One of the cute but at times noisy young guys upstairs had a birthday yesterday, it seems, and part of their celebration involved arriving home at 3 am. Consequently I heard the repeat of Australia Talks Books on Radio National. This was good, as it turned out to be the Sydney Writers Festival session with Alan Hollinghurst, whose The Line of Beauty won the Booker Prize in 2004. Here is a related comment from the ABC Online book discussion page:
From: Jane Fletcher 23/05/2005 10:14:51 AM
Subject: re: The Line of Beauty post id: 3445
I have enormous admiration for Alan Hollinghurst as a writer, and I think “The Line of Beauty” is even better than his other books. I find myself re-reading so many passages because of his exquisite use of language. His gentle analysis of interactions between his characters is truly gripping – I would love to know his secret, as this practice in many other authors’ work is so often pedantic and laboured… Thanks so much for such a memorable read.
I would agree with that, but also with another commenter who recommended Colm Toibin’s The Story of the Night as “more accomplished”, though I would hesitate over “vastly more”. This is not to say that The Line of Beauty is not a fine novel which would reward rereading, I am sure. Some may recall I was reading The Line of Beauty back on the 9th of March, where you will find some more reviews.
