Along with Christopher Isherwood, British author Alan Hollinghurst is best known for brining gay literature into the mainstream. His most famous novel, The Line of Beauty, which was published in 2004, did just that for people across the world. Hollinghurst’s novel follows a young man named Nick Guest, an Oxford graduate who finds himself becoming close to–and for a time, living with– the Fedden family, who are major players in Conservative politics in the United Kingdom. As Nick confronts the politics of the Thatcher era in the United Kingdom, he comes to grip with his sexuality and who he truly is (and what he wants out of life) in such an uncertain time. Likewise, Nick contends with the family’s hypocrisy and their propensity for cheating, manipulation, and adultery– all of which they fight against.
In many ways, Hollinghurst’s novel is a look into a specific point and item. Throughout the novel, Hollinghurst criticizes political systems, politicians, and those who conspire to keep young men and women in the closet. But perhaps most importantly, at the end of the novel Hollinghurst talks about how AIDS harmed the gay rights movement and the gay people who had to suffer because of it. He shows how Nick’s life was turned upside down by the AIDS crisis, belying pro-gay narratives of the time.
When it was published, The Line of Beauty received exceptionally positive reviews from critics and audiences alike. It was nominated for (and ultimately won) the prestigious Man-Booker Prize. The New York Times wrote a glowing review of the novel, saying that Hollinhurst always holds himself to a very “high standard.”
