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Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
Book review for the Line of Beauty Alan Hollinghurst's "the Line of Beauty" is his fourth novel winning the Man Book Prize. The Line of Beauty followed his first three, "The Swimming Pool Library, "The Folding Star" and "The Spell."
"The Line of Beauty" critically analyses the Thatcher era, by following the story of a young man, Nick Guest, through his homosexual experiences, drug taking and discovering the faults and flaws of the high class society during this period.
Nick a middle class graduate from Oxford lands himself a... more info
Structure narrative vs. poetic pros The first thing that struck me when reading The Line Of Beauty was how carefully it trod the line between a structured narrative story and descriptive, sometimes poetic pros. Hollinghurst relies heavily on long descriptions of both the environment and characters, often using both to compare and contrast each other. While there is little doubt in my mind that the styling within his writing is phenomenal, his use of language to create images and evoke emotion is arguably the best explanation for his Booker... more info
A literary prizewinner maybe but I found the story rather boring. This book is obviously a great literary achievement, must be as it won the Booker prize. Although I found this very well written from a purely literary viewpoint I just could not get into the story and just found it boring! I almost feel guilty admitting this as it seems that the majority of reviewers consider it brilliant. I however struggled to keep reading and it took me so long to do so, for me a sign that it lacked appeal.
It is an exploration of the 1980's through the eyes of the protagonist... more info
An excellent cure for insomnia Goodness me - a racy novel about gay love and freeloading in the 80's that won the Booker Prize. Does it deserve to have won? Well, yes, based on the fact that it's well-written, doesn't actually go anywhere in terms of storytelling, and nearly all of the characters are unlikeable people you'd probably cross the road to avoid. As for the tosh about capturing the essence of Britain during these times - don't believe a bit of it. Authors like Jonathan Coe do that much better than The Line of Beauty - and... more info
