Our Evenings

A Novel

By: Alan Hollinghurst

Narrated by: Prasanna Puwanarajah

From the internationally acclaimed winner of the Booker Prize, “an engrossing tale of one man’s personal odyssey as he grows up, framed in exquisite language” (The New York Times Book Review)

“The finest novel yet from one of the great writers of our time.”—The Guardian

A PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

Did I have a grievance? Most of us, without looking far, could find something that had harmed us, and oppressed us, and unfairly held us back. I tried not to dwell on it, thought it healthier not to, though I’d lived my short life so far in a chaos of privilege and prejudice.

Dave Win, the son of a Burmese man he’s never met and a British dressmaker, is thirteen years old when he gets a scholarship to a top boarding school. With the doors of elite English society cracked open for him, heady new possibilities emerge, even as Dave is exposed to the envy and viciousness of his wealthy classmates.

Alan Hollinghurst’s new novel follows Dave from the 1960s on—through the possibilities that remained open for him, and others that proved to be illusory: as a working-class brown child in a decidedly white institution; a young man discovering queer culture and experiencing his first, formative love affairs; a talented but often overlooked actor, on the road with an experimental theater company; and an older Londoner whose late-in-life marriage fills his days with an unexpected sense of happiness and security.

From “one of our most gifted writers” (The Boston Globe), Our Evenings sweeps listeners from our past to our present through the beauty, pain, and joy of one deeply observed life.

©2024 Alan Hollinghurst (P)2024 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Our Evenings is that rare bird: a muscular work of ideas and an engrossing tale of one man’s personal odyssey as he grows up, framed in exquisite language.”—The New York Times Book Review

“A novel about acceptance: of time’s passage, of life’s limitations, of the small victories that make existence meaningful.”—The Guardian

“It’s time for American readers to know the genius of Alan Hollinghurst . . . Britain’s finest prose stylist. . . . Extraordinary . . . gorgeous.”—The Washington Post

Gorgeous writing, best narration EVER

Most importantly- I have never listened to an audiobook as wonderfully read as this. And the writing is gorgeous, so the combination so enjoyable. It’s a man’s life and while he notices everything about other people, you never know what he’s thinking and feeling at any depth. Maybe he wasn’t meant to. But again- this narrator is AMAZING.

Sublime Collaboration

I adored listening to to Prassana’s reading Hollinghurst’s exquisitely crafted novel. The choice of actor Prasanna Puwanarajah as narrator is brilliant. Talk about Yeats’ “How can we know the dancer from the dance”. Here we have a collaboration of voice and story that seamlessly pulls together the crafted word and considered voice.

Brilliant and beautiful

A deep and moving story, artfully crafted by a writer at the peak of his powers. Rich, nuanced descriptions pour out of each page. Hollinghurst is like an English Tolstoy - taking the fully realized life of the central character and using it to comment on wider social themes. A masterpiece that was masterfully performed by the narrator. A great work from an author with many great works. I am sad it ended, and look forward to revisiting David and his story in the future.

Fictional memoir

Very little plot. Beautifully written.
Not sure I would recommend
Loved his previous novels.
Pretty disappointing