Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great literature,
By Dave N. (Lehigh Valley, PA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Line of Beauty (Paperback)
I thought the writing was excellent, pure literature. The story and characters were a little hard to get into in the beginning; but then it pulls you in, holds you, and defies you to put it down as you get to the end.
The main characters were beautifully nuanced. The dialog was excellent and the descriptions were amazing. Not only do I know these characters, I feel I was there with them and wish I had them as friends. I would categorize the story as a drama with a strong emphasis on character study, though I laughed out loud a few times at the wit. To be critical, I thought parts of the plot were a bit choppy, some characters weren't as fully developed as others, and the timeline jump was a bit jarring. But this are all minor complaints. The measure of a book to me comes down to would I recommend it to others and would I read more from the same author. Due to a little explicit sexual content, I would recommend this to open-minded friends interested in top-notch literature. And, I'm writing this little review because I'm on Amazon checking out Alan Hollinghurst's other books.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful but flawed,
By
This review is from: Line of Beauty (Paperback)
Very readable, and it gets the feel of the 80s absolutely right - as money becomes fashionable again, the new right is ascendant and the threat of nuclear obliteration declines, leading to a new hedonism.
Hollinghurst describes the sexual and social, but alas not political, awakening of the aptly named Nick Guest - apt because Nick flits through various worlds without really belonging to any, something which becomes very clear at the end of the book - brilliantly, and in a resoundingly British style. But the central premise of the book is ultimately not credible. Would a rising politician, of any denomination, let alone a Conservative, really take the risk of an openly gay man living in his home? Even the Tories aren't that dumb. And I wasn't convinced either by the very quick demise of several characters from AIDS - 6 months from the peak of health to shambling invalid seems a bit unrealistic for a man in his 20s, but perhaps I'm wrong. So enjoyable but flawed IMO. Hollinghurst seems to leave plenty of room to follow up on Guest later. I sort of hope he does.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully written, but....,
By Andres (Lima, Peru) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Line of Beauty (Paperback)
If you manage to get through two-thirds of the book, as I painfully did, you'll be rewarded at the end. The writing is amazing but it never prevented me from feeling bored with the story.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
|
|
|
|
