Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst. Published by Picador. €31.90
(hardback)
It is often loosely thrown about that a particular writer is one of the best of his or her generation. While such claims may have a degree of veracity, few authors truly can lay claim to being worthy of such a tribute.
For this reviewer, Alan Hollinghurst is a true giant of contemporary literature, and the sparsity of his work– with a new novel every six or seven years – leaves his fans hungry for more. Since he published his debut novel, The Swimming-Pool Library in 1988, he has only produced seven titles, the latest being Our Evenings. His fourth book, The Line of Beauty in 2004, won the Man Booker prize. And for me, The Sparsholt Affair seven years ago, can be ranked with his debut work as a modern classic.
After so many triumphs, one might worry that Hollinghurst would, at some point, hit a bump in the road. Not so, and the immediate reaction to his latest volume, Our Evenings, suggest that it could become a new favourite.
Just turned 70, Hollinghurst was in Dublin last week to speak about his new work, and hearing what a labour of love this has been only adds to its appeal.
The story, told in the first person, is that of Dave Win, an actor, who is writing his memoirs. His story spans many decades, from his teens – when he wins a scholarship to a public school in Berkshire – through to his late middle age.
Over that time, Win faces many challenges. Born to a single parent, the result of a liaison between a white English woman and a Burmese father whom he never met, he is forced to endure racism and homophobia.
Home with his mother is a sanctuary, while his chosen career, acting, brings him a level of success. His colour, though, inevitably proves to be a barrier. Running in tandem with Win’s story is that of his great adversary, Giles, a Conservative MP who is brilliantly portrayed. At 500 pages, Our Evenings is quite a tome to tackle, but doing so is nothing short of sublime. Hearing Hollinghurst speak makes it easy to understand how he writes with such empathy. Oh, and the end is not what you expect at all.
The Revelation of Ireland 1995-2020 by Diarmaid Ferriter. Published by Profile Books. €24.99 (hardback)
The transformation that has been wrought in Ireland in the quarter of a century until 2020 has been nothing short of monumental. Had you left Ireland in 1995 and lived with little or no awareness of what was occurring here in the subsequent 25 years, you would not recognise the land to which you returned.
Making sense of all that has taken place, so quickly in the aftermath, is quite a task, and one that UCD’s professor of modern Irish history, Diarmaid Ferriter, has tackled with fairness and understanding. His credentials to pen such a sound retelling of recent history are impeccable, and he tackles the subject in the knowledge that it is a perilous assignment.
While such a history needs to be academic in its approach and substance, Ferriter has the ability to make the subject readable.
The book features many of the moments of great scandal and shame which came to light during a time when Ireland’s modernisation continued – albeit at great cost when the Celtic tiger’s roar was muted.
The 2008 crash saw the nation drowning in levels of debt that were previously unimaginable, and which would have caused untold anguish to our forefathers. This book will stand as a valuable reference point to three decades of change.
Frankie By Graham Norton. Published by Coronet. €23.20 (hardback)
As we face into the dark evenings, perhaps you enjoy some comfort food, and a comfort read. The latter appetite can be easily sated; get your hands on the latest offering from Graham Norton, and all will be well.
While Alan Hollinghurst produces a book every six or seven years, Norton’s debut novel, Holding, appeared in late 2016, and this is now his fifth novel. Norton knows his audience, he gives them what they want, and does not have his sights set on a major literary prize. This is not to be snobbish about his work, as Norton writes well.
Here is another novel that bridges many decades, telling the story of Frankie Howe in old age, looking back on a life that took her from Ireland in the aftermath of the war and then to the mayhem, good and bad, of New York in the 1960s.
After suffering a fall in her London flat, Frankie welcomes into her home a young Irish carer, Damian, and finds they both come from the same part of west Cork. Over time a rapport develops, leading to Frankie telling him the story of her life.
Gulliver’s Travels By Jonathan Swift. Published by Penguin. €11.60
Gulliver’s Travels is a timeless and universal story, and there could be no better recommendation for the book than that given by George Orwell, who said: “Its fascination seems inexhaustible. If I had to make a list of six books which were to be preserved when all others were destroyed, I would certainly put Gulliver’s Travels among them.”
Lemuel Gulliver travels to fantastic places, among them Lilliput where the inhabitants are small and he is gigantic, and the less well-remembered Brobdingnag, where the reverse is true. In each of Gulliver’s adventures, Swift satirises foolishness and vice. In fact, while the book is full of page-turning pleasures, it contains some of the most savage criticism of humanity ever written.
Born in Dublin in 1667, Swift was appointed dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin in 1713 until his death in 1745. He was also a freeman of the city.
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