The Stranger's Child - by Alan Hollinghurst

Too infrequently do we acknowledge the moments of culinary delight interwoven with our intellectual wrangling of the written word. But as Mark welcomed us on a cold winter afternoon, with cucumber sandwiches and Edwardian cocktails it became apparent that we were to be treated to an afternoon of multiple delights.

Alan Hollinghurst's The Stranger's Child inspired the afternoons frolics and it was fascinating to discover how different the opinion of the work became for those who had read further or completed the novel.

As  a work who's structure consists of a series of slow reveals, imparting facts and discoveries in carefully meted doses, I suspect its major themes are also reserved for the committed reader who completes the work. And several of us found the technique of veils and whispers most successful at the beginning but wore thin with repetition. Not that it is a hard read. Indeed Hollinghust writes in a beautiful 'pre TV' style with dense plots and carefully layered characters. Somewhat ironic really in a narrative that reads like a film script. However while the voice shifts from character to character in this work, the tone is always undeniably the authors.

His superb style is eminently readable and takes you into the action, but requires both time to read and time to digest as the work moves through a series of different eras. It examines how the social mores of that time impact the ways the characters choose to live their lives, most particularly the journey of how gay men have gradually found their visibility in an often hostile world.

Recognising how lucky we now are to generally be able to shout out loud the 'love that dare not speak its name', Hollinghurst explores a series of chapter long vignettes with its genesis in a sweet stylistic tribute to Evelyn Waugh. Hollinghurst uses different characters eyes as he moves through the decades, all who have connections to the original tale, albeit becoming more tenuous with time.

And there I think the tales theme starts to take hold. What is history and how can we ever be sure of its authenticity? History is told from the winners point of view, and there have been very few gay winners ready to put the story straight until recent times. So to speak!

Selectively told history throws a dust sheet over all those lives, all those loves. Andrew observed that the worst you can do is deny the point of a person. He observed it as a potentially very English trait and noted the relief of living in later times.

As different characters reveal the changing mores of society,  this book gradually reveals that every generation has its own fight. And perhaps the strongest underlying plea is that those struggles not be forgotten, or overwritten by a more convenient truth.

But it takes time to get to this truth. It only coalesces late in the book, and those readers who do not reach the final chapter would be forgiven for finding the work inconclusive and directionless. Kevin was finding it a trudge mid way through. However as with many things in life, satisfying conclusions can sometimes take time and perseverance. At least Hollinghurst's signature elegiac style is a soothing journey.

And given the structure of this tale, one can't help expecting to see the film version in the offing.  Although gay tales are difficult Hollywood fodder without Cowboy hats, and that in itself further reinforces the assertion for the rights of visibility.

And all this revelation interwoven with a delightful Edwardian afternoon tea. A perfect Billingsgate gathering.

Rajah 7.5

Mark 8.5

Dennis 8

Kevin 7

Andrew 7.5

Alenna like the green cover!

Total 8 (well almost - averaged up!)