882. The Folding Star

The Folding Star
Alan Hollinghurst
1994

Around 435 pages

This novel reminded me of Call Me By Your Name, which I haven't actually read, but I've seen the movie. On the one hand, it's exciting to get a homosexual relationship prominently featured in story. On the other hand, it features a problematic age gap that doesn't really get addressed. Of course, this blog contains nothing but problematic relationships, so it's not shocking, just disappointing.

This is the story of Edward Manners, a gay Englishman who moves to a town in Flanders and teaches English to two students, Luc and Marcus. Edward is in love with Luc, but he is more in love with beauty than anything else, so we get this very Mann-ish idealization of the male form. 

I like Hollinghurst as a writer, so this was an enjoyable enough read. Something about his style makes me feel like he comes from an earlier age than the 90s, maybe because the story had Lolita-y vibes. Edward is an incredibly shallow character who I wanted to see get smacked down Humbert Humbert style, but I was let down on that front. 

Solid, lyrical writing but I wish he had handled themes better.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize.

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