The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst

The Blurb On The Back:

It is the summer of 1983, and young Nick Guest, an innocent in matters of politics and money, has moved into an attic room in the Notting Hill home of the Feddens: Gerald, an ambitious new Tory MP, his wealthy wife Rachel, and their children Toby and Catherine.

As the boom years of the mid-1980s unfold, Nick becomes caught up in the Feddens' world, while also pursuing his own private obsession, with beauty - a prize as compelling to him as power and riches are to his friends. An early affair with a young black council worker gives him his first experience of romance; but it is a later affair, with a beautiful millionaire, that brings into question the larger fantasies of a ruthless decade.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:
Disappointing, shallow, superficial - a lot like the 80s themselves, really. Didn't enjoy it (although I concede that it's written in an easy to follow manner), surprised it's won awards and wouldn't be interested in reading other works by the same author.

Like The Red Panda by Andrea Seigel

The Blurb On The Back:

Stella is a girl we all know but rarely meet in fiction - seventeen, smart, attractive, and deeply alienated. In thi snovel, she narrates her last two weeks of high school in Orange County, California. Here is what it is like to be a smart high school senior, already philosophically far, far away but still expected to endure the absurdly intensive AP final exams, the cool posturing of the boys, and the unnecessary competitiveness of the girls. Beneath Stella's mordantly funny take on her life is the decisiveness with which she disengages from it.

With unflinching honesty, remarkable wit, and a spare, vivid prose, Stella turns her farewell to Suburbia into a wry philosophical inquiry.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

It's well-written, has some good black humour but for me failed by having an implausible central character, with too many contrivances driving the plot. That said, I would definitely be interested in reading more of what Ms Seigel has to offer as the voice is strong and confident.