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That is a tough one but I think I would rather read a bad story with good writing… I can get past the bad plot if the writing is good!

Hollinghurst, the gay author, is a beautiful, elegant, paced writer. And this audiobook is read perfectly. But, whoa, slow. David Winn has many layers of separation between his single mother home, half-Burmese appearance, gay sexuality, and those of wealthy, elite-school classmates. The book keeps going through his 1970‘s acting career, many relationships, and on to covid. A little too much too slowly for this listener. But I liked the style.

The three “disorderly men” of the title are detained in a police raid of a gay bar, charged with disorderly conduct. It is pre-Stonewall, early 1960s NYC when being gay meant a lot of shame, rejection, secrets, and ostracism. We follow the personal stories of each man as their lives eventually intersect. It is a sobering reminder of the cumulative emotional damage that occurs when gay people shoulder the burden of a forced closeted existence.

I‘ve been picking away at this since Dec 27. I‘m sort of mostly done, but just wanted to share what I‘m actively listening to.

This is my first Hollinghurst, so I‘m just learning what an elegant prose writer he is. Everything is beautiful. It‘s also really long, patient and slow. The life a gay actor on an Oxford scholarship.

This book started strong but completely fizzled out 40% in. I bailed at 60%—life‘s too short for boring books, and I‘ve hit my limit on privileged, elite British society.

#BookedInTime
I don‘t care about the controversy surrounding this novel. Was a page or two plagiarized? Writers get inspiration from many sources including real people. Putting those pages aside (which the author literally did, and rewrote them) this novel is beautiful and it deserves all the stars. ⭐️

All the feelings of a big classic novel. This is old-fashioned storytelling, complete with lush prose, layers of characterisation, and a context that lives as much as the characters do. A really immersive story about struggles of class, race, sexuality, and family in post-war Britain. I wish I‘d been able to submerge myself in this more completely, a drawn out reading let me miss a bit of nuance I‘m sure. An excellent read.

This was a surprising little queer novel. I liked the aspect of found family and how difficult it might be to maintain in the face of relationships and jobs.

Gordon comes to Brooklyn from Minnesota with barely any money. He quickly falls in with a lesbian friend. When a dog walking gig leads to a personal assistant position with an older gay couple, Gordon‘s friendships and ethics are tested.

I‘m always on the lookout for queer detective fiction and this fits the bill nicely. Despite the murder of a hustler and the crackdown on the queer community in Boston following the discovery of the body int he lawn of a notoriously homophobic politician, this book remains surprisingly upbeat without dismissing the violence and grief. Excellent banter and solid character have me craving the rest of the series.