Reviews

Having never read anything by Hollinghurst, and with my local library having unlimited copies of the ebook for LGBTQ History Month, I decided to give this a go.

But meh. Very disappointed.

It's written in 5 sections, each moving forward in time. The reader is left working out when this section is set. New characters are introduced and you have to deduce who they are and how they're connected to previous characters.

I'm left wondering what the point of this was, and why I persevered for 644 pages. Dullest thing I've read in ages.
Edited to add a star because the prose is good so 1-star was a bit harsh.

tomhill's review against another edition

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3.0

After finishing The Line of Beauty, I ran to the library and checked out The Stranger's Child. I wanted to read anything and everything Hollinghurst had written. The opening chapters of that novel are so atmospheric and transport the reader instantly and effortlessly to the English countryside during the months before the first world war. Beautiful. But then phase two of the book begins; we jump forward a decade, never to return to 1913 and it just begins to meander. The Sparsholt Affair is structured in much the same way. Part one takes place at Oxford College during the early days of the second world war. Everything is atmospheric and beautifully written, and just as we are settling into this well-built world and getting to know the engaging characters, Hollinghurst flings us even farther into the future, again never to return to Oxford or WWII. Both books are worth reading, Sparsholt in particular, but for me, Hollingurst is too focused on telling too many characters' stories over far too many years. As a result, every character ends up underdeveloped, stretched too thin. He is a wonderful writer though, his prose is consistently beautiful/beautifully consistent.

kbrand04's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes

4.25

vinsoo03's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Content Warnings

nett's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

sweddy65's review against another edition

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4.0

I loved this multi-generational story that spanned most of the 20th century.

I was sad when I moved from the first book to the second that we left Oxford and the war behind, and I never quite got over the loss of Freddie Green as a narrator, but I loved the entrance of Johnny Sparsholt as a boy and to then see him as a young man and as a parent with an adult daughter.

Sex, sexuality, secrets (what were all the dimensions of the Sparsholt affair? - inquiring minds want to know...), art, music, and so much more.

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