The Line of Beauty (Picador 40th Anniversary Edition) (Picador 40th Anniversary Editn) [Kindle Edition]

A good piece of writing and wholly worthy of the praise and prizes heaped on it. A real document of its seedy times.

Before reading this, the only think I knew about it, was that it was set in the 80's. However, as it was 99p, and on a list of "1000 great novels" that I have, I thought I would give it a shot.

Initially, I found it hard work. I didn't really like Nick, I found him to be a bit of a sponge on the family he was staying with, and the descriptions of his initial sexual encounter were a bit of a shock. Does being slightly disturbed about reading a description of a homosexual encounter make me shallow? Maybe, but while I certainly believe that anyone has the right to do whatever takes their fancy (as long as no innocent party is hurt), I wasn't expecting it. So, the first 20% or so were a struggle and I was already envisioning giving this book a paltry two stars (I liked the style!). However, I stuck with it, and am glad I did.

As the book progressed, it became more and more engrossing. Nick's relationship with the other characters became more interesting. His struggles to fit in to the different crowds (his old Oxford friends, the upper-class acquaintance's he meets), start to mean more, and he develops as as a person, and a character.

Of course being set in the 80's, with a large number of gay characters, AIDS has a fairly fundamental part of the story, and it is handled very well by the author, the way that many people viewed it (a plague that the "homo's" deserve) is nicely juxtapositioned with the hurt, shame, and pain of those affected (both those who have it, and their families). It really is well handled.

I could go on, but this is a great book. A bit like a new improved like "The Great Gatsby" in many ways, but updated and set in 80's England.

The downside? Not with the story, but Picador obviously didn't even bother to proof read the Kindle version. Very poor.

At the time of writing this, this Kindle version of the Booker Prize winning 'The Line of Beauty' was a paltry 89p. I would say this is a fantastic bargain for a thoroughly entertaining story that I would retrospectively have paid full price for anyway!

The story follows Nick Guest, a gay graduate from Oxford University who has found himself adopted by the family of Gerald Fedden. Fedden is the father of Nick's friend from university, Toby. Gerald Fedden is a fairly prominent Conservative politician whose political career provides a constant background to the explorations of friendship, sexuality and drugs that the story engages with.

The most pleasing aspect about the novel is the way that it deploys Nick's viewpoint to flit in and out of the broader political context which avoids it becoming a staid political critique of Thatcher's Britain. Readers therefore avoid being manipulated towards a simplistic conclusion about Tory Britain in the '80s even if the activities of this particular household are personally fairly damning.

Viewed from the perspective of austerity Britain, the presentation of the economically booming Britain of the '80s is arguably even more compelling. The casual attitude to both drugs and wealth certainly gives food for thought and provides a significant reminder to the reader about the social legacy that underpins the political machinations of 21st century politicians, a significant number of whom would have partied with the best of them at the kind of parties detailed within the fabric of this novel.

There are few characters that are very likable in this novel and it is perhaps a telling fact that one of the most endearing characters is Catherine, Toby's 'mad' sister, who, more than anyone, sees the society that she frequents for what it really is.

I only really had one criticism of the novel. In my opinion, and this wasn't shared by my friend who I discussed the book with the other day, Hollinghurst's prose struck me as being a little pretentious at times; particularly with regard to his lexical choices, which reflected to me a slightly contrived attempt to puff up the intellectual clout of the narrative.

Overall, I would thoroughly recommend 'The Line of Beauty'. It immerses the reader in a fascinating period of history for the UK, giving an intense flavour of a Tory-led society that publicly struggled to keep a lid on the private cocktail of sex, drugs and sexuality that bubbled underneath, threatening to shatter the foundations of the family-centric idyll of Conservatism.