First published 1999
Robin, an architect in his late forties, works to create an perfect existence in the Dorset countryside with Justin, his younger partner. Their careful domestic arrangement faces disruption from two directions. Danny, Robin's volatile twenty-two-year-old son, throws himself into London's club scene and anonymous encounters. Alex, Justin's former boyfriend, watches from the sidelines with quiet longing. Each man pursues his own version of fulfillment. Robin seeks stability through rural domesticity. Danny chases excitement through drugs and nightlife. Justin navigates between his past and present relationships. Alex struggles with unrequited feelings and social awkwardness. Their desires intersect and collide as romantic attachments shift and reform. The four men discover that their attempts to control love and desire often lead to unexpected consequences. Hollinghurst examines how different generations of gay men approach relationships, commitment, and pleasure in contemporary Britain.
Genres: contemporary, 21st-century, lgbt, gay
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Dorset, London
Period: contemporary
257 pages · Paperback · Vintage
Content warnings: sexual-content