The Sparsholt Affair Audiobook By Alan Hollinghurst cover art

The Sparsholt Affair

A novel

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The Sparsholt Affair

By: Alan Hollinghurst
Narrated by: David Dawson
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Buy for $22.50

Buy for $22.50

“Call Me By Your Name meets Evelyn Waugh in a gorgeous novel about the generations-long aftershocks of a youthful tryst.” —Esquire

From the winner of the Man Booker Prize, a masterly novel that spans seven transformative decades as it plumbs the complex relationships of a remarkable family.

In 1940, David Sparsholt arrives at Oxford to study engineering, though his sights are set on joining the Royal Air Force. Handsome, athletic, charismatic, he is unaware of his powerful effect on others—especially on Evert Dax, the lonely and romantic son of a celebrated novelist who is destined to become a writer himself. With the world at war, and the Blitz raging in London, Oxford exists at a strange remove: a place of fleeting beauty, of secret liaisons under the cover of blackouts. A friendship develops between David and Evert that will influence their lives for decades to come.

Alan Hollinghurst's sweeping new novel evokes across three generations the intimate relationships of a group of friends brought together by art, literature, and love. We witness shifts in taste and morality through a series of vividly rendered episodes: a Sparsholt holiday in Cornwall; eccentric gatherings at the Dax family home; the adventures of David's son Johnny, a painter in 1970s London. Richly observed, emotionally charged, this dazzling novel of fathers and sons, of family and legacy, explores the social and sexual revolutions of the past century, even as it takes us straight to the heart of our current age. Literature & Fiction Historical England Literary Fiction Historical Fiction Genre Fiction Fiction Friendship Witty
Beautiful Storytelling • Complex Characters • Rich Relationships • Compelling History • Superb Voice Versatility

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David Dawson gives life to the words that Alan Hollinghurst strung together so beautifully. I would probably never read this book but I’m already listening to it again.

Delightful meandering

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The characters are so vapid and selfish that I was embarassed by them. Plot wise, nothing interesting happened. At all. There was the potential to take the story in different, compelling, directions, but the author never did. Dawsons narration was sexy and the only redeeming part of the listening experience. Kudos to him for trying to spin gold out of straw.

Nothing happens. I'm ashamed to be gay.

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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

the prose is so stunningly fine it takes your breath away....i have read all of his work and i find this is his finest

What other book might you compare The Sparsholt Affair to and why?

a stranger's child

Which character – as performed by David Dawson – was your favorite?

ivan

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

awe at what a well educated intellect is capable of in these sad times for the world

Any additional comments?

world goes to hell and i cling to a hollinghurst novel as a life-raft

henry james improved for our age

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Rarely does the reader so perfectly present a complex story filled with wonderfully written characters.

Perfect narration of a very fine novel

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love the characters and the story, beautifully done. the transitions were fantastic, could close my eyes and picture it all in my mind.. thank you.

great book

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