This is my second book of Alan Hollinghurst followed by the Booker prize winning The Line of Beauty where he explored politics and sexuality in the eyes of middle class gay Nick Guest who is living as a guest for a rich family.

Our Evenings starts with the almost identical setting though our narrator and protagonist David Win, who is only a young teenager whose scholarship is paid by the rich art loving Hadlow family, stays with them. The Hadlow family has a similarity to the Fadden family in The Line of Beauty but the Our Evenings, keeping the rich family saga at the backdrop, details of the life of David, a Burmese English actor who was raised by a single mother.

Our Evenings is mostly comprised of social gatherings where strangers and familiar faces mingle, which is a perfect setting as David, a gay ethnic person, could be easily singled out. David narrates his life in a form of memoir. David's life can be divided into the Brampton days as a teenager with his single mother, the Oxford days when he is feeling pressure to excel, the experimental theatre days and the later days as a seasoned actor and writer, continuously living through prejudice and privilege of the white English society. In and out are the stories of the Hadlow, David's mother and his lovers. At the backdrop, the son of the Hadlow, Giles, who kissed David when they were kids, slowly becomes a strong political figure and eventually becomes a Brexit Minister.

This book is funny and poignant. Hollinghurst's writing is masterful. I find that the structure is quite playful including the twist at the end. It was really an enjoyable read.

Thank you for NetGalley for the advance copy of the book!!