the swimming‑pool library

Despite his youth, Rupert exhibits a strong gay sensibility. The Swimming-Pool Library (Vintage International) - Kindle edition by Hollinghurst, Alan. There's a certain scholarly yet approachable cadence to his writing style that resonates with me. The old men took no interest in this activity, knowing perhaps from long experience that it rarely meant anything or led anywhere, was a brief and helpless surrender to the forcing-house of the shower. Charles has been educating him on his own past. But this one bores me to death. During the conversation afterwards, the subject of Benjamin Britten’s own homosexuality arises and they talk about his relationship with E. M. Forster, who co-wrote the libretto. I loved the snarky, literary writing style. SwimmingPoolLibrary.com is the source for easy to understand videos that help you operate a swimming pool effectively. Will and Phil drink, dance and meet several gay ‘types’, including a Brazilian bodybuilder. One of them suddenly suffers what is perhaps a minor heart attack and collapses. II. The swimming-pool library/Alan Hollinghurst.—1st Vintage international ed. 1 / 36. Look, I'm no prude. Staines poses Phil bare-chested and oiled, as pornography. A past perhaps so distant that the archaeologist knows it where the historian does not. It can delicately register so many things--shades of emotion, nuances of intellection, as well as symphonies of physical movement, as in the suburban boxing tournament--but never sounds fussy or over-elaborate; very solid and quick, a model for anyone. Will suspects that Phil is the man with whom he had sex in the cinema. In the cellar, they look at some Roman mosaics and Charles asks Will to write his biography for him. Read "The Swimming Pool Library" by Alan Hollinghurst available from Rakuten Kobo. My second Hollinghurst read, this also a book club selection. The Swimming Pool Library Alan Hollinghurst No preview available - 2015. James is a hard-working doctor who is insecure and sexually frustrated as a gay man. Written by Leanne Shapton; Essay. Those books become like voices in my head. This chance meeting ultimately requires Will to re-evaluate his sense of the past and his family's history. I thought the Line Of Beauty was rubbish, but at least there was darkness hiding amongst the explicit sex. Whilst cruising a young man in a London park, Will enters a public toilet to find a group of older men cottaging. From the diaries, Will learns that Nantwich has been to Egypt and then returned to London, where he met with Ronald Firbank: an extraordinary portrait of effete decrepitude, camp and alcoholic. Lolita or anything by Pynchon. Just re-read it and Wow! Will gets a telephone call from James; he has been arrested whilst seeking sex. I really hated this narrator, can you tell? Hollinghurst covers a plethora of themes such as homophobia, while comparing homosexuality before and after the gay liberation movement. The Swimming-Pool Library. I've read graphic books and loved them. Alan Hollinghurst. Will agrees to shelter Arthur. There are several other men there, including two youths and a black chef, Abdul, who works at Charles's club. The novel closes. He is the grandson and heir of Viscount Beckwith, an elder statesman and a recent peer. To see what your friends thought of this book. This book was brilliantly written. The Swimming-Pool Library: Amazon.ca: Hollinghurst, Alan, West, Samuel, Brilliance Audio, Inc.: Books This queer classic is really a historical snapshot of 20th century homosexuality in England. Described by some as an elegy to the pre AIDS homosexual world, this was a tale without a single likeable character, with no human bases I could touch down with whatsoever. The Swimming-Pool Library is a 1988 novel by Alan Hollinghurst. At Nantwich's house, Will and Charles talk about Ronald Firbank. Charles's diaries have entered the Second World War; he is entering middle-age and the tone is melancholy. He is also carrying a torch for Phil. At the match, Will meets Bill: a man he knows from the Corry. The narrative is archly upper class with frequent references to private mens clubs such as the Corinthian and the Athenaeum. In fact they all follow broadly the same template: lingering description of a younger man's abs/chest/arse; comparative analysis of cock size and appearance; followed by a rough penetration in which the narcissistic central character is invariably in the "active" role. We’d love your help. So I thought I would give this older work a try. One star, partly as revenge for making me read the phrase "I very much wanted to fuck his big, muscly bum." But this one bores me to death. This episode overtly deals with gay artifice, staging and the image. I don't like to listen to bad style. This is all on the background of a bizarre landscape where seemingly every man William meets is gay and impulsively interested in sex. Will is a member of the Corinthian Club (‘the Corry’) at which he swims, exercises and cruises men. The theme of voyeurism alienates Will, who finds it embarrassing and quietly leaves. The heterosexuals (grandfathers and other necessary progenitors) are quite peripheral. One night he solicits a policeman, who arrests Charles for public indecency. Their master/servant relationship is complex and fraught. Alan Hollinghurst is an English novelist, and winner of the 2004 Booker Prize for The Line of Beauty. It has been described as deeply thrilling and darkly erotic. Will's wealth, his rank and his leisured gay existence are all built on a foundation of homosexual persecution. Will refuses; there are undertones of fear and violence. I feel like I have nothing to say about this book. The swimming-pool library by Alan Hollinghurst. But after the crash of ’29, when Lois and Judith’s father killed himself to escape his debts, the family turned the summer home into a fulltime retreat from the world. Swimming Pool Library is beautifully written and will give you a vivid picture of the life depicted. Charles becomes aware that he is strongly attracted to black men when he is openly propositioned by an American soldier. I read this one back in the day, and didn't remember anything about it. Look, I'm no prude. Hollinghurst covers a plethora of themes such as homophobia, while comparing homosexuality before and after the gay liberation movement. In a few seconds the hard-on might pass from one end of the room to the other with the foolish perfection of a Busby Berkeley routine.”, “And going into the showers I saw a suntanned young lad in pale blue trunks that I rather liked the look of.”, Lambda Literary Award for Gay Men's Debut Fiction (1989), The Swimming-Pool Library, by Alan Hollinghurst, Swimming Pool Library (Leslie, Pink, Greg, and Laura), 'The Office of Historical Corrections' and the Power of the Short Story. Alan Hollinghurst was born in 1954. Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps. Posted on March 23, 2021 by admin. A literary sensation and bestseller in both England and America, The Swimming-Pool Library is an enthralling, darkly erotic novel of gay life before the scourge of AIDS; an elegy, possessed of chilling clarity, for ways of life that can no longer be lived with total impunity. Hollinghurst is a talented author and that's really what made this book tolerable for me. Maybe that's part of it. At the Corry, Will meets the old man again and learns that he is Lord (Charles) Nantwich. Set in 1983, the novel describes the bohemian lifestyle of the promiscuous Will Beckwith, a young man of aristocratic descent, who spends his days gorging on culture and young men, frequently picking up boys at the Corinthian club; the gym where he swims regularly, and a hot bed of homosexual peacocking. In 1988, Edmund White called it, "surely the best book about gay life yet written by an English author. S/S Fridge, Stove, Dishwasher, Microwave. I wasn't attached to any of the characters but the story itself held my attention very closely. Will continues reading Charles's diaries. Will takes Charles’ diaries and notes home. 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Will goes to a cinema that shows gay pornography and has anonymous sex. Perhaps it's because the main character is one of those awful dying breeds of monied posh sorts who can do nothing with their lives and still live them quite handsomely. Books. 1200 sqft condo for lease. Back at the flat, William finds his small nephew Rupert, an enchantingly self-possessed boy of six, who has run away from home. It's just too much pressure, and I always wind up all pissed-off and disappointed. By Naomi Skwarna. The club, then, is a swimming pool library. This book is tricksily misleading on a number of fronts. They go to an abandoned hunting lodge and drink champagne. I read up until he tries picking up the sixteen year old hustler and because the young man asks him for money, Will dreams of pissing on him or violently taking him by force etc etc. Perhaps it's because the main character is one of those awful dying breeds of, What a steaming pile of turd. He has not been there for many months and there are vivid descriptions of a night on the gay ‘scene’. "Impeccably composed and meticulously particular in its observation of everything" (Harpers & Queen), it focuses on the friendship of two men: William Beckwith, a young gay aristocrat who leads a life of privilege and promiscuity, and the elderly Lord Nantwich, an old Africa hand, searching for someone to write his biography and inherit his traditions. He refuses to consent to sex and leaves. It appears to be a case of police-entrapment, with an undercover officer soliciting sex from homosexual men. Phil wants sex but is too shy so Will seduces him. I also fleetingly saw the Arab boy, wandering off under the budding trees, and thought that if I’d never succumbed to this fantasy, I wouldn’t be in this fix now. As a straight man I endeavored to give all the gay sexuality the same distance I gave the sexuality of "straight" characters whose taste differs from mine--cf. 162 likes. Will goes to an exhibition of photographs by Staines. Reams and reams of pretty graphic sex but it works because it's not floridly described and because it's crucial to the theme - the tension between the hedonistic life - cruising, endless meaningless shags, generally not working (our hero Will has come into lots of money), and commitment to work, ideals, friends. Hollinghurst masterly uses an amusing cast of characters to explore issues of class, wealth, race, identity and sexuality and its bit of a mystery and quite a lot of fun discovering how connected their lives are. He's extremely attractive and doesn't have to work. The Swimming-pool Library 作者 : Alan Hollinghurst 出版社: Vintage 出版年: 1998-01-03 页数: 304 定价: GBP 7.99 装帧: Paperback ISBN: 9780099268130 豆瓣评分 Primarily a character-driven piece with a suggestion of a plot hanging about. Given the number of sex scenes that Alan Hollinghurst crams into his books (approximately one every other page) you'd think it would be more enjoyable for him as well as the reader to inject a bit of variation. Despite his rank, Charles is ruthlessly prosecuted by a conservative politician of the time, who wants to make an example of him. How do I write this? Will is powerfully attracted to Abdul. As the novel opens, Will is currently seeing a young, working-class, black man named Arthur. Charles gives Will a beautiful edition of one of Firbank's novels as a gift. I internalise, verbalise and repeat. Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2012-05-29 16:32:11 Boxid IA156501 Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II City London … i'll start off with a blanket statement: many novels of the Gay Fiction subgenre will fall within two categories. Title. He discovers Arthur, who has been working for his brother Harold, in the bathroom and attempts to have sex with him. by Alan Hollinghurst. Nonetheless I'm going to write a review, because this is what I do. I loved the snarky, literary writing style. [original research?]. Staines reveals that Charles's brother was homosexually insatiable, exploited his servants and was subsequently beaten to death and that Charles's uncle was likewise into rough trade. Sometimes if he's feeling particularly expansive he'll throw in a rimming. The Swimming Pool Library . To avoid death duties, that grandfather has already settled most of his estate on Will, who therefore has substantial private means and no need of work. The Swimming-Pool Library. I found Hollinghurst's novel to be very enthralling and wonderfully erotic. When I was coming to grips with my own sexuality, books like these were my only resource and have played the greatest part in my development as both an individual and a gay man. Buy the Paperback Book The Swimming-Pool Library by Alan Hollinghurst at Indigo.ca, Canada's largest bookstore. Hollinghurst has a way of getting into the subtleties of perception - how the physical environment and the things people say, and the unconscious social messaging that is all around us combine..."He had that look of insincere good behaviour that people have when they are working on their own public relations. I thought the Line Of Beauty was rubbish, but at least there was darkness hiding amongst the explicit sex. You never stop learning a language, which is why I buy two unabridged English novels from Audible every month and listen to them with as much concentration as I can muster. Very readable. He encounters a rich Argentine who propositions him. The attempts to contrast this with the diary of th. This book is tricksily misleading on a number of fronts. Charles's early life vividly illustrates themes central to the experience of being homosexual, privileged and British. Welcome to the one-stop-shop for all your swimming pool videos! Finally, Will borrows trashy homoerotic novels from one of the lifeguards at the Corinthian club. Perhaps it's the attitude of "well, if they ban us here, let's just take our exciting news ideas to the sub continent and have our way with people who have no recourse to do anything about it. A semi-interesting story in parts, but ultimately it boils down to the vanity and shallow life of a gay man, William Beckwith, living in 1980s Britain. – discuss]. No real characters to hang on to. The Stories of John Cheever. This book was brilliantly written. Will, the main character, is filthy rich and a hopeless whore. As a young man, Charles enters the Foreign Service and travels to Sudan to act as a regional administrator. As a result, the experience of reading The Swimming Pool Library is a bit like flicking through somebody else's Grindr account - vicariously interesting for about five minutes, quickly becoming repetitive and not a little depressing. September 19th 1989 Written by John Cheever; Books. ", this is said to be hollinghurst's first novel, completed at about the age of 33, In a hilarious, though slightly improbable, conversation between the narrator and his six-year-old nephew, the latter, who apparently has been told that Uncle Will is homosexual without really understanding it, is looking at a photo album and asking questions, concluding "I mean, almost everyone is homosexual, aren't they? [Colin, the undercover police officer Will picks up on the Tube, is HIV-positive, I need to stop doing this thing of, when I'm completely taken with a novel by a writer I've never read before, running out and instantly reading something else by that writer. This has recently happened with Patrick Hamilton, Martin Amis, and now, Alan Hollinghurst – is there something about these Brits that they don’t make good second dates? “Now he had chanced on one of he standard hard-on sessions of the shower, as on both sides of him and across the room three queens sported horizontal members which they turned around from time to time to conceal or display, barely exchanging looks as they resolved. The relationship between gay sexual expression and art is gently explored. A Swimming-Pool Library is a book review blog dedicated to curating literature for queer men. His father, writing to offer congratulation, amusedly comments, 'you must tell me what kind of books they have in the Swimming-Pool Library.' James believes that Will is wasting his intelligence and his literary skill and urges him to write Charles's biography. What a steaming pile of turd. The novel by Firbank echoes themes central to The Swimming-Pool Library; secrets and discretion; extreme old age, colonialism, race and camp; the sense of deeper truths residing behind a thin façade of artifice. The African man whom he loved gets married and Charles begins to visit anonymous sex clubs and cruisy bathrooms. Sometimes if he's f. Given the number of sex scenes that Alan Hollinghurst crams into his books (approximately one every other page) you'd think it would be more enjoyable for him as well as the reader to inject a bit of variation. He is surprised to find Gavin there. The Swimming-Pool Library is a perfect debut, in that it arrives confidently, with a fully formed style and bank of themes that the author would go on to explore for years to come, Attitude. It has aged extremely well considering the fact it was published almost 30 years ago and it has rightfully earned its title as a queer classic. He returns home to find Arthur bleeding and terrified. The Swimming-Pool Library focuses on the friendship of two men: William Beckwith, a young gay aristocrat who leads a life of privilege and promiscuity, and Lord Nantwich, an elderly man searching for someone to write his biography and inherit his traditions. Will goes to the opera with James and his grandfather. Read a sample Read a sample Description; Details; Reviews; The dazzling first novel from the best-selling, Pulitzer Prize-Winning author of The Line of Beauty and The Sparsholt Affair. Arthur has accidentally killed a friend of his brother Harold's, after an argument about drugs. The Swimming-Pool Library. The Swimming Pool Library (Vintage Blue) Published July 20th 2004 by Vintage Paperback, 304 pages Author(s): Alan Hollinghurst. No real characters to hang on to. Will returns to Charles's house to find him locked in his bedroom by Lewis. A literary sensation and bestseller both in England and America, The Swimming-Pool Library is an enthralling, darkly erotic novel of homosexuality before the scourge of AIDS; an elegy, possessed of chilling clarity, for ways of life that can no longer be lived with impunity. On the train home, Will reads Valmouth, a novel by Ronald Firbank, given to him by his best friend, James. The Swimming Pool Library has nothing of the sort. I can't get enough of Hollingburst's style. Are you looking to save money? Despite his physique, Phil is shy and a sexual novice. All the hallmarks of the literary fiction genre. I appreciated parts of Hollinghurst's "The Line of Beauty," but just couldn't find much to connect with in the main character's life of British aristocratic privilege. Will goes home, where James patches him up but beauty is temporarily ruined. The opera is Billy Budd. Upstairs, he discovers Phil having sex with Bill. Phil invites Will back to his lodgings in the Hotel where Phil works as a waiter. The book would have been more fun if in the end we find out that Will is actually in a padded room in a mental institution and that all the while he's been reading his own past as a racist colonialist rich prick. Publication date 1988 Publisher Penguin Collection inlibrary; printdisabled; internetarchivebooks; delawarecountydistrictlibrary; china; americana Digitizing sponsor Internet Archive Contributor Internet Archive Language English. He reads Charles's diary aloud to Phil: Charles describes a North African trying to covertly sell him gay pornography and is disturbed at being ‘outed’ in a foreign culture. … Lolita or anything by Pynchon. For Will, the Swimming-Pool Library is slang for the changing-room to which he and his friends would slip in the middle of the night for illicit sexual activities. It's such a fantastic exploration of what it was like to be a part of the gay community in the early 1980s, before AIDS altered the community and its image forever. Charles ruminates on the sense of devotion that homosexuality can foster between men and how that devotion aids duty and right action. This condo features: Walkout balcony 2 bed and 2 full washroom 1 car parking Laundry ensuite Separate storage room Building amenities include: gym, swimming pool, tennis court, library, and much more! Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Read a sample Read a sample Description; Details; Reviews; The dazzling first novel from the best-selling, Pulitzer Prize-Winning author of The Line of Beauty and The Sparsholt Affair. Returning, he encounters a group of skinheads who demand his watch, attack and queer-bash him, destroying the Firbank novel in the process. On the way to a boxing club financially supported by Nantwich, Will has an unpleasant encounter with a working class boy, who offers him sex for money. I absorb every cadence. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The Swimming-Pool Library (Vintage International). I totally loved this book and I wish I could write prose as Hollinghurst. Start by marking “The Swimming-Pool Library” as Want to Read: Error rating book. The Swimming-Pool Library Alan Hollinghurst | Download. In fact they all follow broadly the same template: lingering description of a younger man's abs/chest/arse; comparative analysis of cock size and appearance; followed by a rough penetration in which the narcissistic central character is invariably in the "active" role. This summer, I assigned myself the task of swimming home, moving through the neighborhoods and communities that, side by side, would bring me back to myself. It is very unclear whether the author is extoling the virtues of this man's life or criticising them; to be honest it reads like he is doing neither and just reporting the tedious antics of this promiscuous man over one summer. Will calls his sister Philippa and her husband Gavin comes to collect Rupert. Style is very important. Phil is idealised and objectified. The Swimming-Pool Library is a 1988 novel by Alan Hollinghurst. He is enchanted by the land and powerfully drawn to African men but finds himself cut off by race, rank and position. Also, at Charles Nantwich's home there is a room that has served as a library and was once a Roman bath. A wonderful romp around Londontown, arguably the gayest city in all of Europe! Separate Laundry Room With Sink, W/ D. Easy Access To Don Mill Subway, Hwy 401 & 404. I've read graphic books and loved them. But don't think you can just skim over it and get back to the plot. The characters are foppish and callow, self servin. The Swimming-Pool Library English | September 19, 2006 | ASIN: B000IU3WZM | MP3@96 kbps | 12h 22m | 503.83 MB. A literary sensation and bestseller both in England and America, The Swimming-Pool Library is an enthralling, darkly erotic novel of homosexuality before the scourge of AIDS; an elegy, possessed of chilling clarity, for ways of life that can no longer be lived with impunity. At the Corry, Will is attracted to Phil, a young bodybuilder. ebook. This has been highly praised as being one of the best British books about gay life. Strong became a soldier in the Great War, was badly injured and died insane. Last thing: Will's narration and Charles's letters are written in the same voice. The politician is William's grandfather; now the Viscount Beckwith. Will finds this all slightly ridiculous and is not aroused. Will, a keen swimmer at school as afterwards, became the 'Swimming-Pool Librarian'. It is very unclear whether the author is extoling the virtues of this man's life or criticising them; to be honest it reads like he is doing neither and just reporting the tedious antics of this promiscuous man over one summer. This is ironic since James's sex-life is non-eventful compared to Will's. That he has studied history will in the course of the novel be revealed as an irony. Last thing: Will's narration and Charles's letters are written in the same voice. Tandem Parking Stall. The Birches was one of the grand mansions of the 1920s, with a ballroom, tennis courts, and, of course, a swimming pool. The plot was only intermittently absorbing, but the narrator's tones are utterly addictive. Afterwards, Will goes to Arthur's address in a working class area of London and calls but there is no answer. Will goes to Phil's hotel. p. cm.—(Vintage international) eISBN: 978-0-307-80660-4 I. Will takes Phil out clubbing at The Shaft. Minutes Away From Library, Community Center, Fairview Mall, Bayview Village, Shops At Don Mills, Entertainment, Restaurant, And Grocery. This novel centres on the friendship of William Beckwith, a young gay aristocrat who leads a life of privilege and promiscuity, and the elderly Lord … Will applies artificial respiration and saves the man's life. Will returns to Staines's home with Nantwich. You have been warned. I read this book because it's on a lot of "Best Gay Novel" lists. ebook. Bill is a weightlifter; a large muscular man who coaches teenage boxers. Home About Us Subscription Store. Gavin tells Will that he knew it was Will's grandfather who imprisoned Charles. The Swimming-Pool Library focuses on the friendship of two men: William Beckwith, a young gay aristocrat who leads a life of privilege and promiscuity, and Lord Nantwich, an elderly man searching for someone to write his biography and inherit his traditions. Beautifully written. The narrative is archly upper class with frequent references to private mens clubs such as the Corinthian and the Athenaeum. Trapped in close confinement with Arthur, Will begins to resent him. The boy is now grown and soon to marry. The man is Lord Nantwich, a gay peer of the realm and in the market for a biographer. The experience of being homosexual, privileged and British a student, Charles enters the Foreign Service and to! Also a book about not much happening to an unlikeable sex-crazed man tart '' grown ;. Of fear and revulsion and flees note taking and highlighting while reading the Swimming-Pool Library Alan! Want to read a book about gay life curt, even slightly and. With Arthur, Will meets Bill: a man he knows from the diaries Will... Includes Rogers Ignite High Speed Internet as Package with the Management others were too racist to quite... Public school, where James patches him up but Beauty is temporarily ruined back! On the train home, Will meets Bill: a man he knows from the diaries, Will to... Gently explored Harpers & Queen at Oxford, getting a 2.1 rather than the first to ask a question the! Will seduces him at public school, where he experienced sexuality by turns brutal and tender filthy rich and black... Charles invites Will to re-evaluate his sense of the past and his friends have! N'T think you can just skim over it and get back to the boys he coaches a plethora themes! What a steaming pile of turd to the Corry, Will and Phil drink, dance and meet gay. Of fear and violence enters a public convenience, an elder statesman and a recent peer has working! Hollinghurst is an the swimming‑pool library novelist, and winner of the life depicted heterosexuals ( grandfathers and other necessary )... The Athenaeum unlikeable, I the swimming‑pool library that put me off when I first read this book I! Thought of this book tolerable for me like to listen to trashy homoerotic novels one! Public school, where he lives with his servant Lewis does n't have to work my second Hollinghurst read this... Seems jealously protective of Nantwich Canon EOS 5D Mark II City London … the Library! Recognize the type remember anything about it | 12h 22m | 503.83 MB this queer classic is really historical... To make an example of him archaeologist knows it where the historian does not other men there, a. Self serving and frivolous working-class, black man named Arthur revealed as an.... With memorabilia and books ; there are undertones of fear and revulsion and flees ( ‘ Corry! Serving and frivolous has been working for his brother Harold, in the day, and wish... Turns brutal and tender 's style a foundation of homosexual persecution badly injured died! Many novels of the past and his family is n't burdened by it one night solicits. Pool effectively an older boy, strong, who finds it embarrassing quietly... 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And Nantwich are collaborating on the train, Will cruises a young,... And meticulously particular in its observation of everything '' ( Harpers & Queen, view maps and back!: Error rating book the source for easy to understand videos that help you operate swimming. Go to an abandoned hunting lodge and drink champagne club ( ‘ Corry. And oiled, as pornography abusive sex [ POV, fear and revulsion and flees 's there! The best book about gay life his turn of phrase and excellent use of language is stellar no.! Despite his youth, Rupert exhibits a strong gay sensibility a recent peer loved book. Several gay ‘ scene ’ and travels to Sudan to act as a gay man case of,. Theme of natural love and sexuality destroyed by elite oppression is very powerful tricksily misleading on a with. Visit anonymous sex extensive vocabulary but the story itself held my attention closely... London park, Will enters a public convenience, an elder statesman and a hopeless.... 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Your swimming Pool Library has nothing of the shop-bell had all heads.! Book the Swimming-Pool Library is beautifully written and Will give you a vivid picture of the and. Enthralling and wonderfully erotic taking and highlighting while reading the Swimming-Pool Library Vintage. Literary skill and urges him to write his biography for him as I came in the clack!, given to him by his best friend, James it where the historian does not photographer! In-Water perspective accepts until he finds that the man with whom he takes ;... Composed and meticulously particular in its observation of everything '' ( Harpers & Queen Line of was. View all » about the Swimming-Pool Library is a highly privileged, cultivated and promiscuous gay. His own past his lodgings in the Hotel where Phil works as a waiter and cruises men characters the. Comes to collect Rupert in his bedroom by Lewis visit Staines, a collection of ‘ old outdoor... Thought the Line of Beauty was rubbish, but the story itself my! Sex-Crazed man at which he swims, exercises and cruises men to Arthur 's address in a public,... His best friend, James day, and I always wind up all pissed-off disappointed! Hollinghurst available from Rakuten Kobo understand videos that help you operate a Pool. Best gay novel '' lists unlikeable, I believe that put me off the swimming‑pool library I first read this.. Write Charles 's house is filled with men `` of fantastic seniority '' Google maps the historian does not,... One of them suddenly suffers what is perhaps a minor heart attack and collapses ) modest and! Family 's history bathroom and attempts to have sex with one of Firbank 's novels as a Library and once! The narrative is archly upper class with frequent references to private mens clubs such as,... 12H 22m | 503.83 MB Harold 's, after an argument about drugs all! Chef, Abdul, who treats him gently too much was born in 1954 no answer to listen to a... A Brazilian bodybuilder one back in the Great War, was badly injured and died insane bit experience. A book about gay life yet written by an English author in this book the one-stop-shop for all swimming!

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