The Swimming-Pool Library
A novel (Lambda Literary Award)
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3.8 • 40 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
The dazzling first novel from the best-selling, Booker Prize-Winning author of The Line of Beauty and The Sparsholt Affair.
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. 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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
On entering a London public lavatory in blithe pursuit of quick, anonymous sex, beautiful and roguish young aristocrat William Beckwith isconfronted instead with an ancient, doddering member of the British House of Lords who, after muttering an incoherent string of polite non sequiturs, promptly keels over at his feet in embarrassed but undeniable coronary arrest. After saving the old man's life, Will is invited to tea by the grateful and slightly senile Lord Nantwich, who, surprised by Will's impressive lineage and appalled at his state of idle unemployment, engages the young man to write the Nantwich life story. Thus begins the unusual relationship that forms the core of this funny, sad and beautifully written novel. The Swimming Pool Library weaves a rich and fascinating tapestry of Britain's gay subculture spanning pre-World War I through the sexually abandoned early '80s, stopping short at the doorstep of AIDS. Hollinghurst's prose is fresh, witty and wise, and his ever-surprising, sinuously unfurling story is told with insouciant grace and unabashed sexuality. BOMC and QPBC alternates. .
Customer Reviews
Erotic and intriguing
Hollinghurst's debut novel and a beautiful read. Set in early 80s London it delves into the never ending sexual appetite of gay protagonist Will and his relationship and revelations with Lord Nantwich who he befriends by a near tragic accident.
Loved the gritty realism and poetic visions Hollinghurst paints of this period London. The city I know well comes to life with every line of text. And also offers something I didn't know both about the city, its history and gay community.
Twists and turns delight and much intrigue developed of the locations of both the Swimming Pool Library and Nantwich's forgotten London Street in his cellar.
A story of its time that will bring recognition to gay readers and enjoyment and drama for all who read this exquisite and engaging work.
Marc Checkley