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amongst_the_bookstacks 's review for:
Our Evenings
by Alan Hollinghurst
adventurous
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst is a novel that quietly demands your admiration. Spanning over 75 years, it captures the shifting tides of British society with breathtaking elegance, wrapping art, politics, private education, violence, sexuality, and racism into a seamless narrative without ever feeling preachy. It’s masterful in its restraint, allowing the story to speak for itself while gently guiding readers through decades of transformation.
David Win’s journey - from a scholarship boy at an elite boarding school to a celebrated figure in avant-garde theatre - is the beating heart of this novel. Through his story, Hollinghurst offers a profound exploration of identity, ambition, and the complex intersections of race, class, and sexuality. The prose is stunningly beautiful, quintessentially British in its wit and subtlety. Hollinghurst balances traditional storytelling with his signature elegance, crafting a narrative that feels timeless.
What struck me most was the book’s refusal to sensationalise its themes. Every moment, whether focused on personal relationships or broader societal shifts, unfolds naturally, with an almost hypnotic grace. Hollinghurst’s writing feels like sipping an exquisite glass of whiskey on a rainy afternoon - deeply comforting yet full of nuanced flavours waiting to be savoured.
If you love stories that whisper rather than shout, that weave character and setting into something that lingers long after the last page, Our Evenings will enchant you. Hollinghurst proves once again that he is a master of his craft, offering a novel as layered and sophisticated as the society it portrays. I can imagine Our Evenings on the Booker Prize longlist this year!
David Win’s journey - from a scholarship boy at an elite boarding school to a celebrated figure in avant-garde theatre - is the beating heart of this novel. Through his story, Hollinghurst offers a profound exploration of identity, ambition, and the complex intersections of race, class, and sexuality. The prose is stunningly beautiful, quintessentially British in its wit and subtlety. Hollinghurst balances traditional storytelling with his signature elegance, crafting a narrative that feels timeless.
What struck me most was the book’s refusal to sensationalise its themes. Every moment, whether focused on personal relationships or broader societal shifts, unfolds naturally, with an almost hypnotic grace. Hollinghurst’s writing feels like sipping an exquisite glass of whiskey on a rainy afternoon - deeply comforting yet full of nuanced flavours waiting to be savoured.
If you love stories that whisper rather than shout, that weave character and setting into something that lingers long after the last page, Our Evenings will enchant you. Hollinghurst proves once again that he is a master of his craft, offering a novel as layered and sophisticated as the society it portrays. I can imagine Our Evenings on the Booker Prize longlist this year!