jaclyncrupi 's review for:

Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst

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Dear Alan Hollinghurst must be slowing down or at least his narrative pacing is. I was here for the languid slow tempo of this book, I luxuriated in it for the most part. In a novel that examines a life in an episodic way it makes sense for the youth section to be leisurely. But thank god he picked up the pace in the second half. I never knew what was important to the story and what was story because he treated all of Dave’s life events and moments the same way. I didn’t mind this but I imagine it will annoy some readers. And I don’t love the way this book was marketed. They wanted to make it seem like a book about a boy and his teen bully and how their lives intertwine over the years but for me this is a book about a son and his mother grappling with sexuality, race and class. And for that I loved it. At the end of the day it’s Alan Hollinghurst and he’s earned the right to do whatever he wants but for the love of literature if he’s new to you DO NOT START HERE. Read any other of his books. Seriously, any other book.