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A review by avneetsharma27
The Sparsholt Affair by Alan Hollinghurst
4.0
Because The Sparsholt Affair is so fragmented, I'm going to rate its separate parts.
PART ONE: 5/5
PART TWO: 4/5
PART THREE: 3/5
PART FOUR: 4/5
PART FIVE: 3/5
I love stories where a significant portion exists in the subtext; where the reader has to parse through what's been given to them and are curious to do so. Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day and Mariko Tamaki's Skim are masterclasses in this, and the first part of The Sparsholt Affair, the only section of the novel told in first-person perspective, does it so effectively. I wish Hollinghurst carried on telling the rest of the narrative through the perspective of a side character, because I absolutely fell in love with Freddie Green and his outsider's point of view. The rest of the novel didn't quite match that standard, but The Sparsholt Affair was still an enjoyable read overall.
PART ONE: 5/5
PART TWO: 4/5
PART THREE: 3/5
PART FOUR: 4/5
PART FIVE: 3/5
I love stories where a significant portion exists in the subtext; where the reader has to parse through what's been given to them and are curious to do so. Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day and Mariko Tamaki's Skim are masterclasses in this, and the first part of The Sparsholt Affair, the only section of the novel told in first-person perspective, does it so effectively. I wish Hollinghurst carried on telling the rest of the narrative through the perspective of a side character, because I absolutely fell in love with Freddie Green and his outsider's point of view. The rest of the novel didn't quite match that standard, but The Sparsholt Affair was still an enjoyable read overall.