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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
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| Review Analysis of The Line of Beauty |
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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).
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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 (quite a lot)
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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Click here for more information about this book
Alan Hollinghurst Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
Susanna Marlowe 
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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