The Sparsholt Affair

by Alan Hollinghurst

From Oxford during the dark days of the Second World War to contemporary London, this is Alan Hollinghurst's intimate novel about sexuality, art and family secrets.

In October 1940, the handsome young David Sparsholt arrives in Oxford. A keen athlete and oarsman, he at first seems unaware of the effect he has on others – particularly on the lonely and romantic Evert Dax, son of a celebrated novelist and destined to become a writer himself. While the Blitz rages in London, Oxford exists at a strange remove: an ephemeral, uncertain place, in which nightly blackouts conceal secret liaisons. Over the course of one momentous term, David and Evert forge an unlikely friendship that will colour their lives for decades to come . . .

Alan Hollinghurst’s masterly novel evokes the intimate relationships of a group of friends bound together by art, literature and love across three generations. It explores the social and sexual revolutions of the most pivotal years of the past century, whose life-changing consequences are still being played out to this day.

Richly observed, disarmingly witty and emotionally charged, The Sparsholt Affair is an unmissable achievement from one of our finest writers.

• ISBN10: 1447208226
• ISBN13: 9781447208228
• Publish Date: 3 May 2018 (first published 5 October 2017)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 27 May 2024
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Imprint: Picador
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 448
• Language: English

Reviews

[clementine]

Alan Hollinghurst writes the British upper classes so well, and especially the dynamic between old money and their interloping friends. There is nothing to fault in his writing ability. I found the focus on portraiture interesting, especially if this book is viewed as a portrait of the portraitist (or perhaps of his mysterious, disgraced father). I also liked the theme of intergenerational communication or lack thereof: most of the relationships in this book (whether romantic, platonic, or familial) have big age gaps, and characters are constantly misunderstanding each other, or saying something other than what they mean, or trailing off. I just didn't find the social dynamics that interesting overall. There is so much that is hinted at but that we never see; most of the action takes place implicitly, which was obviously a deliberate choice but which ends up being quite frustrating. I think the dynamic in Hollinghurst's Booker-winning The Line of Beauty was a lot more interesting: the young gay working class aesthete subsumed into the family of a Conservative MP in the 80s was inherently a more interesting premise. I never felt that I got a good handle on the characters in The Sparsholt Affair; the narrative felt jumpy, and while the faltering relationships between characters were well-written, there was nothing that truly compelled me to keep reading.