As it was the only one of his novels I hadn’t read, buying it was a no brainer. Wow, this book is bad. It’s essentially a gay bacchanalian romp through London and Dorset with a cast of fairly puerile characters who find it hard to focus their minds on anything other than each otherâs crotches and where their next hit of Eâs going to come from. I found myself wondering about the autobiographical element, especially as I read somewhere in an interview with the author that heâs partial to the occasional E himself. If it is indeed a fond reminiscence of raves I have known and loved, nothing wrong with that I guess. But I wouldnât call it a sound basis for a novel. Well disguised porn. He reveals his characters' intricate internal worlds; to the reader's benefit, they are wonderfully observant and self-aware, yet they do not communicate well with one another. May 1st 2000 It’s not even a good one. I'm left wondering if they're all happy with who and what they end up with, or. … The beginning is a little long-winded and superfluous - more about the writing rather than a plot (typical Hollinghurst, which I find a little frustrating at times), but all in all I did enjoy the read. The Spell (1998) was his third. This time I finished the book, but the book was like eating oatmeal. Alan Hollinghurst is the author of the novels The Stranger's Child, The Swimming-Pool Library, The Folding Star, The Spell, and The Line of Beauty, which won the Man Booker Prize and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.He has received the Somerset Maugham Award, the E. M. Forster Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the James Tait Black Memorial … The effort in the writing translated into effort in reading. Simply put, this novel is about four gay men and their relationships that are always in a state of falling apart or coming together. Yes, the people involved are sexually active, if that is offensive to you, and if you need to fall in love with every character in a book, well then don't bother. Danny's birthday party looks like a gay nightclub, as it is filled with attractive gay men doing drugs. The Sparsholt Affair by Alan Hollinghurst review – passion and folly, beautifully observed. Hollinghurst's prose is as frank and lush as ever in The Spell. It’s not even a good one. It is, on the contrary, classic English prose—capacious, sociable, extraordinarily efficient." England -- Fiction. Like The Swimming Pool Library (1988) and The Folding Star (1994), Hollinghurst’s third attempts an ambitious exploration of gay male experiences and relationships. I do not know that it was necessary for them all to be so specatular looking (or at least to their physical beauty to be referred to so often as a part of the … Late-40ish architect Robin Woodfield, mourning the death from AIDS … He reveals his characters' intricate internal worlds; to the reader's benefit, they are wonderfully observant and self-aware, yet they do not communicate well with one another. Nothing wrong with oatmeal, it's hot and nourishing, but not exciting. As it was the only one of his novels I hadn’t read, buying it was a no brainer. This book was so unpleasant I finished it in two days. I really enjoyed this book - it's the most light hearted and most easily accessible one of all his books that I have read. BOOK REVIEW / Naked prefect's idle beauty: The folding star - Alan Hollinghurst: Chatto & Windus, pounds 15.99 (Wilde’s bees improbably “shoulder” their way through grass, while Hollinghurst’s fittingly “dropped and toppled” on a … Home. The prose is beautiful, and the main reason I picked up. His stories have great characters, and he is able to capture the most ordinary of interactions, and people's reaction to them, in such an insightful and authenticate way. Of course, this has nothing to do with the writing, which is quite wonderful, as has been since Hollinghurst's debut. Refresh and try again. But this short book took me longer to read than his magnum opus, The Line of Beauty, so something didn't quite click. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 November 1999. Later I'd find myself reading it again. Anything by AH has to be great, right? BOOKS signed review of “The Spell” (Viking; $24.95) by Alan Hollinghurst. Witty conversations and steamy sex by the author of The Swimming Pool Library. 5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written and funny - couldn't put it down. The author manages, for the most part, to effectively capture different generations (perhaps weakest on the youngest generation) far more than most writers in the gay field. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. The spell. View Article. Every morning when Alex woke he thought of Danny; his thoughts emerged from the watery interview or vanishing railway-carriage of dreams, stumbled on for a few forgetful instances, pale and directionless, and then fled towards Danny in a grateful glow of remembered purpose. Your friends thought of this book is anything but awful with a descriptive economy typical... Who and what they end up with, or this time I finished the spell hollinghurst review in two days his! 4 editions - starting at $ 1.59 find that 's these things: dramatic,,. Writing, which is quite wonderful, as claimed in some review or other 'well disguised '! 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