The Line of Beauty - March 2021 Book Group Discussion thread
11 watchers
Mar 2021
8:13am, 21 Mar 2021
45,796 posts
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LindsD
Something by Martin Amis?
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Mar 2021
8:13am, 21 Mar 2021
45,797 posts
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LindsD
(Great review)
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Mar 2021
8:30am, 21 Mar 2021
8,217 posts
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Too Much Water
Interesting to read the thread, I preferred The Swimming Pool Library by Hollinghurst, not read TLOB for some time but the book has stayed with me. TLOB captures the hubristic essence that cocaine brings very well, a parallel can be drawn between this and the rise and then decline of Mrs Thatcher. For other 80s books try American Psycho or perhaps for a UK perspective Rumours of a Hurricane by Tim Lott. |
Mar 2021
5:48pm, 28 Mar 2021
20,965 posts
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Columba
OK, before I read back: A very good book, very competently written, with little gems of comment and description everywhere... But I didn't actually like it. This was only partly because the descriptions of gay sex were way way too much information. And partly because yes indeed, it was a pretty horrible decade. I couldn't really get up much sympathy for any of the characters. |
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Mar 2021
6:00pm, 28 Mar 2021
20,966 posts
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Columba
Peregrinator "On politics - I suppose there were people who liked - loved - Margaret Thatcher". Indeed there were. I was married to one. Still am, technically. He thought the sun shone out of her every orifice. Probably still does. He used to refer to her as "blessed Margaret". Admittedly, that was a bit of a joke.
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Mar 2021
10:17am, 29 Mar 2021
36,020 posts
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Night-owl
Not a book I totally enjoyed sorry Linds but read it finished give it a 6 once I head over to the polls Set in the 80s during Thatchers government I'm not a prude (shared a house with a gay man in the 90s) but the references to the gay sex was too much plus the references to drug use. The third part was better though sad in places people I'll and dying but it was part of the time Also maybe because I'm not a man couldn't see how men of the 80s saw Thatcher as some sort of sex symbol. Powerful yes you wouldn't mess with her Off to blog now |
Apr 2021
4:26pm, 5 Apr 2021
12,175 posts
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Little Nemo
I saw TLOB as a TV series back in the early 2000s but didn't remember a great deal about it - apart from the sex scene in the gardens  This book is mainly set near where I live and I've walked past the garden square 100s of times. It probably added something to the story for me as it felt as though the author had really captured the setting. There was a great passage where Nick is describing the descent of the bus from Willesden to Ladbroke Grove that perfectly describes the feeling of going from one of the poorer areas of London to one of the wealthiest. Although the distance is near the actual lfestyle is completely alien. I can't imagine the wealth you'd need to own a whole of one of these big houses. I think most of them are divided up into flats and these will be millions each. It's odd that I enjoyed this book so much when nearly everyone in it is so horrible! It was written so well that I wanted to find out what happened to them. The main character is particularly ghastly - such a parasitic hanger-on. I couldn't feel any sympathy for him, he seemed to weasel his way into families and just sponge off people. And he didn't seem to really care that much about his boyfriends, I didn't get much sense of grief at the death of Leo or Wani's illness. I loved the ending - being booted out of the garden of Eden and presumably having to stand on his own 2 feet for once. I'm hoping that he doesn't get the block of flats when Wani eventually dies! I lived in this area through the 80s and I remember Thatcher and the AIDS epidemic. In some ways we've come a long way - good treatments for HIV and a much less homophobic society. But the awfulness of politicians and the corruption of those with opportunity still seems to be with us. I gave this book an 8. |
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Apr 2021
4:36pm, 5 Apr 2021
46,189 posts
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LindsD
Thank you LN. I'm glad you liked it. I quite liked Nick, though you are right about his choices.
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Apr 2021
4:37pm, 5 Apr 2021
12,176 posts
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Little Nemo
Peregrinator - my gut feel for how it was in the 80s is that the black/white aspect would have been less problematic than the gay aspect. London at that time was quite racially tolerant but a gay couple would probably have needed to be discreet out on the streets. Also I agree with others that the gay sex was sometimes a bit TMI
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Apr 2021
5:06pm, 5 Apr 2021
46,190 posts
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LindsD
I agree with you that most of the people in ot were not very nice.
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