Best known for his thought-provoking explorations of sexuality and identity across generations, British author Alan Hollinghurst rose to international stardom after his 2004 novel The Line of Beauty was awarded the Booker Prize. In his seventh novel, Our Evenings, Alan adopts the memoir format, offering a delicate meditation on memory, loss, and the passage of time. On this week’s episode, Michael is joined by Alan on Zoom to discuss his life and career and why this book is as close as Alan will get to writing his own memoir.

Reading list:

The Swimming Pool Library, Alan Hollinghurst, 1988

The Folding Start, Alan Hollinghurst, 1994

The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst, 2004

The Sparsholt Affair, Alan Hollinghurst, 2017

Our Evenings, Alan Hollinghurst, 2024

Theory and Practice, Michelle de Kretser, 2024

You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store. 

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Guest: Alan Hollinghurst