Yesterday the shortlist for this year's Man Booker Prize was announced and Alan Hollinghurst's "The Stranger's Child" has sparked controversy in the literary world, by it's omission from the list, when it was a hot favourite.
Next week, Alan will be discussing his book at the Hampstead and Highgate Literary Festival, and given that everyone appears to be so amazed that it has not made the shortlist, it might be a good book to read before the festival and make your own judgement.
One reader has written in to us with their own opinion. What's yours?
"The Strangers Child, is a beautifully written novel. It spans the lives of two families from pre World war 1 to the early 21st century and the relationship they have with the poet Cecil Valance and the effect he has on them. It is a multi layered novel with some compelling moments and wry descriptions of both the characters and the lives they are leading.
The main themes of the book are the observed changes in society and culture, especially attitudes towards homosexuality, with both humorous and poignant prose as the reader looks on, on lives lost and lived and the turmoil of some characters who have never been able to live as they would choose to do. The observational style, dialogue and creativity behind this novel means that I am sure it will be a favourite on book lists for many months to come.
The research and detail that Alan Hollinghurst must have undertaken to write this tome is fascinating and I am really looking forward to hearing him in discussion at the Hampstead &Highgate Literary festival at the LJCC next week"
Has anyone else read it and what do you think?
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