The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst

Picador, 2022 (first published 2004)

Why?

Tempted by the reviews, I'm keen to read Hollinghurst's new novel Our Evenings but, having never read him before, thought I should start with his Booker-winning 2004 masterpiece.

Enjoyment factor

Not news to anyone, but goodness, what an incredible writer. The Line of Beauty has very little plot in its 528 pages, but I was thoroughly engaged the whole way. A good dose of '80s nostalgia always helps too, along with echoes of Brideshead Revisited.

It left me thinking ...

What a rare pleasure it is to read a novel whose characters you feel that you know personally, to the extend that you miss them when you've finished: Hollinghurst captures both the personalities and the state-of-the-nation so well that a suspsenseful plot isn't necessary. Our Evenings here we come.