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Our Evenings
Win a free print copy of this book!
9 days and 20:32:15
10 copies available
U.S. only
From the internationally acclaimed winner of the Booker Prize, a piercing novel that envisions modern England through the lens of one man’s acutely observed and often unnerving experience, as he struggles with class and race, art and sexuality, love and violence.
Did I have a grievance? Most of us, without looking far, could find something that had harmed us, and oppressed us, and unfairly held us back. I tried not to dwell on it, thought it healthier not to, though I’d lived my short life so far in a chaos of privilege and prejudice.
Dave Win, the son of a British dressmaker and a Burmese man he’s never met, is thirteen years old when he gets a scholarship to a top boarding school. With the doors of elite English society cracked open for him, heady new possibilities lie before Dave, even as he is exposed to the envy and viciousness of his wealthy classmates, above all that of Giles Hadlow, whose worldly parents sponsored the scholarship and who find in Dave someone they can more easily nurture than their brutish son.
Our Evenings follows Dave from the 1960s on—through the possibilities that remained open for him, and others that proved to be illusory: as a working-class brown child in a decidedly white institution; a young man discovering queer culture and experiencing his first, formative love affairs; a talented but often overlooked actor, on the road with an experimental theater company; and an older Londoner whose late-in-life marriage fills his days with an unexpected sense of happiness and security.
Moving in and out of Dave’s orbit are the Hadlows. Estranged from his parents, who remain close to Dave, Giles directs his privilege into a career as a powerful right-wing politician, whose reactionary vision for England pokes perilous holes in Dave’s stability. And as the novel accelerates towards the present day, the two men’s lives and values will finally collide in a cruel shock of violence.
This is “one of our most gifted writers” (The Boston Globe) sweeping readers from our past to our present through the beauty, pain, and joy of one deeply observed life.
Did I have a grievance? Most of us, without looking far, could find something that had harmed us, and oppressed us, and unfairly held us back. I tried not to dwell on it, thought it healthier not to, though I’d lived my short life so far in a chaos of privilege and prejudice.
Dave Win, the son of a British dressmaker and a Burmese man he’s never met, is thirteen years old when he gets a scholarship to a top boarding school. With the doors of elite English society cracked open for him, heady new possibilities lie before Dave, even as he is exposed to the envy and viciousness of his wealthy classmates, above all that of Giles Hadlow, whose worldly parents sponsored the scholarship and who find in Dave someone they can more easily nurture than their brutish son.
Our Evenings follows Dave from the 1960s on—through the possibilities that remained open for him, and others that proved to be illusory: as a working-class brown child in a decidedly white institution; a young man discovering queer culture and experiencing his first, formative love affairs; a talented but often overlooked actor, on the road with an experimental theater company; and an older Londoner whose late-in-life marriage fills his days with an unexpected sense of happiness and security.
Moving in and out of Dave’s orbit are the Hadlows. Estranged from his parents, who remain close to Dave, Giles directs his privilege into a career as a powerful right-wing politician, whose reactionary vision for England pokes perilous holes in Dave’s stability. And as the novel accelerates towards the present day, the two men’s lives and values will finally collide in a cruel shock of violence.
This is “one of our most gifted writers” (The Boston Globe) sweeping readers from our past to our present through the beauty, pain, and joy of one deeply observed life.
496 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication October 3, 2024
About the author
Alan Hollinghurst
41 books1,335 followersAlan Hollinghurst is an English novelist, and winner of the 2004 Booker Prize for The Line of Beauty.
He read English at Magdalen College, Oxford graduating in 1975; and subsequently took the further degree of Master of Literature (1979). While at Oxford he shared a house with Andrew Motion, and was awarded the Newdigate Prize for poetry in 1974, the year before Motion.
In the late 1970s he became a lecturer at Magdalen, and then at Somerville College and Corpus Christi College, Oxford. In 1981 he moved on to lecture at University College London. In 1997, he went on an Asia book tour in Singapore.
In 1981 he joined The Times Literary Supplement and was the paper's deputy editor from 1982 to 1995.
He lives in London.
He read English at Magdalen College, Oxford graduating in 1975; and subsequently took the further degree of Master of Literature (1979). While at Oxford he shared a house with Andrew Motion, and was awarded the Newdigate Prize for poetry in 1974, the year before Motion.
In the late 1970s he became a lecturer at Magdalen, and then at Somerville College and Corpus Christi College, Oxford. In 1981 he moved on to lecture at University College London. In 1997, he went on an Asia book tour in Singapore.
In 1981 he joined The Times Literary Supplement and was the paper's deputy editor from 1982 to 1995.
He lives in London.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
August 5, 2024
Listen, I'm usually all into experimental literature and unusual aesthetic decisions, but this, this is traditional storytelling at its very best, an absorbing, sweeping epic about race, class, and sex spanning the last ca. 75 years in the UK, and I just could not put it down. Hollinghurst tells the life story of David Win, born in 1948, whom we first meet as a fourteen-year-old boarder at Bampton school where he is on a scholarship sponsored by the wealthy Hadlow family, known to be avid supporters of the arts. David, who never met his father, is half Burmese and gay, growing up with a single mother who works as a seamstress and causes even more scandal by sharing her life with a woman. He goes on to attend Oxford and then becomes an actor, all through his life having to fight not only racism, but, as a gay man, also homophobia. While David is making his way in the arts, Giles Hadlow, the son of the Hadlow family who is just three months younger than him, makes it big as a Tory MP, a Minister and then a Brexiteer: While David pushes forward, he is the force that pushes backwards.
It is masterful how Hollinghurst manages to convey how David is shaped by the people he meets and his experiences throughout his life, not only his own family and the Hadlows, but also his friends and colleagues. People and instances re-appear thoughout the text, showing David's growth and changing political circumstances - in the background, this is also a story about British politics, especially British racism, from colonialism (David's mother worked for Major General Hubert Rance in Burma, which became independent the year of our protagonist's birth) to social movements and experimental theater (where David is involved) that aimed to overcome everyday racism and professional limitations of non-white artists up to xenophobia-driven Brexit and, finally, the rise of anti-Asian hate crime during COVID. It's of course also a story about a young man growing into his sexuality and experiencing changing societal attitudes towards queer people.
All these themes are carried by the life-like, touching rendering of David, a flawed, deeply human individual chasing happiness. Throughout the text, Hollinghurst adds theater references to numerous plays and the roles David plays, and these references go way beyond pointing towards the struggles of an actor who can't pass as white in the world of British theater: They are interwoven with the story, and good luck to the people writing theses about the complex net of meaning behind this composition (there are also circular references, like the fact that Hollinghurst himself translated Racine's "Bajazet", in which David performs). Additionally, there are hints to other artworks, most notably Burmese fashion, paintings like "The Messenger, a Tragic Gesture", music like "On an Overgrown Path" (which contains the movement "Our Evenings") and poetry like "Spelt from Sibyl’s Leaves" (which contains the lines "Óur évening is over us; óur night ' whélms, whélms, ánd will end us.").
The title also points to actual evenings in the novel, time David spends with people that are important to him. The whole story is told in such a psychologically plausible and nuanced way (the dependency of the arts on the people they criticize! the brutality of love! complex family dynamics! etc.), plus there is a turn at the end that I can't give away which is rather brilliant. I am in awe of this achievement and am now eagerly waiting for Hollinghurst to extend his collection of literary prizes.
It is masterful how Hollinghurst manages to convey how David is shaped by the people he meets and his experiences throughout his life, not only his own family and the Hadlows, but also his friends and colleagues. People and instances re-appear thoughout the text, showing David's growth and changing political circumstances - in the background, this is also a story about British politics, especially British racism, from colonialism (David's mother worked for Major General Hubert Rance in Burma, which became independent the year of our protagonist's birth) to social movements and experimental theater (where David is involved) that aimed to overcome everyday racism and professional limitations of non-white artists up to xenophobia-driven Brexit and, finally, the rise of anti-Asian hate crime during COVID. It's of course also a story about a young man growing into his sexuality and experiencing changing societal attitudes towards queer people.
All these themes are carried by the life-like, touching rendering of David, a flawed, deeply human individual chasing happiness. Throughout the text, Hollinghurst adds theater references to numerous plays and the roles David plays, and these references go way beyond pointing towards the struggles of an actor who can't pass as white in the world of British theater: They are interwoven with the story, and good luck to the people writing theses about the complex net of meaning behind this composition (there are also circular references, like the fact that Hollinghurst himself translated Racine's "Bajazet", in which David performs). Additionally, there are hints to other artworks, most notably Burmese fashion, paintings like "The Messenger, a Tragic Gesture", music like "On an Overgrown Path" (which contains the movement "Our Evenings") and poetry like "Spelt from Sibyl’s Leaves" (which contains the lines "Óur évening is over us; óur night ' whélms, whélms, ánd will end us.").
The title also points to actual evenings in the novel, time David spends with people that are important to him. The whole story is told in such a psychologically plausible and nuanced way (the dependency of the arts on the people they criticize! the brutality of love! complex family dynamics! etc.), plus there is a turn at the end that I can't give away which is rather brilliant. I am in awe of this achievement and am now eagerly waiting for Hollinghurst to extend his collection of literary prizes.
August 16, 2024
It's been seven long years since Hollinghurst's last novel, The Sparsholt Affair - but it's been worth the wait. In only his seventh novel in 36 years, the author once again redefines the English novel, incorporating all he has seen, felt and learnt in his 70 years (we are roughly the same age; I'm 6 weeks older than he).
In telling the story of biracial gay actor David Win, beginning in 1961 when he is 13 and on holiday at Woolpeck, the stately home of his benefactors, the Hadleys, and tracing his ups and down right up through the pandemic year of 2020, Hollinghurst gives us perhaps the finest 'state-of-the nation' novel since his own Booker-winning The Line of Beauty twenty years ago.
Roughly the first half details David's travails as an 'Exhibitioner', a charity student at Bampton, his boarding school, and his relationship with Giles, the wealthy and sadistic scion of the Hadley family, who, naturally, eventually becomes a Brexit-promoting Tory MP. This section not only (consciously?) echoes Hollinghurst's Booker-winner, but every OTHER boarding school novel, somewhat of a Brideshead Revisited Revisited, but with Hollinghurst's exquisite prose and unerring characterizations.
Then the second half covers the rest of David's life, from his early days as a struggling actor in an experimental theatre troupe to a seasoned performer and author, and also delineates through his gay relationships - and that of his own mother with the estimable Esme - the trajectory of the gay rights movement from the time such affairs were illegal, right up to marriage equality.
Even though it took me an inordinate time to read the first half (my fault, NOT the novel's), I breezed through the second section in two days - riveting stuff here, and as theatre is my field, I enjoyed all the references to dramatic works known and imagined.
Many of the 34 chapters could easily be read as standalone short stories, but the throughline makes them even more impactful. I wouldn't be at all surprised to find this on the 2025 Booker longlist, and perhaps Hollinghurst will join that rare pantheon of double Booker winners.
My sincere and grateful thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC in advance of publication, in exchange for this honest and enthusiastic review.
In telling the story of biracial gay actor David Win, beginning in 1961 when he is 13 and on holiday at Woolpeck, the stately home of his benefactors, the Hadleys, and tracing his ups and down right up through the pandemic year of 2020, Hollinghurst gives us perhaps the finest 'state-of-the nation' novel since his own Booker-winning The Line of Beauty twenty years ago.
Roughly the first half details David's travails as an 'Exhibitioner', a charity student at Bampton, his boarding school, and his relationship with Giles, the wealthy and sadistic scion of the Hadley family, who, naturally, eventually becomes a Brexit-promoting Tory MP. This section not only (consciously?) echoes Hollinghurst's Booker-winner, but every OTHER boarding school novel, somewhat of a Brideshead Revisited Revisited, but with Hollinghurst's exquisite prose and unerring characterizations.
Then the second half covers the rest of David's life, from his early days as a struggling actor in an experimental theatre troupe to a seasoned performer and author, and also delineates through his gay relationships - and that of his own mother with the estimable Esme - the trajectory of the gay rights movement from the time such affairs were illegal, right up to marriage equality.
Even though it took me an inordinate time to read the first half (my fault, NOT the novel's), I breezed through the second section in two days - riveting stuff here, and as theatre is my field, I enjoyed all the references to dramatic works known and imagined.
Many of the 34 chapters could easily be read as standalone short stories, but the throughline makes them even more impactful. I wouldn't be at all surprised to find this on the 2025 Booker longlist, and perhaps Hollinghurst will join that rare pantheon of double Booker winners.
My sincere and grateful thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC in advance of publication, in exchange for this honest and enthusiastic review.
August 12, 2024
A moving and beautifully written story which begins with Dave, a half-British / half-Burmese teen, who has just started boarding school on a funded scholarship. Up until then, he lived with his widowed working-class white mother. He’s never known his father, and doesn’t seem to want to know more about him.
This is the first of this author’s books that I’ve read, and I found this to be such a moving story, which also, unfortunately, felt all too real. The attitude of the majority of his classmates toward him, the fact that he is there on a funded scholarship, seems to make him ‘less than’ in their eyes. While he does make friends with some, he seems to feel a need to prove that he is more than they seem to see him.
An often heartbreaking story, as the years pass Dave shares the barriers he has had to come to terms with, along with the success he’s had in the theater over the years, as well as sharing the friendships over the years, those he has loved, his commitment to family, and to finding someone to share his life with, someone to love.
Pub Date: 08 Oct 2024
Many thanks for the ARC provided by Random House Publishing Group - Random House / Random House
August 11, 2024
ARC for review. To be published October 8, 2024.
I do love Alan Hollinghurst. His novels all have some similarities but they are all so lovely.
This follows Dave Win from the 1960s to present day. Dave is the son of a single mother British dressmaker and a Burmese man he’s never met (which means he’s not white, which didn’t always make his life easy.). He is awarded a scholarship to Bampton, a top boarding school where he comes into contact with the monied class, particularly Giles Hadlow, as his parents, Cara and Mark; the Hadlow family sponsors his scholarship and he is invited to spend time at their country home during his first year at school. This short visit impacts his life and he keeps up with Cara and Mark for decades.
Throughout his life Giles becomes estranged from his parents as he becomes a conservative politician. The stay closer to Dave, an actor. The two men circle round each other over the years.
Ignore some of the jacket information as it isn’t really what the book is about; it’s more about Dave’s life as he navigates the world as a lower class, gay man pursuing acting in London, as the author examines issues of race, class and sexual orientation in the 1960s-1980s. I enjoyed it very much, the pacing is nice and it’s not flashy, but completely nice.
I do love Alan Hollinghurst. His novels all have some similarities but they are all so lovely.
This follows Dave Win from the 1960s to present day. Dave is the son of a single mother British dressmaker and a Burmese man he’s never met (which means he’s not white, which didn’t always make his life easy.). He is awarded a scholarship to Bampton, a top boarding school where he comes into contact with the monied class, particularly Giles Hadlow, as his parents, Cara and Mark; the Hadlow family sponsors his scholarship and he is invited to spend time at their country home during his first year at school. This short visit impacts his life and he keeps up with Cara and Mark for decades.
Throughout his life Giles becomes estranged from his parents as he becomes a conservative politician. The stay closer to Dave, an actor. The two men circle round each other over the years.
Ignore some of the jacket information as it isn’t really what the book is about; it’s more about Dave’s life as he navigates the world as a lower class, gay man pursuing acting in London, as the author examines issues of race, class and sexual orientation in the 1960s-1980s. I enjoyed it very much, the pacing is nice and it’s not flashy, but completely nice.
August 25, 2024
Another exceptional book from Alan Hollinghurst.
As always, you're drawn into a world where manners are perfect, drama is polite, and the characters so multi layered you can't help but need to know every single detail about them.
I loved the journey of this book, its flow through time, and as David gets older, his interactions become more complex and interesting.
Excellent as always.
Thank you for my advanced copy.
As always, you're drawn into a world where manners are perfect, drama is polite, and the characters so multi layered you can't help but need to know every single detail about them.
I loved the journey of this book, its flow through time, and as David gets older, his interactions become more complex and interesting.
Excellent as always.
Thank you for my advanced copy.
September 18, 2024
This is old fashioned storytelling at its finest. Reminiscent of the beloved (at least to me) Delderfield sagas of a previous generation, Alan Hollinghurst examines British mores through the lens of a most interestingly flawed and attractive narrator, David Win. Biracial and gay, he is the recipient of kindness on the part of a wealthy family who are patrons of the arts, thus allowing Hollinghurst to do a deep dive into many areas that have shaped Britain's aesthetic and political history. Immersive and informative at the same time.
August 16, 2024
Our Evenings is beautifully written, with elegant prose and vivid character portrayals. Hollinghurst thoughtfully explores themes of race, class, and sexuality, weaving them into the narrative with subtlety. However, while the treatment of these themes is insightful, the overall narrative lacked the momentum to fully engage me. I found it a book to appreciate for its style and thematic depth, but occasionally wondered what it all added up to.
In any case, Alan Hollinghurst continues to demonstrate that he is a writer of great skill and beauty. Whatever my own quibbles with the narrative, Our Evenings is not to be missed.
4.5/5
ARC for review. To be published October 8, 2024.
In any case, Alan Hollinghurst continues to demonstrate that he is a writer of great skill and beauty. Whatever my own quibbles with the narrative, Our Evenings is not to be missed.
4.5/5
ARC for review. To be published October 8, 2024.
August 5, 2024
This was a truly gorgeous, poignant book which I will be thinking about for a long time to come. It’s literary fiction, a fictional biography of queer, mixed race actor and writer, Dave Win, which details his life from his schoolboy days through to his elderly years.
I was just so absorbed in this story; Dave is such a realistic, flawed and relatable character. He is of mixed English and Burmese heritage; brought up in Wiltshire by his white mother and her lover and business partner, Esme. He faces a lot of racism due to his heritage throughout his life; often small innocuous things that add up to cause upset, such as people asking where he is from and how long he has been in England. He also has setbacks in his acting life due to often being racially cast, although does successfully find his niche as he ages.
His queerness is portrayed as something almost background in his life - being raised by a sapphic partnership, then later being ensconced in the naturally queer world of the theatre, he doesn’t feel any anxiety around his sexuality, and as he poignantly says in the book, his sexuality was almost hidden behind his being different in a more obvious way (his race).
This book picks up on specific points in his life and gives us an overview on points that were significant to Dave. I loved seeing the various points where he falls hopelessly in love; an unrequited pining for a teacher at school, a crush on a roommate at university, an obsession with a fellow actor and of course his twilight-years relationship with his husband, Richard. These different liaisons and romantic relationships shape Dave and are offset with other relationships in his life - his patronage by Mark Hudson, a philanthropist who funds his scholarship, his turbulent friendship with Mark’s son Giles and his gradually building closeness with his mother’s lover, Esme.
This book is beautifully written and if you are looking for something which will delve deep into your brain and refuse to let go, this is the one for you!
Read Our Evenings for:
✨ Literary fiction; fictional biography
✨ Historical fiction, 1940’s - 2020
✨ Gay, biracial Burmese-English MC
✨ Lesbian & Bi key side characters
✨ Spans from schoolboy to pensioner
✨ An actor and a writer
✨ Beautiful, poignant writing
Thank you to Pride Book Tours and Picador Books for the ARC of this book. It is available 3rd October 2024 💕
I was just so absorbed in this story; Dave is such a realistic, flawed and relatable character. He is of mixed English and Burmese heritage; brought up in Wiltshire by his white mother and her lover and business partner, Esme. He faces a lot of racism due to his heritage throughout his life; often small innocuous things that add up to cause upset, such as people asking where he is from and how long he has been in England. He also has setbacks in his acting life due to often being racially cast, although does successfully find his niche as he ages.
His queerness is portrayed as something almost background in his life - being raised by a sapphic partnership, then later being ensconced in the naturally queer world of the theatre, he doesn’t feel any anxiety around his sexuality, and as he poignantly says in the book, his sexuality was almost hidden behind his being different in a more obvious way (his race).
This book picks up on specific points in his life and gives us an overview on points that were significant to Dave. I loved seeing the various points where he falls hopelessly in love; an unrequited pining for a teacher at school, a crush on a roommate at university, an obsession with a fellow actor and of course his twilight-years relationship with his husband, Richard. These different liaisons and romantic relationships shape Dave and are offset with other relationships in his life - his patronage by Mark Hudson, a philanthropist who funds his scholarship, his turbulent friendship with Mark’s son Giles and his gradually building closeness with his mother’s lover, Esme.
This book is beautifully written and if you are looking for something which will delve deep into your brain and refuse to let go, this is the one for you!
Read Our Evenings for:
✨ Literary fiction; fictional biography
✨ Historical fiction, 1940’s - 2020
✨ Gay, biracial Burmese-English MC
✨ Lesbian & Bi key side characters
✨ Spans from schoolboy to pensioner
✨ An actor and a writer
✨ Beautiful, poignant writing
Thank you to Pride Book Tours and Picador Books for the ARC of this book. It is available 3rd October 2024 💕
September 18, 2024
This book felt like nostalgia. Hollinghurst is a master of atmosphere and reading this felt like flicking through a photo album or asking your grandparents about their life, so steeped in memory, longing and romance.
The first chapter and initial framing confused me at first (this book is not about Giles), I was expecting A Line of Beauty-esque immersion in the family, but it was much subtler than that and I thought the threads were beautifully woven together.
The first chapter and initial framing confused me at first (this book is not about Giles), I was expecting A Line of Beauty-esque immersion in the family, but it was much subtler than that and I thought the threads were beautifully woven together.
September 4, 2024
Sensim Sine Sensu
Oh, well it’s Cicero, isn’t it…De Senectute. I suppose, sort of… “slowly, without sensing it, we grow old.” from Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst
Our Evenings was a lovely read that reminded me of Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh with its bittersweet nostalgia of remembering one’s youth and those one loved, and the importance of place in one’s emotional life.
The novel begins with the death of the man who changed David Win’s life. Mark Hadlow had inherited wealth and set up a scholarship to a private school which was awarded to David, a biracial son to unmarried mother who ran a dressmaking business. David never knew much about his Burmese father.
Fourteen-year-old David vacationed with the Hadlow’s at their country house. Giles Hadlow, the son, was a bully. An aunt was an actress and noted David’s nascent acting talent.
A great deal of the novel follows David’s time at school, then moves on to his career and the men he fell in love with. His race and color limits the roles he can play, although he is described as a beautiful man. All through his life, people ask him ‘where are you from’ and are perplexed when with David’s answer, an undercurrent of racism ever present.
He used to call me a brown faced bastard…Which I am, strictly speaking. from Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst
David suffered Giles’ mistreatment at school and while he spent summers with the Hadlows. Giles’ political career brings prominence as an anti-immigrant leader. “He was an absolute shit,” David says years later, “He was a cheat and a bully, and very good at being both.” Giles becomes Minister for the Arts solely based on his family’s support of the arts, so he is ironically present when, late in life, David was Speaker in Vaughan Williams’ “An Oxford Elegy”.
Society’s attitude toward homosexuality is also ever present. When a schoolboy, David reads a poll stating that 93% thought that homosexuality required medical or psychiatric treatment. Past middle age, he found a life partner and they married. David’s mother became involved with a divorcee’ as a business and life partner.
The book’s title came from a piece of music David’s teacher at school had played for him, Janacek’s “Our Evenings”. “Our evenings are rarely our own,” David says, referring to the life of an actor.
After his mother’s death, and then Mark Hadlow’s passing, David realizes the brevity of days ahead of him. He writes his memoir of his life, which is this novel.
The lyricism and emotional attachment to David enchanted me as I read the novel. And at the end, I felt profound loss. Loss of this character, but also from the awareness of the limited evenings personally left to me, how quickly life passes by, how the world alters around us, for the better and the worse. The sundial at the Hadlow’s summer house warned David when he was fourteen, but he did not understand the message until late in life.
Dear reader, perhaps this story can be a warning to us.
Thanks to the publisher for a free book.
Oh, well it’s Cicero, isn’t it…De Senectute. I suppose, sort of… “slowly, without sensing it, we grow old.” from Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst
Our Evenings was a lovely read that reminded me of Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh with its bittersweet nostalgia of remembering one’s youth and those one loved, and the importance of place in one’s emotional life.
The novel begins with the death of the man who changed David Win’s life. Mark Hadlow had inherited wealth and set up a scholarship to a private school which was awarded to David, a biracial son to unmarried mother who ran a dressmaking business. David never knew much about his Burmese father.
Fourteen-year-old David vacationed with the Hadlow’s at their country house. Giles Hadlow, the son, was a bully. An aunt was an actress and noted David’s nascent acting talent.
A great deal of the novel follows David’s time at school, then moves on to his career and the men he fell in love with. His race and color limits the roles he can play, although he is described as a beautiful man. All through his life, people ask him ‘where are you from’ and are perplexed when with David’s answer, an undercurrent of racism ever present.
He used to call me a brown faced bastard…Which I am, strictly speaking. from Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst
David suffered Giles’ mistreatment at school and while he spent summers with the Hadlows. Giles’ political career brings prominence as an anti-immigrant leader. “He was an absolute shit,” David says years later, “He was a cheat and a bully, and very good at being both.” Giles becomes Minister for the Arts solely based on his family’s support of the arts, so he is ironically present when, late in life, David was Speaker in Vaughan Williams’ “An Oxford Elegy”.
Society’s attitude toward homosexuality is also ever present. When a schoolboy, David reads a poll stating that 93% thought that homosexuality required medical or psychiatric treatment. Past middle age, he found a life partner and they married. David’s mother became involved with a divorcee’ as a business and life partner.
The book’s title came from a piece of music David’s teacher at school had played for him, Janacek’s “Our Evenings”. “Our evenings are rarely our own,” David says, referring to the life of an actor.
After his mother’s death, and then Mark Hadlow’s passing, David realizes the brevity of days ahead of him. He writes his memoir of his life, which is this novel.
The lyricism and emotional attachment to David enchanted me as I read the novel. And at the end, I felt profound loss. Loss of this character, but also from the awareness of the limited evenings personally left to me, how quickly life passes by, how the world alters around us, for the better and the worse. The sundial at the Hadlow’s summer house warned David when he was fourteen, but he did not understand the message until late in life.
Dear reader, perhaps this story can be a warning to us.
Thanks to the publisher for a free book.
July 15, 2024
Our Evenings is Alan Hollinghurst's new novel, following the life of a gay, biracial actor as the twentieth century becomes the twenty first. Dave Win has an English mother and a Burmese father he doesn't know, and his scholarship to a minor public school means he is drawn into the world of the family who endow that scholarship, including Giles, the son who is at the same school as him. The novel follows his life as he grows up, becoming an actor, having love affairs, and watching Giles' ascent into politics, all whilst dealing with being treated as other by people he meets.
Having read most of Hollinghurst's novels, I wanted to read this one and see how his work might meet the present day. As Our Evenings spans over fifty years, it isn't just about the modern moment, but it does have some quite recent elements by the end that can seem a bit of a surprise when the rest of the book feels so similar to his other books like The Line of Beauty. I wasn't sure about the inclusion of a character who is built up to eventually be a Brexit minister, and Giles never really feels like a real character, but I can see why the progression of the rich counterpart to the protagonist would be to have him end up an MP who is pro-Brexit. Other characters are more engaging, particularly Dave's mother who finds love when Dave is in his teens and then you get to see snippets of her life through Dave's eyes.
As the book is positioned as a memoir written by Dave, it's all about his framing and what he sees, but with jumps in time that stop it being too slow, always moving forward to the next thing. The ending is more of a shock, coming up to nearly the present day and with a twist that I wasn't expecting, and it moves the novel away from the predictable unfolding of Dave's sometimes disappointing, sometimes tender life into something that acknowledges the discrimination lurking under many events in Dave's life.
Our Evenings is a time-spanning novel that works as a character study, similar in vein to other of Hollinghurst's novels, but with a different edge that focuses on otherness and its impacts—positive and negative—on people's lives. Fans of his other novels will probably also like this one, though it feels almost shocking that his characters could reach the 2020s and deal with that world.
Having read most of Hollinghurst's novels, I wanted to read this one and see how his work might meet the present day. As Our Evenings spans over fifty years, it isn't just about the modern moment, but it does have some quite recent elements by the end that can seem a bit of a surprise when the rest of the book feels so similar to his other books like The Line of Beauty. I wasn't sure about the inclusion of a character who is built up to eventually be a Brexit minister, and Giles never really feels like a real character, but I can see why the progression of the rich counterpart to the protagonist would be to have him end up an MP who is pro-Brexit. Other characters are more engaging, particularly Dave's mother who finds love when Dave is in his teens and then you get to see snippets of her life through Dave's eyes.
As the book is positioned as a memoir written by Dave, it's all about his framing and what he sees, but with jumps in time that stop it being too slow, always moving forward to the next thing. The ending is more of a shock, coming up to nearly the present day and with a twist that I wasn't expecting, and it moves the novel away from the predictable unfolding of Dave's sometimes disappointing, sometimes tender life into something that acknowledges the discrimination lurking under many events in Dave's life.
Our Evenings is a time-spanning novel that works as a character study, similar in vein to other of Hollinghurst's novels, but with a different edge that focuses on otherness and its impacts—positive and negative—on people's lives. Fans of his other novels will probably also like this one, though it feels almost shocking that his characters could reach the 2020s and deal with that world.
July 21, 2024
Alan Hollinghurst is the consummate storyteller; for over a quarter of a century he has written some of the most beautifully powerful and moving novels- Our Evenings is another classic.
Our Evenings- those special times at the end of a day when we spend times with those we love
This is the story of Dave Win- his life, his loves, his successes and challenges- covering the period from his teens up until his seventies. The story takes us through key moments in his life and his encounters with key individuals who figured briefly in his world or over many years.
From life in public school through a scholarship, his formative years at Oxford and through his career on stage and screen, Dave Win bares his soul and observations about society - subtly referencing the racism across 'class divides' and the English landscape over the decades, connecting us intimately with his mother and her partner ( the unspoken relationship of two women in a small community) and the ever present bond with Mark and Cara , the wealthy couple, who supported his steps into education and remained friends through his career.
Alan Hollinghurst has created a very poignant and at times heart-rending tale of survival in a world where Dave Win never fully is accepted or fits in. With a nod to right wing politics and the pretension of a wealthy elite, he cuts certain characters down to size especially the odious Giles( son of Mark and Cara) who is an ever present figure through his rise in national politics.
The first chapter or so felt as though this was to be novel about the rivalry between the class divide and the violence and abuse of life in a public school but the story panned more widely and broadened into a truly exquisite read about the wider obstacles and triumphs encountered by Dave Win. The chapters exploring the love between Dave and his mother, Avril, are charmingly tender; the recollections of life in the theatre and daily life are wonderful.
This is a brilliant novel -the creation of Dave Win is a literary gem- a story that will be savoured for a long time.
Thank you to Pan Macmillan for the ARC
Our Evenings- those special times at the end of a day when we spend times with those we love
This is the story of Dave Win- his life, his loves, his successes and challenges- covering the period from his teens up until his seventies. The story takes us through key moments in his life and his encounters with key individuals who figured briefly in his world or over many years.
From life in public school through a scholarship, his formative years at Oxford and through his career on stage and screen, Dave Win bares his soul and observations about society - subtly referencing the racism across 'class divides' and the English landscape over the decades, connecting us intimately with his mother and her partner ( the unspoken relationship of two women in a small community) and the ever present bond with Mark and Cara , the wealthy couple, who supported his steps into education and remained friends through his career.
Alan Hollinghurst has created a very poignant and at times heart-rending tale of survival in a world where Dave Win never fully is accepted or fits in. With a nod to right wing politics and the pretension of a wealthy elite, he cuts certain characters down to size especially the odious Giles( son of Mark and Cara) who is an ever present figure through his rise in national politics.
The first chapter or so felt as though this was to be novel about the rivalry between the class divide and the violence and abuse of life in a public school but the story panned more widely and broadened into a truly exquisite read about the wider obstacles and triumphs encountered by Dave Win. The chapters exploring the love between Dave and his mother, Avril, are charmingly tender; the recollections of life in the theatre and daily life are wonderful.
This is a brilliant novel -the creation of Dave Win is a literary gem- a story that will be savoured for a long time.
Thank you to Pan Macmillan for the ARC
June 27, 2024
This is my second book of Alan Hollinghurst followed by the Booker prize winning The Line of Beauty where he explored politics and sexuality in the eyes of middle class gay Nick Guest who is living as a guest for a rich family.
Our Evenings starts with the almost identical setting though our narrator and protagonist David Win, who is only a young teenager whose scholarship is paid by the rich art loving Hadlow family, stays with them. The Hadlow family has a similarity to the Fadden family in The Line of Beauty but the Our Evenings, keeping the rich family saga at the backdrop, details of the life of David, a Burmese English actor who was raised by a single mother.
Our Evenings is mostly comprised of social gatherings where strangers and familiar faces mingle, which is a perfect setting as David, a gay ethnic person, could be easily singled out. David narrates his life in a form of memoir. David's life can be divided into the Brampton days as a teenager with his single mother, the Oxford days when he is feeling pressure to excel, the experimental theatre days and the later days as a seasoned actor and writer, continuously living through prejudice and privilege of the white English society. In and out are the stories of the Hadlow, David's mother and his lovers. At the backdrop, the son of the Hadlow, Giles, who kissed David when they were kids, slowly becomes a strong political figure and eventually becomes a Brexit Minister.
This book is funny and poignant. Hollinghurst's writing is masterful. I find that the structure is quite playful including the twist at the end. It was really an enjoyable read.
Thank you for NetGalley for the advance copy of the book!!
Our Evenings starts with the almost identical setting though our narrator and protagonist David Win, who is only a young teenager whose scholarship is paid by the rich art loving Hadlow family, stays with them. The Hadlow family has a similarity to the Fadden family in The Line of Beauty but the Our Evenings, keeping the rich family saga at the backdrop, details of the life of David, a Burmese English actor who was raised by a single mother.
Our Evenings is mostly comprised of social gatherings where strangers and familiar faces mingle, which is a perfect setting as David, a gay ethnic person, could be easily singled out. David narrates his life in a form of memoir. David's life can be divided into the Brampton days as a teenager with his single mother, the Oxford days when he is feeling pressure to excel, the experimental theatre days and the later days as a seasoned actor and writer, continuously living through prejudice and privilege of the white English society. In and out are the stories of the Hadlow, David's mother and his lovers. At the backdrop, the son of the Hadlow, Giles, who kissed David when they were kids, slowly becomes a strong political figure and eventually becomes a Brexit Minister.
This book is funny and poignant. Hollinghurst's writing is masterful. I find that the structure is quite playful including the twist at the end. It was really an enjoyable read.
Thank you for NetGalley for the advance copy of the book!!
August 27, 2024
To wallow in a novel by Hollinghurst is never a comfortable read and there lies much of the joy. He picks characters who could drip cliche and builds them into relatable people as he sets them in their own context, current and past.
This is a look back at a life of academic brilliance enhanced by a scholarship to a private school. His benefactors suppport him throughout his life both with their munificence and their ability to listen and understand. Our protaganist, David Win is illegitimate, half Burmese and inevitably the but of teasing and power plays. His single white mother runs her own business and is pushed to the edge of society in different ways from her son.
It echoes McEwan's "Lessons" and Boyd's "Any Human Heart" in the breadth of life, the episodic narration which skips great chunks. By lacing together formative experiences into the stuff of everyday life none of the players in the story are sketchy. This is counter-culture and eccentricity writ large.
Whilst I loved reading this book and found it propulsive, my overwhelming feelings were that it was too long and lost some of the mystique with extensive descriptive scenes. That said, I found myself fully immersed in both David and the state of the nation as it moved from the 1960s to present day.
With thanks to #NetGalley and #PanMacmillan for allowing me to read and review.
This is a look back at a life of academic brilliance enhanced by a scholarship to a private school. His benefactors suppport him throughout his life both with their munificence and their ability to listen and understand. Our protaganist, David Win is illegitimate, half Burmese and inevitably the but of teasing and power plays. His single white mother runs her own business and is pushed to the edge of society in different ways from her son.
It echoes McEwan's "Lessons" and Boyd's "Any Human Heart" in the breadth of life, the episodic narration which skips great chunks. By lacing together formative experiences into the stuff of everyday life none of the players in the story are sketchy. This is counter-culture and eccentricity writ large.
Whilst I loved reading this book and found it propulsive, my overwhelming feelings were that it was too long and lost some of the mystique with extensive descriptive scenes. That said, I found myself fully immersed in both David and the state of the nation as it moved from the 1960s to present day.
With thanks to #NetGalley and #PanMacmillan for allowing me to read and review.
September 22, 2024
This book is a beautiful story of a coming of age book but so much more. A life lived. David Win and his life is a fascinating and beautifully told and at time hear wrenching and awe inspiring. I loved it. I must say that the beginning of part two got a bit wordy and lost its rhythm for a little bit but it picked back up. Love this book and will recommend it. I read this as a NetGalley copy.
July 21, 2024
Alan Hollinghurst's latest novel, Our Evenings, often put me in mind of his 2004 Booker Prize winner, The Line of Beauty. That novel, one of my favourites of the 21st Century so far, is a hard novel to be compared to, even for its author. And I have to say that I found Our Evenings held its own. I found the life story of David Win very engaging... the structure of the novel is very simple chronology of a life, but with a writer of Hollinghurst's skill at the helm it never once dragged. A very fine novel indeed.
August 24, 2024
This is a beautiful,story of love in all its iterations, from youth to the
sunset of life, following generation of life. It is heartwarming and
heartbreaking, with such beautiful prose. It seemed like a slow starting
book, but I appreciated all of the character development and background
as the characters blossomed. This is not a book I would select on my own,
but I enjoyed the entirety of the beautiful relationships and the expert way
the Author told the story.
My thanks to Random House and Net Galley for the download copy of this
book for review,purposes.
sunset of life, following generation of life. It is heartwarming and
heartbreaking, with such beautiful prose. It seemed like a slow starting
book, but I appreciated all of the character development and background
as the characters blossomed. This is not a book I would select on my own,
but I enjoyed the entirety of the beautiful relationships and the expert way
the Author told the story.
My thanks to Random House and Net Galley for the download copy of this
book for review,purposes.
August 30, 2024
Oh my goodness, what a stunning book this is. I was totally engaged with the characters, especially Dave, Avril and Esme. This story spans a man's life, from school through to old age. He is half Burmese, illegitimate and gay so suffers bullying and prejudice his whole life. I was really sad to finish this and in fact feel it could almost have been extended to more than one book - I wanted to read more about Dave's youth and also more about his later, happier life with Richard. Outstanding writing from this brilliant author.
Thank you #Netgalley for this ARC
Thank you #Netgalley for this ARC
September 2, 2024
Our Evenings ought to win the Booker. This is an epic novel following a man through decades of his life - growing up queer and biracial, through schooling and his career as a stage actor, through loves and losses. The ending is perfect and left me in tears, loving yet another fictional queer man, grieving the end of this book and his story.
August 29, 2024
phenomenal omfg
September 16, 2024
Where are my sex scenes??
September 28, 2024
‘So what are you writing about, love, in your book?’ Edie said. ‘I’m writing about my early life mainly–teens and twenties. That and my mother, you know. It’s really since she died,’ I said, ‘and going through all her stuff . . .’ ‘Oh, that’s so touching,’ she said, ‘it must bring memories flooding back.’ ‘Yes and no,’ I said, not ready to go into it. ‘She sounds such a remarkable person.’ ‘She really was,’ I said. ‘I wonder how much you actually remember, from so long ago,’ Edie said. ‘David’s got an amazing memory,’ said Richard, ‘as you know.’ ‘Well,’ I said, ‘I’ve been thinking about all this. The teenage stuff is more like writing a novel. I remember places, and experiences, very clearly, but they’re stills, you know, rather than clips. Or GIFs perhaps, sometimes–a head turns, a hand comes down, but you never see what comes next, it just does it again. Besides that, of course, there’s anecdotes, things I’ve been told, that I know I did, even if I can’t really remember them. And no one recalls more than a few words anyone actually said fifty years ago. You just have to make that up.’ ‘A bit of improv,’ said Ken. ‘Because you did write about your acting career, didn’t you, in your first book?’ Edie said, holding my eye to conceal her uncertainty. ‘Well, that was a more general book, about experimental theatre in the Seventies and Eighties–I don’t want to go there ever again. What I’m writing now is more about my personal life–things I really didn’t want to talk about before. I want to write about falling in love.’ ‘Oh, yes?’ said Ken, and Richard gave us an interesting smile as he absorbed the idea. ‘And I want to write about being like I am, but never knowing much about where I came from.’
Alan Hollinghurst won the Booker Prize in 2004 with his fourth novel “The Line of Beauty”, narrowly beating David Mitchell’s “Cloud Atlas”.
This is his only his seventh novel and the first I have read although I am aware of his reputation – for novels which explore British gay history (including changing societal attitudes) via mainly male characters who are either directly privileged (or often who come into the circle of the privileged) written in a crystalline prose.
And this novel – potentially his last – fits very much into that tradition, although with one main exception – his main protagonist David Win who tells the story in first person recollection, is of mixed English Burmese descent. This choice and the use of his narrator to explore race is something of a departure from an author who has previously I think been known for writing about a milieu and societal position with which he is familiar, but now chooses to add a first party exploration of racial discrimination.
Hollinghurst himself said in a Bookseller interview that “while it seemed to me very fascinating and urgent to imagine life from the viewpoint of someone moving through the world I’ve moved in, but set apart by their race, I saw that the last thing everybody wanted was some elderly white bloke telling people of colour what they think” and that he saw a biracial narrator and the choice of a Burmese heritage to add a colonial aspect to the novel as a solution …. I think it is not one that everyone will agree with
The book opens with a framing chapter – when David, now an elderly but famous actor learns of the death of Mark Hadlow “ethical businessman, a major philanthropist”, father of Giles the notorious minister for Brexit, but also as David’s husband Richard points out “the father you never had”, but other than that is told in a series of what are in effect some thirty-something vignettes from David’s life, beginning from when he is thirteen, a Hadlow scholar at a boarding school, travelling to meet his benefactors at a family farm, together with the bullying Giles (a contemporary at school) and continuing past David’s death to the death of David’s own mother (his father always something of a mystery to him – David seemingly the product of an affair when his mother was working in Burma pre independence).
Key episodes include: a Devon holiday which David spends with his dressmaker mother and her separated and relatively well-off friend Mrs Croft – the reader already expecting she is her mother’s lesbian lover while David is too distracted by the male flesh on show at the beach and by an Italian waiter at the rather down at heel hotel; school year interactions including with Giles; his time at (inevitably) Oxford – which ends in rather abrupt failure in his finals; his time in an experimental radical left-wing touring theatre troupe (part funded via his efforts by the Hadlow’s); his first serious relationship – with Chris a Council Officer; a meeting with an elderly actor which leads to a rather unexpected sexual act; an affair with another actor Hector – a black man who makes David see that the racial prejudice and microaggressions he faces rather pale compared to Hector’s live experience; a school reunion; the death of his mother’s now long acknowledged lover (a relationship that cut her off from the rest of her family); a book festival where his interlocutor is Richard (who then becomes his lover) …….. and all of this against the backdrop of his enduring relationship with Mark Hadlow (and his wife Cara) and his more sporadic and troubled one with Giles.
There was much I liked about the book.
One can see why the author spends years writing his books – as there is a precision to the prose and a weighting to the writing which I would call old fashioned – but only in the sense that it is rare to see it in contemporary literary fiction.
The way in which the novel moves from what starts as a rather cliched boarding school novel and then an equally cliched coming-of-age account, to its real strength – an examination of ageing. A key theme to the novel is a Latin legend on a sundial SENSIM SINE SENSU which Richard translates from Cicero as “slowly, without sensing it, we grow old”.’
I was less keen on some other aspects:
For an author that I thought by reputation was good at indirectly exploring politics – his Booker winning book partially an account of the Thatcher years, Giles rarely rises above Conservative caricature – for example at one stage he is portrayed as a tone-deaf and hopelessly disinterested Arts Minister and a scene where he attends an event where David reads alongside an orchestral accompaniment only to leave early and drown out the performance with the sound of his helicopter taking off for Brussels seems drawn from crude satirical TV.
I would also say that the world of Boarding schools, Oxford and theatre (moving over time from eager left wingers to establishment luvvies) are not ones I really enjoy reading about.
And the framing device which both ends and encompasses the novel (and which I have seen elsewhere described as a “twist”) seemed rather obvious and not really necessary to me.
But overall I can understand the regard in which the novel is held – and would not be surprised or disappointed to see this – possibly his valedictory novel – gain some prize recognition including a third Booker longlisting, albeit its old fashioned nature and the issue of its protagonist would make me surprised to see it go further.
My thanks to Picador, Pam Macmillan for an ARC via NetGalley
Richard knows of course that I’ve been writing another book – though not exactly what it is. I seem to need some secrecy, even from him; and no doubt I’m wary of his editorial eye. If I’m home in the day I climb up here under the Velux and close the door, but I’m aware on and off, when he crosses the room or takes a call from one of his authors, of Richard at work in the room below. He’s just started editing a book on the Burmese junta–a curious choice, it seems to me, and clearly very slow work for him. He has tried to involve me by asking if I’ll check the proper names, but I feel the author, who has actually spent twelve years in the country, is much more likely than me to know the right forms.
September 12, 2024
I really, really liked this book. Prior to reading it, I’ll admit I hadn’t heard of Alan Hollinghurst—but after finishing I feel as though I’ve missed out starting so late. His style is very endearing and I could definitely feel echoes of Forster and the other great gay British writers.
The star of this novel is, literally and figuratively, David, and he is such a great character. He feels so authentic and real—a bit awkward, passionate but not pompous, and seeing both the best and the worst of the people around him, at times both simultaneously. His relationships feel crushingly genuine in the sense that we can feel him on the cusp of truly letting someone in, or feel someone else about to let him in, but it’s very rare for him to actually bridge that gap. He is an actor professionally, but also an actor personally, and a big thematic takeaway for me was the constant characters he is putting on in even his most intimate relationships, and his struggle to excavate his most real sense of self. Although Hollinghurst is white, I found his depiction of David’s biracial identity—and, particularly, David’s depiction of David’s biracial identity—to be quite refreshing. The racism that David experiences comes in many different forms, from strangers on the street to his white mother, and his feelings about it are complicated and only his own. He struggles to relate to his white family, friends, and colleagues due to his otherness, but also struggles in different ways to relate to his fully brown, black, or immigrant friends and colleagues. The book, however, does not take itself too seriously as a book about race—it’s never pedantic, and often quite lighthearted. The role that race plays is one of many gulfs that David must cross when trying to build intimacy and understanding with others. I am eager to see what writers and readers of color have to say about Hollinghurst’s work in this area.
My main issue with the book is in the other characters outside of David—I feel we do not get to really know them, or even understand how David sees them. I was hoping for more from Giles in particular, as he is such an interesting foil to David and it was a little disappointing to see him just disappear for long stretches of the book, only for him to suddenly reappear as a major character in the later third. And what of his early sexual experiences with David? I felt that was never really built on. Same with the teacher at Bampton he was close with as a kid. Many friends, colleagues, schoolmates, etc of David seemed to get lost in the wide span of time, which I suppose is realistic, but felt a little unfinished or dissatisfying.
My other concern is the gloss over that the AIDS crisis seemed to get in the book. I understand that not every gay novel set in the 80s is an AIDS novel, but it felt a little odd to just nearly miss it entirely while COVID gets its own moment in the spotlight. As an actor in London, and a gay actor in the alternative theatre scene, David’s social and professional circles would have been decimated by the disease. I’m less familiar with the history in the UK than I am the US, but I was half hoping for a TV appearance from Giles a la Reagan just to reestablish him as some sort of villain or foil. The erasure of this part of history, compared with the realism of Brexit and COVID, just felt a little disjointed to me.
Overall, I really did enjoy this book. It’s certainly a niche on its own, but a reflective and warm novel about aging and identity.
The star of this novel is, literally and figuratively, David, and he is such a great character. He feels so authentic and real—a bit awkward, passionate but not pompous, and seeing both the best and the worst of the people around him, at times both simultaneously. His relationships feel crushingly genuine in the sense that we can feel him on the cusp of truly letting someone in, or feel someone else about to let him in, but it’s very rare for him to actually bridge that gap. He is an actor professionally, but also an actor personally, and a big thematic takeaway for me was the constant characters he is putting on in even his most intimate relationships, and his struggle to excavate his most real sense of self. Although Hollinghurst is white, I found his depiction of David’s biracial identity—and, particularly, David’s depiction of David’s biracial identity—to be quite refreshing. The racism that David experiences comes in many different forms, from strangers on the street to his white mother, and his feelings about it are complicated and only his own. He struggles to relate to his white family, friends, and colleagues due to his otherness, but also struggles in different ways to relate to his fully brown, black, or immigrant friends and colleagues. The book, however, does not take itself too seriously as a book about race—it’s never pedantic, and often quite lighthearted. The role that race plays is one of many gulfs that David must cross when trying to build intimacy and understanding with others. I am eager to see what writers and readers of color have to say about Hollinghurst’s work in this area.
My main issue with the book is in the other characters outside of David—I feel we do not get to really know them, or even understand how David sees them. I was hoping for more from Giles in particular, as he is such an interesting foil to David and it was a little disappointing to see him just disappear for long stretches of the book, only for him to suddenly reappear as a major character in the later third. And what of his early sexual experiences with David? I felt that was never really built on. Same with the teacher at Bampton he was close with as a kid. Many friends, colleagues, schoolmates, etc of David seemed to get lost in the wide span of time, which I suppose is realistic, but felt a little unfinished or dissatisfying.
My other concern is the gloss over that the AIDS crisis seemed to get in the book. I understand that not every gay novel set in the 80s is an AIDS novel, but it felt a little odd to just nearly miss it entirely while COVID gets its own moment in the spotlight. As an actor in London, and a gay actor in the alternative theatre scene, David’s social and professional circles would have been decimated by the disease. I’m less familiar with the history in the UK than I am the US, but I was half hoping for a TV appearance from Giles a la Reagan just to reestablish him as some sort of villain or foil. The erasure of this part of history, compared with the realism of Brexit and COVID, just felt a little disjointed to me.
Overall, I really did enjoy this book. It’s certainly a niche on its own, but a reflective and warm novel about aging and identity.
September 18, 2024
Alan Hollinghurst paints a stunning picture of Britain through time since the 1960s to the present, a queer history, focusing on class, culture, power, and race as he immerses us in the captivating life of the teenage David Win, a half Burmese brown boy, who wins the Hadlow Scholarship, a mixed blessing, as he is thrust in the challenging environment of a boarding public school. As a boy he had always stood out at home in Foxleigh, with his single white mother, a talented dressmaker. A fascinating woman, she informs a little of Burma and his father, although she waits until he is older before she moves in with her wealthy lover, the memorable Esme Croft, at Crackenthorpe Lodge. We look back through the years with the older Win with his husband, Richard Roughsedge
Win is a clever boy, with aspirations of becoming an actor, finding the adolescent sponsor's son, Giles, a sadistic savage bully, so aware of his own power, who, sinisterly, turns up through time at some of Dave's most intimate moments in life. Giles becomes the unsuitable Tory Arts Minister and leading Brexiteer, a less than wanted right wing figure that his liberal parents despair of, later asking Win if they have raised a monster. Win manages to win some of the boys over with his capacity for mimicry, and on holiday with his sponsors, meets the grandmother, actress Elise Pleynet. It is his mother who keeps his certificates, including those from Bampton, the Blanchard Prize for Verse Translation, and the Chancellor's Essay Prize. We are given glimpses into Win's life at Oxford, the Boar's Hill House, Nick, the bleak isolation of touring experimental works, with the sense of adventure, and energetic focus on work, but a lifestyle that does not lend itself to stable relationships.
There are the poignant 'our evenings' which Win shares with a variety of people, that include Mr Hudson, Chris, Hector and others, although Win's knowledge of Burma remains limited, Richard knows far more. The excruciating racism is inescapable as are the limitations in acting opportunities available to non white actors like Win, and Hector had to leave the country to find success. This looks back on a intriguingly changing Britain, the queer lives, the ups and downs, the love, misery, losses, the work, the changing norms and expectations, writing a book on the experimental theatre in the 70s and 80s, and the shock of the referendum result. Getting older means much inevitably does get forgotten and harder for Win to recall with great accuracy.
This is a sublime and gripping read, not a book to miss, and I can see it being hugely successful on publication. Highly recommended. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.
Win is a clever boy, with aspirations of becoming an actor, finding the adolescent sponsor's son, Giles, a sadistic savage bully, so aware of his own power, who, sinisterly, turns up through time at some of Dave's most intimate moments in life. Giles becomes the unsuitable Tory Arts Minister and leading Brexiteer, a less than wanted right wing figure that his liberal parents despair of, later asking Win if they have raised a monster. Win manages to win some of the boys over with his capacity for mimicry, and on holiday with his sponsors, meets the grandmother, actress Elise Pleynet. It is his mother who keeps his certificates, including those from Bampton, the Blanchard Prize for Verse Translation, and the Chancellor's Essay Prize. We are given glimpses into Win's life at Oxford, the Boar's Hill House, Nick, the bleak isolation of touring experimental works, with the sense of adventure, and energetic focus on work, but a lifestyle that does not lend itself to stable relationships.
There are the poignant 'our evenings' which Win shares with a variety of people, that include Mr Hudson, Chris, Hector and others, although Win's knowledge of Burma remains limited, Richard knows far more. The excruciating racism is inescapable as are the limitations in acting opportunities available to non white actors like Win, and Hector had to leave the country to find success. This looks back on a intriguingly changing Britain, the queer lives, the ups and downs, the love, misery, losses, the work, the changing norms and expectations, writing a book on the experimental theatre in the 70s and 80s, and the shock of the referendum result. Getting older means much inevitably does get forgotten and harder for Win to recall with great accuracy.
This is a sublime and gripping read, not a book to miss, and I can see it being hugely successful on publication. Highly recommended. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.
August 2, 2024
I requested and received an eARC of Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst via NetGalley. I’ve always enjoyed Hollinghurst’s work, The Line of Beauty particularly, so when I saw this title I jumped on the opportunity and was so pleased when my request was granted. His latest novel follows the life of protagonist Dave Win over the course of half a century. The novel opens with Dave musing over the political trajectory of former schoolboy chum, Giles Hadlow, a favorite of the conservatives. The narrative then recedes in time and we meet Dave at thirteen as he visits the Hadlows, who sponsor his scholarship at a local boarding school. It is here that he is exposed not only to Giles’ vile behavior, but also the power of acting. The story follows Dave’s growth into maturity, his acting career, the friends and loves who have impacted his life, and his experiences as a gay, biracial man.
What an absolutely wonderful read and insightful character study. Hollinghurst does an admirable job capturing the feeling of what it means to be “other” and to constantly have one’s identity questioned and distrusted in subtle, yet very effective moments. There is a section where Dave experiences the pangs of first love and I was moved by the wonderful mixture of insecurity and certainty he expresses. It felt so real and so familiar. Another element of the novel that was so very touching for me was the relationship between Dave and his mother. Hollinghust captures the love between these characters, the painful moments of adolescent parental embarrassment, and that very specific recognition of our parent’s humanity that we all stumble upon at some point as growing adults.
This book sparked a range of emotions for me. I smiled for Dave, I cried for him. I was so completely drawn into his world, thanks to Hollinghurst’s incredible ability to capture a scene. The prose dissects art, politics, and love in a very clear, assured way that feels masterful. The author is able to craft characters with such perception, cutting down characters like Giles to size, while making others (such as Esme) all the more endearing. This book was quite moving and an immense pleasure to read. It reminded me of Hollingurst’s earlier work, The Line of Beauty, with hints of Anthony Powell’s A Dance to the Music of Time. Our Evenings was one of the most memorable reads I’ve enjoyed this year and I’m confident the protagonist will occupy a corner of my mind for some time to come.
What an absolutely wonderful read and insightful character study. Hollinghurst does an admirable job capturing the feeling of what it means to be “other” and to constantly have one’s identity questioned and distrusted in subtle, yet very effective moments. There is a section where Dave experiences the pangs of first love and I was moved by the wonderful mixture of insecurity and certainty he expresses. It felt so real and so familiar. Another element of the novel that was so very touching for me was the relationship between Dave and his mother. Hollinghust captures the love between these characters, the painful moments of adolescent parental embarrassment, and that very specific recognition of our parent’s humanity that we all stumble upon at some point as growing adults.
This book sparked a range of emotions for me. I smiled for Dave, I cried for him. I was so completely drawn into his world, thanks to Hollinghurst’s incredible ability to capture a scene. The prose dissects art, politics, and love in a very clear, assured way that feels masterful. The author is able to craft characters with such perception, cutting down characters like Giles to size, while making others (such as Esme) all the more endearing. This book was quite moving and an immense pleasure to read. It reminded me of Hollingurst’s earlier work, The Line of Beauty, with hints of Anthony Powell’s A Dance to the Music of Time. Our Evenings was one of the most memorable reads I’ve enjoyed this year and I’m confident the protagonist will occupy a corner of my mind for some time to come.
September 8, 2024
Thank you to Random House/Penguin for the ARC of the novel.
Our Evenings was a surprising novel to me. I had never read a book by Alan Hollinghurst before, so I didn't know what to expect when I was offered the opportunity to read this ARC. I read the blurb and knew the novel was about a gay man of color growing up in England in the 1960s, becoming an actor, and the obstacles he would have to overcome or deal with in his personal and professional life. But the blurb doesn't tell you about the actual writing, the feeling and depth of the novel. That's where I was pleasantly surprised by Our Evenings.
There is a line late in the novel when the protagonist David Win has stopped at a small churchyard with his husband and describes the scene before him as "an English mood, sedative as sunshine." I read that and I thought that was a great way to describe the sensation of reading this novel. Much happens in this novel, and there are many characters that appear throughtout, some return regularly and others linger in the shadows, appearing later as much older versions of themselves or recalled like ghosts in Win's memories of them. There are also some serious issues in the novel that the characters deal with, such as racism, hostility towards homosexuality, the role of art in society, and the disparity between the wealthy and the poor. Even Brexit and COVID make an appearance. This could be problematic if the reader loses track of the importance or meaning of, say, Woolpeck or Bampton. But the novel's pacing is never hurried or rushed; the writing lingers over setting, and the descriptions of the characters creates fully-formed "people" in the mind's eye. This helps the reader navigate the chapters in the novel, which can jump many years ahead in novelistic time. And it is this pacing, this writerly control that I think sets this "English" mood in the novel. Wrenching things happen, people suffer greatly, yet it is all told in this understated, patient way, "sedative as sunshine."
David Win is a great protagonist, and he tells his life story with honesty, frankness, and understated humor. By the end of the book, I felt like I had met an incredibly interesting person. His ability to deal with the events he does in the novel and remain true to himself is the heart of the novel. The suggestion from Hollinghurst the author is that perhaps that is all we can do in a world that is maddeningly uncontrollable.
Our Evenings was a surprising novel to me. I had never read a book by Alan Hollinghurst before, so I didn't know what to expect when I was offered the opportunity to read this ARC. I read the blurb and knew the novel was about a gay man of color growing up in England in the 1960s, becoming an actor, and the obstacles he would have to overcome or deal with in his personal and professional life. But the blurb doesn't tell you about the actual writing, the feeling and depth of the novel. That's where I was pleasantly surprised by Our Evenings.
There is a line late in the novel when the protagonist David Win has stopped at a small churchyard with his husband and describes the scene before him as "an English mood, sedative as sunshine." I read that and I thought that was a great way to describe the sensation of reading this novel. Much happens in this novel, and there are many characters that appear throughtout, some return regularly and others linger in the shadows, appearing later as much older versions of themselves or recalled like ghosts in Win's memories of them. There are also some serious issues in the novel that the characters deal with, such as racism, hostility towards homosexuality, the role of art in society, and the disparity between the wealthy and the poor. Even Brexit and COVID make an appearance. This could be problematic if the reader loses track of the importance or meaning of, say, Woolpeck or Bampton. But the novel's pacing is never hurried or rushed; the writing lingers over setting, and the descriptions of the characters creates fully-formed "people" in the mind's eye. This helps the reader navigate the chapters in the novel, which can jump many years ahead in novelistic time. And it is this pacing, this writerly control that I think sets this "English" mood in the novel. Wrenching things happen, people suffer greatly, yet it is all told in this understated, patient way, "sedative as sunshine."
David Win is a great protagonist, and he tells his life story with honesty, frankness, and understated humor. By the end of the book, I felt like I had met an incredibly interesting person. His ability to deal with the events he does in the novel and remain true to himself is the heart of the novel. The suggestion from Hollinghurst the author is that perhaps that is all we can do in a world that is maddeningly uncontrollable.
September 16, 2024
Beautiful, tender, sharp : Class, Race and Sexuality 1960’s – 2020’s a story of the outsiders
Hollinghurst packs so much depth of observation in this wonderful novel. There is no need for polemic, diatribe and characters to be instructing readers in their attitudes with a writer like Hollinghurst. What goes on, what the subtexts are is skilfully shown in small, telling incidents, taking the reader deeply inside our central character, and others.
David Win, a boy of some mystery in his parentage, at least, on his father’s side, is an exceptionally bright child. His English mother is a dressmaker, who spent some time in Burma as a secretary in the 1950’s. David, born in England, clearly had a father who was not English. Living in the Home Counties, he and his mother are looked on askance, a brown-skinned boy, and a single mother.
David wins a scholarship, funded by a wealthy, socialist philanthropic and artistic couple, to a public school, in his early teens. He is one of only a very small number of non-white boys. Already, he exists outside expected class, regarded generally with some suspicion on grounds of both race, class, and, possibly sexuality.
A very good looking boy, he also has gifts of mimicry and performance, a love of literature and the arts.
The book’s opening introduces us to David as an elderly man, close to 70, following the announcement of the death of his childhood benefactor, aged 91. David had stayed close to the couple, and what he had done with his life, was something much closer to their own beliefs and personalities than the personality and life choices of their son, Giles. Someone (in no doubt comedic intent) who puts the reader remarkably in mind of one B. Johnson – narcissistic, privileged, somewhat bullying, and with clear intent to rule break, and further only his own interests, from an early age. There’s not a lot to like about Giles.
There is a rather lovely – and then, quite a heart-rending twist, to the novel’s title, which becomes clear towards the end of the book, which I won’t spoil.
Beautifully written, beautifully constructed, this will also particularly appeal to those with an interest in theatre
Hollinghurst packs so much depth of observation in this wonderful novel. There is no need for polemic, diatribe and characters to be instructing readers in their attitudes with a writer like Hollinghurst. What goes on, what the subtexts are is skilfully shown in small, telling incidents, taking the reader deeply inside our central character, and others.
David Win, a boy of some mystery in his parentage, at least, on his father’s side, is an exceptionally bright child. His English mother is a dressmaker, who spent some time in Burma as a secretary in the 1950’s. David, born in England, clearly had a father who was not English. Living in the Home Counties, he and his mother are looked on askance, a brown-skinned boy, and a single mother.
David wins a scholarship, funded by a wealthy, socialist philanthropic and artistic couple, to a public school, in his early teens. He is one of only a very small number of non-white boys. Already, he exists outside expected class, regarded generally with some suspicion on grounds of both race, class, and, possibly sexuality.
A very good looking boy, he also has gifts of mimicry and performance, a love of literature and the arts.
The book’s opening introduces us to David as an elderly man, close to 70, following the announcement of the death of his childhood benefactor, aged 91. David had stayed close to the couple, and what he had done with his life, was something much closer to their own beliefs and personalities than the personality and life choices of their son, Giles. Someone (in no doubt comedic intent) who puts the reader remarkably in mind of one B. Johnson – narcissistic, privileged, somewhat bullying, and with clear intent to rule break, and further only his own interests, from an early age. There’s not a lot to like about Giles.
There is a rather lovely – and then, quite a heart-rending twist, to the novel’s title, which becomes clear towards the end of the book, which I won’t spoil.
Beautifully written, beautifully constructed, this will also particularly appeal to those with an interest in theatre
September 19, 2024
Our Evenings is presented as the memoir of acclaimed actor Dave Win. When his benefactor the well-known philanthropist Mark Hadlow dies, Dave has occasion to contact his widow and look back on his own life. Alan Hollinghurst has again created characters I’m interested in, that I believe in, and a complete world within the book that I am happy to inhabit.
Here we have a politician and a young man attached to a family more affluent and more worldly than his own, but there I think the comparisons to The Line of Beauty should end. There are flashbacks to Dave’s youth, ‘a chaos of privilege and prejudice’; Hollinghurst captures beautifully the details of the 1960s with a light touch, the mention of a particular car here, a new and exciting tape recorder there. It’s the almost ubiquitous racism that really stings the modern reader’s eyes though: people either don’t know what to say to Dave or feel all too confident in saying unpalatable things, making Esme’s blunt warmth even more refreshing.
I recognised in myself Dave wanting to tell his mother about his stay with the Hadlows but ‘even more to keep these things to myself’; Hollinghurst puts into words a thought or a feeling I have had that has not quite crystallised. Observations can be mundane yet delicious, commonplace and universal. Hollinghurst does not avoid explicit content but uses allusion for impact when Dave has his first proper sexual encounter, rendered simply as ‘we … moved on to the astonishing next stage’. The pacing is great throughout and the end, in the near-present, hit me with a whump of shock.
Alan Hollinghurst won the Booker Prize in 2004 and is shortly to be given The Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence so he hardly needs my endorsement, but I’m happy to say I loved Our Evenings. My deflation at finishing it is tempered by the delicious doorstopper of The Stranger’s Child waiting to be read and seeing the man himself at Cheltenham Literary Festival.
Thanks to Picador for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley.
Here we have a politician and a young man attached to a family more affluent and more worldly than his own, but there I think the comparisons to The Line of Beauty should end. There are flashbacks to Dave’s youth, ‘a chaos of privilege and prejudice’; Hollinghurst captures beautifully the details of the 1960s with a light touch, the mention of a particular car here, a new and exciting tape recorder there. It’s the almost ubiquitous racism that really stings the modern reader’s eyes though: people either don’t know what to say to Dave or feel all too confident in saying unpalatable things, making Esme’s blunt warmth even more refreshing.
I recognised in myself Dave wanting to tell his mother about his stay with the Hadlows but ‘even more to keep these things to myself’; Hollinghurst puts into words a thought or a feeling I have had that has not quite crystallised. Observations can be mundane yet delicious, commonplace and universal. Hollinghurst does not avoid explicit content but uses allusion for impact when Dave has his first proper sexual encounter, rendered simply as ‘we … moved on to the astonishing next stage’. The pacing is great throughout and the end, in the near-present, hit me with a whump of shock.
Alan Hollinghurst won the Booker Prize in 2004 and is shortly to be given The Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence so he hardly needs my endorsement, but I’m happy to say I loved Our Evenings. My deflation at finishing it is tempered by the delicious doorstopper of The Stranger’s Child waiting to be read and seeing the man himself at Cheltenham Literary Festival.
Thanks to Picador for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley.
September 9, 2024
It’s not simple: the life of a Black, gay man.
Dave Win was born in 1948. He never knew his father who was Burmese and killed before he entered this world. His mother, Avril, was English and a hard-working seamstress. They lived in a small community of England and Dave was fortunate to get a scholarship at a private school funded by Mark and Cara Hadlow whom became his friends and mentors.
Their son, Giles Hadlow, went to school with Dave. He was a disgraceful bully whom benefitted from his parent’s wealth and their support of the arts. Cara’s mother reminded me of the actress, Maggie Smith, in her movies with a no-nonsense attitude. She told Dave, who expressed his desire as a teenager to become an actor, that it may be difficult because of the way people will see the color of his skin. She said he would get lesser roles and should consider radio as an option. Nevertheless, Dave had a career doing what he loved: acting.
How does an author choose what to write about from one’s teenage years into his early 70s? The book is long and involved and shows how various people in our lives can influence us whether we like it or not. There were lots of plays, poetry, parties and of course: the people in Dave’s memoir. We don’t realize it so much until we are in our senior years and reflect back on the various scenes now twisted into our brains.
I found parts that I really enjoyed and others where I was drifting away. It’s clear that a great deal of thought went into writing this book that includes discrimination not only with Giles but also his mother who was a lesbian. I didn’t relate so much with the characters and yet, it’s a story that stays with you and makes an impression.
My thanks to Random House and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of October 8, 2024.
Dave Win was born in 1948. He never knew his father who was Burmese and killed before he entered this world. His mother, Avril, was English and a hard-working seamstress. They lived in a small community of England and Dave was fortunate to get a scholarship at a private school funded by Mark and Cara Hadlow whom became his friends and mentors.
Their son, Giles Hadlow, went to school with Dave. He was a disgraceful bully whom benefitted from his parent’s wealth and their support of the arts. Cara’s mother reminded me of the actress, Maggie Smith, in her movies with a no-nonsense attitude. She told Dave, who expressed his desire as a teenager to become an actor, that it may be difficult because of the way people will see the color of his skin. She said he would get lesser roles and should consider radio as an option. Nevertheless, Dave had a career doing what he loved: acting.
How does an author choose what to write about from one’s teenage years into his early 70s? The book is long and involved and shows how various people in our lives can influence us whether we like it or not. There were lots of plays, poetry, parties and of course: the people in Dave’s memoir. We don’t realize it so much until we are in our senior years and reflect back on the various scenes now twisted into our brains.
I found parts that I really enjoyed and others where I was drifting away. It’s clear that a great deal of thought went into writing this book that includes discrimination not only with Giles but also his mother who was a lesbian. I didn’t relate so much with the characters and yet, it’s a story that stays with you and makes an impression.
My thanks to Random House and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of October 8, 2024.
July 24, 2024
Briefly - Character led with an authentic biographical feel.
In full
This book opens with Dave Win in his later years meeting up with the wife of a man who was instrumental in him getting a scholarship to a private education early in his life. The story then rolls back to that school era and his life then. From here the story takes us through Dave's life. It is not told in any complete way but comes via vignettes of significant parts and experiences. It is the story of his personal life in the main though he is an actor so parts do relate to plays and the like. At the start he realises he is drawn to men rather than women. He is half Burmese as a result of a brief relationship his mother had immediately after the war. However his father remained in Burma while his mother returned to England.
The story walks through some incidents and events in Dave's life. Among this, there are encounters with men some satisfactory and some not. However many of the events are simply things that happened in his life. Some are or appear quite small at the time but possibly have greater significance later. Throughout this there are people who are constants in his life. Mark and Cara Hadlow are important; they are the people who were involved with his scholarship and remain involved with him on and off through most of the story. Their son, Giles, is the same age as him and bullied him at school. He too is part of the story though remains a bully of sorts throughout.
Special mention has to go to Avril who is his mother. I loved the ongoing relationship between them. Almost as important is the remarkable Esme Croft who is Avril's friend and business partner. They are both integral to his life, particularly at times. This is a book where there is a feel of nothing much happening and simply a life being lived. However as you gradually gather a greater picture of Dave's life you realise that he has been shaped in ways by all these events.
I'm not Dave's age however there are echoes of some similarities in my life. I enjoyed Dave as a character. The book is gently if quite sharply political at times as Dave is. Equally it is somewhat subversive as well as being gentle, sad and very interesting on occasion. It also feels lightly affectionate too. I found the story and the characters genuinely believable and "ordinary" in the best sense of the word. I kept having to remind myself that this is not a biography as it felt so like one to me. I really liked the way that the tone changes as Dave ages too.
I'd not read anything by this author prior to this however the writing and characters here make me quite sure I will read more from Alan Hollinghurst in the future.
Note - I received an advance digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review
In full
This book opens with Dave Win in his later years meeting up with the wife of a man who was instrumental in him getting a scholarship to a private education early in his life. The story then rolls back to that school era and his life then. From here the story takes us through Dave's life. It is not told in any complete way but comes via vignettes of significant parts and experiences. It is the story of his personal life in the main though he is an actor so parts do relate to plays and the like. At the start he realises he is drawn to men rather than women. He is half Burmese as a result of a brief relationship his mother had immediately after the war. However his father remained in Burma while his mother returned to England.
The story walks through some incidents and events in Dave's life. Among this, there are encounters with men some satisfactory and some not. However many of the events are simply things that happened in his life. Some are or appear quite small at the time but possibly have greater significance later. Throughout this there are people who are constants in his life. Mark and Cara Hadlow are important; they are the people who were involved with his scholarship and remain involved with him on and off through most of the story. Their son, Giles, is the same age as him and bullied him at school. He too is part of the story though remains a bully of sorts throughout.
Special mention has to go to Avril who is his mother. I loved the ongoing relationship between them. Almost as important is the remarkable Esme Croft who is Avril's friend and business partner. They are both integral to his life, particularly at times. This is a book where there is a feel of nothing much happening and simply a life being lived. However as you gradually gather a greater picture of Dave's life you realise that he has been shaped in ways by all these events.
I'm not Dave's age however there are echoes of some similarities in my life. I enjoyed Dave as a character. The book is gently if quite sharply political at times as Dave is. Equally it is somewhat subversive as well as being gentle, sad and very interesting on occasion. It also feels lightly affectionate too. I found the story and the characters genuinely believable and "ordinary" in the best sense of the word. I kept having to remind myself that this is not a biography as it felt so like one to me. I really liked the way that the tone changes as Dave ages too.
I'd not read anything by this author prior to this however the writing and characters here make me quite sure I will read more from Alan Hollinghurst in the future.
Note - I received an advance digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review
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