Discover this ‘sparkling celebration of sexual intrigue’ (Telegraph) from the Booker Prize-winning author of The Line of Beauty.
The Spell is a comedy of sexual manners that follows the interlocking affairs of four men: Robin, an architect in his late forties, who is trying to build an idyllic life in Dorset with his younger lover, Justin; Robin's 22 year old son Danny, a volatile beauty who lives for clubbing and casual sex; and the shy Alex, who is Justin's ex-boyfriend.
As each in turn falls under the spell of romance or drugs, country living or rough trade, a richly ironic picture emerges of the clashing imperatives of modern gay life. At once lyrical, sceptical and romantic, The Spell confirms Alan Hollinghurst as one of Britain's most important novelists.
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About Alan Hollinghurst
Reviews for The Spell
Independent
A masterpiece of sustained literary titillation
The Times
Love, lust and loss among a group of middle-class gay Englishmen... Young and old, the town and the country, the wild and respectable: Holinghurst explores each of these uneasy conflicts with wit, generosity and sharply observed comedy
Mail on Sunday
A bewitchingly beautiful tale... confirms his pre-eminence among the prose writers of his generation
Daily Telegraph
Comic fantasy is grounded in a wealth of sharp observation and psychological insight. Hollinghurst has lost none of his authority
Evening Standard
Bewitchingly clever and elegant
Guardian
In its evocation of place, or, more exactly, of places in time, the book is masterful
Geoff Dyer
The Guardian