 Twenty years on this is still superb!, 2008-02-07
I read this book twenty years ago when it first came out. Although I remember loving it, I've always had it linked in my head with a strange experience I had with finding some letters belonging to an elderly vicar in a library copy (it's a long story, and given the themes of the book oddly appropriate and the vicar proved to be quite hard to shake off!)so although I've read and really enjoyed other Hollinghurst books (didn't go a great deal on "The Spell")I've never gone back to this one. Until now. I thought the twenty years might have dulled its appeal, but it is an outstanding novel. It probably was one of the first UK books to have gay life as a central theme within a literary framework and it still has the power to draw the reader in, to shock, to surprise and to entertain. And it is so well written. I thought because I'm now twenty years older the slightly old-fashioned class and race aspects might leave me cold, but they didn't. It's an incredibly intense and rich novel, which repays re-reading (even if you leave it 20 years like I did). It is remarkably honest and sexy. I'm going to re-read the other Hollinghurst novels - because here I think we may have one of our greatest living authors- I might even give "The Spell" another try.
WAS IT WORTH THE HYPE?, 2008-06-13
The first Hollinghusrts book I read was "the folding star" and I thought it was a very good book, full of great characters and unforseen twists and turns and on that level i wasn't disappointed when i came to the much hyped "the swimming-pool library".
Just like "The folding star" Hollinghurst's debut novel is packed with original characters from the eccentric Lord Nantwich and his string of colourful butlers, the main character the Hon Charles Beckwith who stumbles from boy to boy and club to club and Charles's hilarious young nephew Rupert.
The book tells two stories, through Charles himself and through the diarys of Lord Nantwich that he reads. The diarys span decades and recount his experiences of such far off places as Africa and back to London introducing us to a variety of eccentric characters.
Overall I give this book four stars because allthough the story is great it does drag in places and all the "darling" and "dear" does get rather tedious.
As I said earlier having read both "The swimming-pool library" and "The folding star" it seems that with each book Alan Hollinghurst gets better.
I will be ordering his next book "The spell" soon and look forward to reviewing it.
 Excellent exploration of recent gay history, 2008-12-27
London, 1983. William Beckwith, young, gay, indolent and aristocratic, devotes his existence to the pursuit of pleasure, enjoying numerous casual affairs with a variety of men. By chance, he happens to meet and save the life of Charles Nantwich, an elderly peer who collapses in a public lavatory. Upon meeting soon after at the `Corinthian Club', the gym to which they both belong, they ease into a sort of friendship, and Charles, his life nearing its end, asks the ever-idle Will to write his biography.
So begins The Swimming Pool Library (1988), Alan Hollinghurst's literary debut and the first of his novels I've read. While the story is mostly told from Will's point of view, the diaries and letters lent to him by Charles as research allow a parallel story to emerge, each extract offering a glimpse into the youth of Charles Nantwich and revealing curious similarities with Will's own life.
From early homosexual experimentation at their respective boarding schools to their deep love of black men, both characters share more than their background and privilege. The rampant homophobia in Charles' time, in an age where homosexuality was not only hidden but illegal has not disappeared in the supposedly enlightened era of the 1980s (as indeed it hasn't to this day.) Nevertheless, from the material Will has for his research it is clear that Charles, in his youth at least, has managed to lead an extraordinarily active life.
While Charles' story as told in his diaries becomes ever more intriguing, Will's sexual appetite never seems to diminish, and the author seems to delight in throwing in ever-more detailed descriptions of his exploits to break up each chapter. Some readers might find the graphic description off-putting or even shocking, quite an impressive achievement for a book celebrating its twentieth birthday this year. The `Corry', as the Corinthian Club is known to its regulars has a distinctly gay atmosphere, the members making no pretence about checking each other out in the showers and hooking up afterwards.
The real-life but somewhat obscure author Ronald Firbank is quoted often and makes several appearances through mentions of his books and in the admiration and esteem that James, Will's best friend, confers upon him. Firbank wrote novels of rich dialogue and almost comically light plots, brimming with camp excess. While some have derided his work as unimportant, other writers such as Evelyn Waugh and W.H. Auden praised his writing highly. Hollinghurst too is clearly a fan, and he expertly weaves choice phrases and cameo appearances of the man into nearly every chapter.
One of the most striking themes that run through the book is that of desperate loneliness. Each major character is fundamentally alone; Will has many acquaintances and enjoys an active sex life, but he freely admits to himself that he has no true friends, with the exception of James, whom he rarely sees. James is a somewhat tragic character, clever, kind and always working, but unable to attract a man and form the meaningful relationship he so obviously craves. Meanwhile Charles, rich and exciting as his life may have been, is the living embodiment of the solitary man, destined to die without love and companionship.
As Will is forced to examine his own past while investigating that of his charmingly forgetful friend, it soon becomes apparent that he has a closer connection with Charles than he could ever have realised. Tantalisingly, the puzzle pieces never quite fall into place, and even by the last page much remains a mystery. The Swimming Pool Library isn't a happy-ever-after, but by the end, it does leave room for hope.
Brilliant though not his finest, 2008-02-27
Like all books written by Mr. Hollinghurst, this was written eloquently and beautifully. Fascinating insight into the gay world of the 80s and perhaps even earlier in the century in England as the protagonist, Will, a young, rich, careless and privileged aristocrat was drawn into the world of the dying Lord Charles Nantwich. Like The Line of Beauty, the story started off focusing on the protagonist's hopeful lives and a tragic event revealed itself at the very, very end showing that the story is after all, a dark one.
I absolutely adore this book and upon completing it, it made me realise, generally, as interesting as us queers may be, we are also very dangerous creatures and essentially, we are not very nice people. This book shows perfectly how self-obsessed we all are, perhaps because we are not breeders and our energies are bound to focus on ourselves. (Obviously this is my opinion and it is a generalisation.)
Very gay, very thoughtful - well worth reading!, 2008-11-12
A compelling and sexy novel about a decadent, gay young aristocrat in 80s London whose life is changed irrevocably when he saves the life of the elderly Lord Nantwich. Will has time on his hands and little in his life but sex and self-indulgence, so when his new friend asks him to write his memoirs he cannot find a good enough excuse to say no.
From the moment Will starts reading the journals of Charles Nantwich, new truths and new perspectives are opened up to him. The people he thought he knew are thrown into new light, new histories are revealed, and all the while his life goes on, clawing its way towards a new maturity.
The intertwining of Will's London and Charles's experiences as a young man, at university, as a soldier abroad, and into middle age, works beautifully and doesn't confuse the reader or become offputting. At the same time the novel raises many complex issues around class, sexuality and race over the decades, and the treatment of minority groups in England. The end was frustratingly brief and inconclusive, but the rest of the novel was absorbing enough to excuse it. I'm glad I got it out the library as I don't think I'd read it again, but I would definitely recommend it to people with open minds who don't mind putting a bit of thought into their reading experience.
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