Book Review: "The Sparsholt Affair" by Alan Hollinghurst

Don't look so shocked. I recently read The Stranger's Child and my mind about Alan Hollinghurst's novels was changed. So, I decided to go seeking out novels by him that are like that one. I came across the famed novel The Sparsholt Affair and was immediately drawn to the similarities. It starts off in one era, goes into another and, when uncovering things, a man is in the middle of two personalities: one that he used to have and another that is being slowly uncovered. Even though in The Stranger's Child, Cecil is already dead by the time things are being uncovered about him and in this novel the man is very muc alive - it has similar sentiments and writing styles. That's what made it so good.

The novel opens at Oxford during the Second World War, where Freddie Green, a young aspiring writer, narrates the story of his circle of friends. The group becomes captivated by David Sparsholt, a strikingly handsome, athletic newcomer who is a member of the university's rowing team. David, who is engineering-minded and physically disciplined, has little interest in the arts or the intellectual world that Freddie and his friends inhabit. However, his physical beauty exerts a magnetic pull, especially on Evert Dax, the openly gay son of a famous author. The group’s fascination with David sets the stage for the complex relationships that follow. One of these regards Freddie Green who initially doesn't see what all the fuss is about but, internally he has some slightly different ideas.

Evert Dax becomes infatuated with David, who, despite being engaged to his girlfriend Connie, does not entirely reject Evert’s advances. Their interactions are shrouded in ambiguity, with hints of an intimate encounter during a candlelit evening in Evert’s rooms. While David projects a conventional, heterosexual image, his private actions suggest a more complicated reality. Evert’s unreciprocated love and David’s detachment establish a dynamic of longing and secrecy that echoes throughout the novel. This is something that is similar to The Stranger's Child in which the very notion of homosexuality is reviled and so, we have a character who must by all means necessary, conceal themselves. It adds this extra layer of tension to the text in which we become insanely worried about our protagonist and their close circle of friends.

By the 1960s, David Sparsholt has married Connie, fathered a son named Johnny, and built a prosperous business career. Outwardly, he embodies the post-war ideal of masculine success. However, his hidden sexual encounters with men culminate in a sensational public scandal. The details of the scandal remain vague, but it involves illicit affairs, police intervention, and widespread media coverage. The Sparsholt Affair tarnishes David’s reputation and profoundly impacts his family, marking a turning point in the novel and a reflection of societal attitudes towards homosexuality during the period. It is a terrifying tense part of the novel which becomes a focal mid-point where things still have to yet happen because there is more than one Sparsholt now.

The narrative shifts to focus on Johnny Sparsholt, David’s son, who grows up burdened by the shadow of his father’s disgrace. Johnny is artistic, sensitive, and quietly aware of his own homosexuality, which he keeps hidden during his youth. The father-son relationship is distant and strained, with David embodying the traditional values of his generation, while Johnny represents a more introspective, emotionally aware perspective. He moves through the novel, relocating to London, haunted by his father's affairs. However, he also moves into his own and becomes artistic. He begins to create a portrait of an unnamed person and has a close friendship with a young man named Bastian. Johnny's future seems to brighten even though he carries the burden of his name. As time moves along, the landscape on homosexuality begins to change as well.

All in all, this book becomes an extended metaphor for how things must change in order for things to get better. We see the change in the life of Freddie Green once Sparsholt enters it, we see the change in Sparsholt's life which may look dire at the time but becomes better as his son gets older and begins to understand more. As the novel's second half begins, we are made to confront our own lives and ask ourselves where we have felt that we have been found out and how we can then have a redemption, making it better for others if not ourselves.