I have to respond to the 1-star review because it's so angry and wrongheaded. As an author, I read very widely, but it's the rare book that makes me wish I had writtten it; that is, lived the experience and had the insight that brought this book to fruition. To have emerged from inside rather than approach it as a reader, if that makes sense.
Recently I've felt that with Ian McEwan's Atonement, Francine Prose's Blue Star, and Alan Hollinghurst's Line of Beauty. Every line of this book is indeed a line of beauty--the sinuous prose matches the compelling story and I had to force myself to read it slowly, rather than gobble it down. I read many passages aloud to my spouse, who also was blown away.
I'm afraid it's been over a year since I read it, so I can't supply more details, but this novel that nods so much at James is actually the kind of book Balzac wrote, blending sex, politics, and money in a knowing commentary on his times, and I can't think of higher praise than that. |
Line of Beauty Books In Print, Audio Books.
Alan Hollinghurst's extraordinarily rich novel The Line of Beauty. has garnered a new level of acclaim for the author after winning the 2004 Man Booker Prize. Hollinghurst speaks about his work in our interview.