Scan barcode
A review by oflifeandstuff
The Sparsholt Affair by Alan Hollinghurst
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This is a book about the development of gay culture in the UK upper classes from WWII to the present day, as seen through the eyes of Johnny, the son of a life-long closeted queer Oxford student/war hero/engineering tycoon. The father becomes sexually/romantically involved with two influential men when Johnny is a teenager, which causes a scandal that haunts Johnny’s life. Through his work as an art restorer and portrait painter he becomes intertwined with his father’s former Oxford pals.
This family saga come queer history come Bildungsroman somehow manages to have no likeable characters, none of whom seem to ever learn anything. It misses for me, as the set-up makes the reader expect a different story than the one that was told: there seems to be no plot or character development, we just follow these people. I liked that Johnny was openly gay and seemed happier than his father, but this was undermined in the last chapter through his multiple affairs with much younger, vulnerable men after the death of his long-term partner. Given that the set-up was about Johnny’s father, I would have liked to know more about him and why he, after the scandal, ultimately remarried with a woman and never seemed to connect with Johnny over their shared experience of queerness.
That being said, Hollinghurst is an amazing writer of prose, which made the individual scenes a joy to read, even if the overall concept was lacking.
This family saga come queer history come Bildungsroman somehow manages to have no likeable characters, none of whom seem to ever learn anything. It misses for me, as the set-up makes the reader expect a different story than the one that was told: there seems to be no plot or character development, we just follow these people. I liked that Johnny was openly gay and seemed happier than his father, but this was undermined in the last chapter through his multiple affairs with much younger, vulnerable men after the death of his long-term partner. Given that the set-up was about Johnny’s father, I would have liked to know more about him and why he, after the scandal, ultimately remarried with a woman and never seemed to connect with Johnny over their shared experience of queerness.
That being said, Hollinghurst is an amazing writer of prose, which made the individual scenes a joy to read, even if the overall concept was lacking.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting