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A review by magus_eden
The Swimming-Pool Library by Alan Hollinghurst
5.0
Review after first reading in January 2016 (***):
Half an hour after finishing this book, I am left completely muddled as to what the point of it was. In terms of plot, not much happens in the way of life-changing events. Given this, one would expect the book to be built on the strength of its character development. Unfortunately, from the beginning I had no liking whatsoever for the main character, Will, and since he did not change in the slightest from the beginning to the end of the book, I was not left feeling that my 300+ page commitment to him had been worth my while for his sake. I found a few of the minor characters (Rupert, Gavin, Bill) likable and grew quite fond of the protagonist's best friend, James (in fact, I would infinitely have rather read a book about him). However, Will's insufferable egotism and laziness made him a highly unappealing hero to me, and I found that I didn't especially care about any of his (honestly fairly trivial) troubles.
Having madly loved the Hollinghurst book I've previously read (The Stranger's Child), I am sorry to only give The Swimming-Pool Library three stars. Still, as far as the wretchedly unattractive Will is concerned, I would happily have assigned the book only one star. The other two are for Hollinghurst's utterly enchanting prose. At least a dozen times during the book I caught myself smiling with pure delight over some breathtakingly fresh or clever turn of phrase ("It was his first unsolicited remark to me, and despite its consummate blandness it had the air of being the final fruit of a long internal quest for something to say." "He sounded like someone trying to sell his sister to a tourist." "But he decided against it, paced back to a darkened corner, leaving me with a faint ache of adulation and inadequacy.") Honestly, Hollinghurst could write a book about the life cycle of the flea and I would still want to read it, just to experience the rich, generous, witty way he has with words.
Ultimately, The Swimming-Pool Library falls short of full marks in terms of offering compelling characters or a powerful story. However, for those who value vibrant, creative prose and can divorce enjoyment of such from concern with the story, The Swimming-Pool Library is well worth reading simply for the sake of Hollinghurst's marvelous writing.
Review after second reading in February 2019 (*****):
Wow, it's amazing the difference a couple of years of reading other texts can make to one's second impressions of a book! Returning to The Swimming-Pool Library after having read not only all of Hollinghurst's other novels, but a wealth of other works that have important intertextual relevance to this novel (Billy Budd, Death in Venice, The Flower Beneath the Foot, to name just a few), I have infinitely more appreciation for this book's incredibly nuanced and thoughtful mediation between the secret queer histories of the early twentieth century and the utterly transformed world of its present (that present being the 1980s, a fact that means this book is over thirty years old and has in a way taken its place in the realm of "history" itself!) Given that I wholeheartedly retract the sentiments of my 2016 review (except for my intense dislike of Will, which I now realize is essential to the novel's success, and my praise for Hollinghurst's style, which I still adore), I was tempted to remove it from GR, but have decided against it in favor of retaining it as a personal reminder of the frequent fallibility of literary first impressions.
Half an hour after finishing this book, I am left completely muddled as to what the point of it was. In terms of plot, not much happens in the way of life-changing events. Given this, one would expect the book to be built on the strength of its character development. Unfortunately, from the beginning I had no liking whatsoever for the main character, Will, and since he did not change in the slightest from the beginning to the end of the book, I was not left feeling that my 300+ page commitment to him had been worth my while for his sake. I found a few of the minor characters (Rupert, Gavin, Bill) likable and grew quite fond of the protagonist's best friend, James (in fact, I would infinitely have rather read a book about him). However, Will's insufferable egotism and laziness made him a highly unappealing hero to me, and I found that I didn't especially care about any of his (honestly fairly trivial) troubles.
Having madly loved the Hollinghurst book I've previously read (The Stranger's Child), I am sorry to only give The Swimming-Pool Library three stars. Still, as far as the wretchedly unattractive Will is concerned, I would happily have assigned the book only one star. The other two are for Hollinghurst's utterly enchanting prose. At least a dozen times during the book I caught myself smiling with pure delight over some breathtakingly fresh or clever turn of phrase ("It was his first unsolicited remark to me, and despite its consummate blandness it had the air of being the final fruit of a long internal quest for something to say." "He sounded like someone trying to sell his sister to a tourist." "But he decided against it, paced back to a darkened corner, leaving me with a faint ache of adulation and inadequacy.") Honestly, Hollinghurst could write a book about the life cycle of the flea and I would still want to read it, just to experience the rich, generous, witty way he has with words.
Ultimately, The Swimming-Pool Library falls short of full marks in terms of offering compelling characters or a powerful story. However, for those who value vibrant, creative prose and can divorce enjoyment of such from concern with the story, The Swimming-Pool Library is well worth reading simply for the sake of Hollinghurst's marvelous writing.
Review after second reading in February 2019 (*****):
Wow, it's amazing the difference a couple of years of reading other texts can make to one's second impressions of a book! Returning to The Swimming-Pool Library after having read not only all of Hollinghurst's other novels, but a wealth of other works that have important intertextual relevance to this novel (Billy Budd, Death in Venice, The Flower Beneath the Foot, to name just a few), I have infinitely more appreciation for this book's incredibly nuanced and thoughtful mediation between the secret queer histories of the early twentieth century and the utterly transformed world of its present (that present being the 1980s, a fact that means this book is over thirty years old and has in a way taken its place in the realm of "history" itself!) Given that I wholeheartedly retract the sentiments of my 2016 review (except for my intense dislike of Will, which I now realize is essential to the novel's success, and my praise for Hollinghurst's style, which I still adore), I was tempted to remove it from GR, but have decided against it in favor of retaining it as a personal reminder of the frequent fallibility of literary first impressions.