%

adventurous: 6%

informative: 6%

hopeful: 3%

inspiring: 3%

relaxing: 1%

Pace

3% of readers chose fast
51% of readers chose medium
45% of readers chose slow
fast
medium
slow

Plot or character driven?

2% of readers chose Plot
25% of readers chose A mix
71% of readers chose Character
Plot
A mix
Character

Strong character development?

24% of readers chose Yes
42% of readers chose Complicated
32% of readers chose No
Yes
Complicated
No

Loveable characters?

12% of readers chose Yes
36% of readers chose Complicated
49% of readers chose No
1% of readers chose N/A
Yes
Complicated
No
N/A

Diverse cast of characters?

43% of readers chose Yes
18% of readers chose Complicated
34% of readers chose No
4% of readers chose N/A
Yes
Complicated
No
N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus?

72% of readers chose Yes
17% of readers chose Complicated
9% of readers chose No
1% of readers chose N/A
Yes
Complicated
No
N/A

Content Warnings

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