The Book Review   /     Book Club: Let’s Talk About Alan Hollinghurst’s ‘Our Evenings’

Summary

This sweeping novel about the life, loves, struggles and triumphs of a queer English Burmese actor is the topic of our January book club discussion.

Subtitle
This sweeping novel about the life, loves, struggles and triumphs of a queer English Burmese actor is the topic of our January book club discussion.
Duration
00:47:52
Publishing date
2025-01-31 19:56
Link
https://www.nytimes.com/column/book-review-podcast
Contributors
  The New York Times
author  
Enclosures
https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/pfx.vpixl.com/6qj4J/nyt.simplecastaudio.com/621229bd-2556-4ce6-8ae0-9fa3046f9da9/episodes/56882aad-4824-4caa-91eb-f010a3f5a0b6/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=621229bd-2556-4ce6-8ae0-9fa30
audio/mpeg

Shownotes

The novel “Our Evenings,” by Alan Hollinghurst, follows a gay English Burmese actor from childhood into old age as he confronts confusing relationships, his emerging sexuality, racism and England’s changing political climate in the late 20th and early 21st century. It’s the story of a life — beautifully related by a literary master whose 2004 novel “The Line of Beauty” won the Booker Prize and was named to the Book Review’s 100 Best Books of the 21st Century.

Reviewing “Our Evenings” for us last year, Hamilton Cain wrote that the book “is that rare bird: a muscular work of ideas and an engrossing tale of one man’s personal odyssey as he grows up, framed in exquisite language, surrounding us like a Wall of Sound.”

You can join our book club discussion in the comments here.

We would love to hear your thoughts about this episode, and about the Book Review’s podcast in general. You can send them to books@nytimes.com.

Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.