Our Evenings
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Our Evenings
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Narrated by:
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Prasanna Puwanarajah
About this listen
A ‘Book of the Year’ for The Guardian, The Observer, The Times, Daily Express, The Spectator, The Financial Times, Daily Telegraph, New Statesman and the I
Featured on Radio 4's 'Book at Bedtime'
'The best novel that’s been written about contemporary Britain in the past ten years. It’s funny but desperately moving too' – The Sunday Times
Alan Hollinghurst, the Booker Prize-winning author of The Line of Beauty, brings us a dark, luminous and wickedly funny portrait of modern England through the lens of one man’s acutely observed and often unnerving experience. It is a story of race and class, theatre and sexuality, love and the cruel shock of violence, from one of the finest writers of our age.
Dave Win is thirteen years old when he first goes to stay with the sponsors of his scholarship at a local boarding school. This weekend, with its games and challenges and surprising encounters, will open up heady new possibilities, even as it exposes him to their son Giles’ envy and violence.
As their lives unfold over the next half a century, the two boys’ careers will diverge dramatically: Dave, a gifted actor struggling with convention and discrimination, Giles an increasingly powerful and dangerous politician.
Our Evenings is the intimate and touching story of Dave Win’s life as a schoolboy and student, his first love affairs, in London, and on the road with an experimental theatre company, and of a late-life affair, which transforms his sixties with a new sense of happiness and a perilous security.
Our Evenings entered the Sunday Times Fiction Hardback chart at #9 w/b 07-10-24.
Critic reviews
What listeners say about Our Evenings
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Heidi
- 06-01-25
Poignant, charming story.
A gentle tale of a man's life. Beautifully narrated. I kept waking in the night to listen to a bit more. Mesmerising.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Paul
- 09-01-25
An amazing book
Broad, sensitive and involving, I absolutely loved the arc of the story. The narration is beautifully natural.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Miss W.
- 01-01-25
A fabulous gentle tale of a life lived
This is a beautifully written story - gentle and wise, and the narration is perfect. To be savoured. I didn't want to to end.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- debbieg
- 10-10-24
Episodic journey through the life of a typical Hollinghurst protagonist
A bit disappointed - writing and narration excellent but some episodes worked better than mothers - many scenarios over long and repetitive. No
Surprises - feel
Like I’ve read it before.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- jackjustreading
- 05-12-24
Best book yet
I’ve read all of Alan Hollinghursts novels and I think Our Evenings is his best yet. Very moving and magical. Would love to see this adapted to tv/film.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- the typist
- 11-10-24
Achingly beautiful as always
I’m still not 100% convinced that the author is the right person to tell the story of a biracial protagonist. However, the writing is so sublime and engaging that this feels like a very petty point to make. I’m sure it would be a lot less petty where I am person of colour reading this. I’m also confused by the marketing of the book. It’s pitched as a story of two individuals interconnecting lives. But Giles is merely a ghost in the proceedings. David on the other hand is a richly drawn, hugely likable character. I wasn’t as moved as I possibly should’ve been towards the end as I felt quite a substantial amount of historical events were given scant attention. However, the writing is so good at times that I genuinely feel I could’ve listened to 100 hours more of this story.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 26-12-24
Elegant and Poignant
For a certain generation like mine the nostalgic tenderness, melancholy, warmth and heart build throughout this elegantly written book. Occasionally pretentious but always enthralling.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 02-01-25
Superb
A great story told from the different ages and views of the writer . I enjoyed it over the Christmas.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Flighty Rach
- 06-01-25
A wonderful performance of a great book
This is a really wonderful reading (by Prasanna Puwanajarah) of a great book.
David Win, a biracial, fatherless, working class scholarship boy, is thoroughly rooted in his white and privately educated world, and thoughtfully narrates the story of his long life through reflective vignette.
It sounds slight, but this is such a thoughtful, graceful, kind hearted wander through time. Important social and political events are shown rather than told, and this techniqueof showing how events effect the individual is quietly effective because of this personal approach.
Without caricature, his wonderfully heroic and stoic mum Avril, and abusive villain Giles add drama, but ultimately this is a thoughtful book that reflects on big themes from the perspective of old age.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 31-10-24
Epic
Brilliant descriptions of the experiences of life. Fascinating characters and a clever ending. Highly recommended.
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