A review by runkefer
Be Near Me by Andrew O'Hagan

3.0

The writing is beautiful and parts of it evoke Brideshead Revisited. The “present-day” parts, however, didn’t age all that well. Reading this book nearly 15 years after its publication was a bit jarring. Attitudes toward homophobia and Catholic priests and other circumstances of this novel have changed enough that this feels much more of a period piece than I would have expected. The overall atmosphere of the book is reminiscence and contemplation, so it’s not so surprising that the main action comes near the end of the book. But when the inevitable occurs, it’s a little bit of a letdown.