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thelizabeth 's review for:
The Line of Beauty
by Alan Hollinghurst
What a beautiful book! I've had this on my list for a few years, but this was a nice time to pick it up. It's a deeply London book, and even a few months' worth of being in the same city lent a freshness to Nick's adventures, though there's definitely tons of detail over my head. (Despite its setting in the 1980's, much of the surroundings of the uber-rich don't change a whole lot — at least check out what the houses on Kensington Park Gardens really look like. I mean.) That was a bit of fun for me personally.
Aside from the fact that this is a wonderfully-written book rippling with lovely, witty moments, it was pretty clear to me from the start what I liked so much about it: a young man becomes curiously attached to the intense and unimaginably wealthy family of his Oxford chum, for whom useless homoerotic feelings are harbored. I like anything that smacks a little of Brideshead, I just do, it's happened before with other books, and come on, that's about as Brideshead as you can get. It's Brideshead with politicians, and with permission finally granted to revel in just about all the uninhibited gay sex one could want. (I'm also guessing if I were a reader of Henry James, which I am not yet, I'd find more intentional parallels there — he gets a lot of deliberate mention as the subject of Nick's lazing dissertation.)
So Nick is a young graduate from a humble background with no real plan for himself. He's been taken in by his friend's family, the household of a Tory MP and minister in Thatcher's government — an important man who nonetheless has to do a lot of jockeying to remain important, exemplified by his amusing obsession with social invitations to lure "The Lady" herself finally over to their house in person. Much like in Brideshead, again, the house is nearly like another family member; Nick loves it and possesses it and forgets it isn't his. He forms good and bad relationships, in and outside the family, and generally puts on that relatable pinnacle of twentysomething anxiety and denial: I don't know what else to do with myself, and I hope no one catches me.
Over the years of the novel, we essentially watch Nick get closer to the world of the rich — with whom he doesn't really belong, and in which he couldn't really sustain himself — and further from any path he has control over. He gets into "business" that is mostly a fantasy, but it's okay because it's bankrolled by his friend. He spends more time focused on the priorities of sex and appearances than on forging his real identity as a human being. He's a young guy, and this is believable, but you're aware it's also a problem. Whether we will see the downfall or not, readers know his ride can't possibly last forever, not in the way it appears. Who will he be when he comes down?
This question is both answered and not; in the end. Whether this comes true or not we don't actually know — but finally, we see Nick see himself for what he is, and it is heartbreaking.
The book is longish, but by and large it's a pleasure to read. The first of the three sections is written as a set of brilliant, discrete chapters of vignettes that show us the various sides of Nick's situation, selfishness, and sentiment. They're wonderful and incredibly vivid, but I was also glad when things began to link together into a more continuous story in the second and third sections (the last taking place nearly all in one day). It's a book of gorgeous sentences and delicate poignancy in its scenes, and there isn't one character who isn't lifelike and interesting to be with. It's gentle and meandering, and I can't say it took my breath away. But so far it's the best thing I've read this year, and I'm extremely happy.
Aside from the fact that this is a wonderfully-written book rippling with lovely, witty moments, it was pretty clear to me from the start what I liked so much about it: a young man becomes curiously attached to the intense and unimaginably wealthy family of his Oxford chum, for whom useless homoerotic feelings are harbored. I like anything that smacks a little of Brideshead, I just do, it's happened before with other books, and come on, that's about as Brideshead as you can get. It's Brideshead with politicians, and with permission finally granted to revel in just about all the uninhibited gay sex one could want. (I'm also guessing if I were a reader of Henry James, which I am not yet, I'd find more intentional parallels there — he gets a lot of deliberate mention as the subject of Nick's lazing dissertation.)
So Nick is a young graduate from a humble background with no real plan for himself. He's been taken in by his friend's family, the household of a Tory MP and minister in Thatcher's government — an important man who nonetheless has to do a lot of jockeying to remain important, exemplified by his amusing obsession with social invitations to lure "The Lady" herself finally over to their house in person.
Spoiler
I nearly felt like the moment Nick gets Thatcher to dance in the garden with him would be the actual climax of the novel.Over the years of the novel, we essentially watch Nick get closer to the world of the rich — with whom he doesn't really belong, and in which he couldn't really sustain himself — and further from any path he has control over. He gets into "business" that is mostly a fantasy, but it's okay because it's bankrolled by his friend. He spends more time focused on the priorities of sex
Spoiler
and, for a good while, cocaine,This question is both answered and not; in the end
Spoiler
it feels like he's made no progress at all. And yet, the final page takes him down into a dark meditation in which he foretells the positive result of his HIV test. He looks at the world and contemplates how frail his memory will be to his friends, and how little of the world really belongs to him. The End.The book is longish, but by and large it's a pleasure to read. The first of the three sections is written as a set of brilliant, discrete chapters of vignettes that show us the various sides of Nick's situation, selfishness, and sentiment. They're wonderful and incredibly vivid, but I was also glad when things began to link together into a more continuous story in the second and third sections (the last taking place nearly all in one day). It's a book of gorgeous sentences and delicate poignancy in its scenes, and there isn't one character who isn't lifelike and interesting to be with. It's gentle and meandering, and I can't say it took my breath away. But so far it's the best thing I've read this year, and I'm extremely happy.