Liberating
A gay rights march in London, 1979
(CLIVE DIXON/REX)In what has become one of the defining rhythms of contemporary literature, Alan Hollinghurst’s novels appear at spacious intervals of six or seven years, each a solid architectural structure holding within it fugitive emotions and pungent atmospheres, each managing restraint and amplitude in tandem, each to be read slowly for its craftsmanship and with a greedy plunge of the spoon into the deft social comedy, counterpointed settings and irresistibly expressive detail.
The Swimming-Pool Library (1988) is firmly
