pomoevareads 's review for:

Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst
4.0
challenging relaxing slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
Our Evenings follows a gay biracial man named Dave from the age of 13 until into his 70s. He is the recipient of a scholarship to attend a prominent boarding school. The benefactor is Mark Hadlow, whose own son Giles also attends the school. While Dave follows the theatre track, Giles ascends into the political sphere. The experience of being dorm mates at school was not a positive one but Dave is grateful to Mark for the opportunity. 

We follow Dave through his life, as he takes on lovers, deals with racial discrimination and identity as a person whose own father is a bit of a mystery to him. The story takes us right up to the year 2020 and the political climate for people of Asian descent. Giles’s role in politics plays as a sideline parallel to Dave but in setting the tone.

I am a fan of Hollinghurst’s writing and have enjoyed a couple of his previous novels. The writing is rather languid and may not appeal to all but will appeal to fans of strong characterization. Dave’s arc is the emphasis in this fictional memoir of sorts while characters like Mark and his wife Cara, Giles, the lovers in Dave’s life and his acting roles serve secondary but interesting nonetheless.

There were a few moments where I found the acting descriptions a bit lengthy and it took me a bit of time to follow the time jumps that were not announced in chapter titles or dates. 

I would recommend this book for fans of highly literary novels and queer coming of age stories. My thanks to @netgalley and @randomhouse for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. Our Evenings publishes October 8, 2024. 
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