Bloodless Coup

Alan Hollinghurst's The Folding Star

The Folding Star is the third of Alan Hollinghurst’s novels that I have read. This one and The Swimming Pool Library are fine. More than fine really, since Hollinghurst’s prose is magnificent – The New Republic has described it as “lavish, poised, sinuously alert”. But both this and The Swimming Pool Library struck me as notably minor works compared to The Line of Beauty (which won the Man Booker Prize). They are principally about longing, passion, and the pluses and minuses of getting (or not getting) your deepest desires. The Line of Beauty weighs a ton, but if you are really interested in trying out this author, someone who can do things with the English language that few people can, that’s probably the book you should read. It’s not merely a beautiful collection of words and scenes, but it says something much grander than the other books of his that I have read (while also incorporating the elements and themes he usually addresses). The Folding Star has some interesting moments, and the writing is lovely, but it’s not on the same level as The Line of Beauty.