Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst tells of Dave Win, the son of a British dressmaker and a Burmese man that he’s never met. Dave is thirteen years old when he procures a scholarship to a top boarding school. As the entry to elite English society opens up for him, so do new possibilities regarding his status in life. Dave, however, is prey to the jealousy and brutality of his wealthy classmates, especially that of Giles Hadlow, whose parents sponsored Dave’s scholarship.
The narrative follows Dave from the 1960s onwards as, despite his upperclass education, he is still regarded as a working-class brown child in an unquestionably white institution. As a young man he discovers queer culture and experiences his first love affairs. He becomes a talented actor after joining the cast on the road with an experimental theatre company. Then, as an older Londoner, a late-in-life marriage brings a sense of joy and security at last.
During Dave’s life the Hadlows remain close to him, despite their own son, Giles, being alienated from them. Giles directs his privilege into a career as a powerful right-wing politician. His ultraconservative vision for England drives holes in Dave’s stability. And as the novel fast-forwards to the present day, the two men’s lives and values will finally clash in a brutal impact of violence!
This wonderfully gifted author immerses the reader in a dark, but perceptive, portrayal of modern-day Britain through one man’s eyes. From boyhood onwards he is judged by others in society regarding his race, class and sexuality. Despite becoming a dedicated and experienced actor, he is often overlooked for these same reasons. Alan Hollinghurst has exposed society for what it has become, despite protestation to the contrary. We are all guilty……………..
ISBN: 9781035038534
Our Evenings is available in hardback, paperback, e-book and audiobook.
About Alan Hollinghurst
Alan Hollinghurst is the author of seven novels, The Swimming-Pool Library, The Folding Star, The Spell, The Line of Beauty, The Stranger’s Child, The Sparsholt Affair and Our Evenings. He has received the Somerset Maugham Award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction, and the 2004 Man Booker Prize for The Line of Beauty. He lives in London.
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