The Spell

I am enchanted by this novel. It has everything a good tale should have. Love, flirtation, disappointment in the lives of the four main characters, suspension and denouement in their actions or passivity, a wonderful description of the environment in which these upper-middle class Englishmen move, a lovely style so full of unexpected turns of phrase and new insights for someone like me who was never attracted by drugs, life in the country or people older than me. What however strikes me most is the absence of happenings that are typically gay. Perhaps the only true gay experience lies in the switch of Robin's persuasion from hetero husband to gay father and this must have happened twenty years ago and is not gone into in any great detail. All the other events could occur in any group of people not necessarily gay. Danny, whose development from a flirtatious, irresponsible young thing to a person of maturity, could be Daniela; Justin, who leaves Alex for Robin, Danny's father, could be Justine; Terry, the slut, could be the village whore, Teresa. A few minor characters who move in gay circles could be the personnel of any novel. Alex's mid-life crisis which drives him to young blood, is not a particularly gay feature. Nor are the whims and predilections of the novel's characters particular to gay lifestyle. To sum up: Alan Hollinghurst has written a masterly novel which should attract anyone whether gay or not, because it is a perfect comédie humaine.

This author's almost obsessive attention to realism will enchant readers with beautiful language and fascinating characters. I really can't say much that other reviewers here haven't already said, except that I loved this novel, and I felt like I knew these people.

My friends recommend fiction to me, and I usually tell them I don't read fiction. The exception is Alan Hollinghurst, whose books I read eagerly. Hollinghurst is one of the finest writers of our age. I can't mention enough superlatives: superb command of language, perfect understanding of human nature, marvelous wit, and--my favorite--the most artful use of sexual titillation of any writer of our generation. Hollinghurst's sexual orientation has nothing to do with his divine gift as a writer, but his homosexuality makes his subject matter fascinating. Linda Donelson

Hollinghurst's third novel is very much like an eighteenth-century play or opera (think "Marriage of Figaro" or, more recently, Sondheim's "A Little Night Music") in which social mores are explored and exposed through the follies of a tight band of entwined (so to speak) characters. Like in a play, each of the four men here is given his moment in the sun, which has the wonderful effect of giving us insight into characters both sympathetic (Alex) and despicable (Justin), all of whom are revealed to have just as much humanity as all the rest of us flawed humans. Also as with a play, the "stage" of the novel is quite circumscribed: principally, gay London and Robin's country house, where a big summer party is the novel's central scene. Hollinghurst is a master craftsman when it comes to language; his first novel, "The Swimming Pool Library," was a historical tour de force, while his second, "The Folding Star," featured great scenes and compelling characters but failed to hold together, ending much too abruptly after considerable meandering. "The Spell" on the other hand is tightly constructed, a spellbinding read that I couldn't put down. Hollinghurst has taken the stale genre of the comedy of manners and created something utterly fresh and wonderful.

This novel is written so well, with such intelligence and such skill, that you find yourself somewhat surprised that it's so readable. I admit to having skipped around in "Swimming Pool Library" and "Folding Star", but this one I read straight through, literally unable to put it down. For one thing, there is humor, not the dark type which characterized his first two novels, but real humor that makes you laugh as often as you cringe. And you will cringe as these very human characters embarrass themselves, but you'll love them for doing it. Each of the four main characters presents a different variation on a theme. Each of them is eminently likeable in spite of their various failings. The book is a striking literary accomplshment as well as great entertainment. In short, a masterpiece that transcends the genre of "gay fiction" and a novel that's destined to become an instant classic.