What they say about it:
It is the summer of 1983, and young Nick Guest has moved into an attic room in the Notting Hill home of the Feddens: Gerald, an ambitious new Tory MP, his wealthy wife Rachel, and their children.
As the boom-years of the mid-80s unfold, Nick, an innocent in matters of politics and money, becomes caught up in the Feddens’ world, with its grand parties, its holidays in the Dordogne, its parade of monsters both comic and threatening.
An affair with a young black clerk gives him his first experience of romance; but it is a later affair, with a beautiful millionaire, that will change his life more drastically and bring into question the larger fantasies of a ruthless decade. The Line of Beauty was adapted into a three-part television series by the BBC and aired on BBC Two in May 2006.
What I say about it:
I have read this before but picked it as my book group choice as I thought it was quite topical with the 80s revival that’s going on – including politics so it seems.
I enjoyed it even more on a second read. I love how he starts off quite sweet and innocent and by the end of the book is completely corrupted and totally seduced by his decadent lifestyle.
I also love the reverence Gerald and his fellow Tories give to ‘The Lady’. She is their queen and focal point.
I also watched the BBC adaptation which really captured the opulence of the time. Ultimately, everyone ends up caught in scandal and on the scrap heap. Some things haven’t changed for politicians!
Helen Hilton
Available in Lewisham Libraries
Filed under: Book review, Family, Gay/Lesbian, Politics Tagged: | Alan Hollinghurst
I have just finished reading this, and really enjoyed it. An excellent choice for a book group, provided everyone is aware of, and comfortable with, the explicit sexual scenes. As the previous commenter says, the book is really well written for the most part, and personally I found the characters and themes engaging. Hollinghurst is a contemporary author to treasure.
My review is here, if interested: http://tinyurl.com/67mk54v
At our book group we discussed this and interestingly nobody really liked it but all agreed it was written well.
We discussed whether this was intentional, the book is meant to be shallow and flashy, as is Nick Guest.
There was some feeling that it was a missed opportunity in looking in more depth at the impact of AIDS in the 80s.
‘No real flow’ was used several times, ‘Leo just disappeared’ and ‘the book skipped around too much’ were also used.
It made for a really interesting debate so all in all a good choice.