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The Line of Beauty
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Plot Summary of The Line of Beauty
"The story is set in the mid 1980's in London. Nick Guest has just graduated from Oxford and has started a Phd program in English literature, focusing on the novels of Henry James. Nick is middle class, but, at Oxford, he made friends with the son of a wealthy member of Parliament, named Gerald Fedden. Nick rents a room in Gerald's Notting Hill mansion.

As Nick is learning the ways of the upper class, he is also coming out as a gay man. His first boyfriend is Leo, a slightly older black man. Nick then moves on to have a secret involvement with the son of a very rich Lebanese immigrant.

Since it is the 1980's, the story talks about Prime Minister Thatcher, money, cocaine, and AIDS."

Susanna Marlowe, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of The Line of Beauty
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book? - depressed
Time/era of story - 1980's-1999
Romance/Romance Problems Yes
Kind of romance: - GENERAL--no other subplots apply
Kind of sex: - two guys doing it
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Taboo sex story? Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - student
Age: - 20's-30's
Ethnicity/Nationality - British
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - politician/elected ruler
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - throughout most of the book.
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - very athletic

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 9 ()
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK
City? Yes
City: - London
Misc setting - fancy mansion

Style
Person - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - descript of kissing - licking - descript. of nude males (the big P) - male homosexuals doing their thing
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Alan Hollinghurst Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Susanna Marlowe  

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