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Liked It “Rich, subtle, atmospheric. And with appropriate nods to late Trollope and Henry James.” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “Ugh. It's the 80's and it's boring. Even the Sex, Drugs, and rock and roll are boring. I only finished because I paid full price.” see full review » see other reviews » |
Newest Reviews
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“Interessanter Gay-Roman, stellenweise etwas langatmig und langweilig, obwohl Hollinghurst ein Meister der Sprache ist, das gebe ich zu. Am Ende hätte ich mir gewünscht, dass Nick sich mehr verteidigt, aber wie er sich seinem Schicksal ergibt, fand ich sehr... naja. Ich konnte nicht umhin und denken "wimp". Außerdem wird vieles offen gelassen. Wani hat AIDS, Nick erwartet das Ergebnis eines dritten HIV-Tests. Was wird aus Catherine? Was aus Toby? Was aus Nick selbst? Da hätte ich mir ein wenig mehr versprochen.”
Enednoviel wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I just finished this book and I am still wondering what it's about. The author was clearly trying to emulate (and update) Evelyn Waugh, and this is where he clearly missed the mark. Buried between the author's long-winded passages of the otherwise boring lives of the British moneyed class (which by the 80's was well into decline) is an attempt to draw out a thin plot where nothing really happens to characters you do not really care about.
Thom J wrote this review Thursday, October 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
If you want an engaging read with both style and substance, dust off "Brideshead Revisited", "Vile Bodies", or "Scoop" instead. ”“Rich, subtle, atmospheric. And with appropriate nods to late Trollope and Henry James.”
pratoda wrote this review Saturday, October 10 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No1 of 1 members found this review helpful“Ugh. It's the 80's and it's boring. Even the Sex, Drugs, and rock and roll are boring. I only finished because I paid full price.”
Brett W wrote this review Thursday, September 24 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
1 of 1 members found this review helpful“This book was a chore to get through, and I ultimately did not feel it paid off in the end. The author does an excellent job at creating the atmosphere, but I was dissatisfied with the plot. I like a good story, so I was frustrated because this book does not seem to have a clear purpose.”
Barbi C wrote this review Wednesday, August 19 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Never finished. Didn't get into it.”
Charlie wrote this review Thursday, August 13 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“July 2005”
Piedmont Reading Club wrote this review Sunday, July 19 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“wonderfully decadent”
Erica a wrote this review Saturday, March 28 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Frustrated by his first brush with romance, Nick Guest feels he’s been “swept to the brink of some new promise.” The moment is profoundly poignant.
Robert Dunbar wrote this review Sunday, February 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Though "The Line of Beauty" runs through a period scarcely more than twenty years in the past, time already seems to have rendered Margaret Thatcher’s England as misty and distant as something out of "Brideshead Revisited." Could the world really have changed this much so quickly? That misty quality is deceptive. In this penetrating and mature work, Alan Hollinghurst employs a hard, sharp wit to delineate the sort of moral bankruptcy that attended the early days of the HIV pandemic, and as in Hollinghurst’s "The Swimming Pool Library," the contrast between the rather savage tale and his complex and contemplative style proves riveting.
At Oxford, the youthful main character obsesses over a friend from a wealthy background. Visiting their home, Nick finds himself seduced by the pleasures of wealth and yearns to “steep himself in the difficult romance of the family.” Someone should have warned him to be careful what he wished for. He becomes a chronic houseguest, and his initiation into the world of erotic love (for which he’s “achingly ready and completely unprepared”) is concomitant with his passage into a realm of privilege and prejudice.
"The Line of Beauty" – Hollinghurst’s fourth novel – received the Man Booker Prize, and as in all his work, the author adroitly steers the tone through personal drama to scathing social satire. Along the way, he veers into a veritable tour of British literary icons from Austin to Waugh – with an especially satisfying journey through the heart of Henry James territory – without ever diminishing the impact of his own remarkable voice.
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“Though I prefer _Swimming Pool Library_, this book does succeed in capturing a feel for the mood of Thatcher's UK (though I did not personally experience it). For some reason the main characters don't come alive for me - not because they are stereotypical, but because they're not particularly likeable.”
muque and shylock tomes wrote this review Wednesday, December 10 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
