The Stranger’s Child by Alan Hollinghurst
Published by Picador Books ISBN 978-0-330-48324-7
Mr. Hollinghurst is a classic writer; mature and beautiful in his style. However I felt that this book was all style and no substance. I like something to happen in a novel, especially one that has over 560 pages.
This is a long and sensuously painted portrait of the life of a gay poet and the familial generations that followed him. Though very beautifully penned and fully described, sadly it left me with a feeling of longing; of a missing spark or vitality. A beautifully crafted picture of the past, almost as if written for Merchant Ivory to make into a film.
The author sums the book up perfectly in his own words: ‘she could remember nothing about them at all, so that it seemed rather pointless even to say that she had read them’.
Sorry folks; this book may be an excellent study piece for creative writing students, but to the average reader such as myself I would suggest that you save your money for something else; borrow a friend’s or take it from the library if you really must.