" I have one word that instantly springs to mind after reading this: tedious. I have an aversion to giving up on a book and never picking it up again but I'm pretty sure, had this not been required reading for University, that this novel would have suffered that rare fate. As a writer, one of the most obvious and basic factors I've learnt to take into consideration is the importance of creating characters that provoke the audience to have feelings, one way or another. The main issue I had with this text was that I had no interest in any of the characters involved whatsoever. The protagonist was shallow and superficial. He lacked any appealing qualities and with little absorption to his character, I didn't find the first person story at all engaging. What bothered me most was the constant feeling that Hollinghurst actually wanted me to like this character, as if he empathised with his traits. I wasn't convinced. In addition to this, another issue that I had with 'The Swimming Pool Library' was that it seemed to have two parallel stories taking place at once, of equal importance. The problem was that both stories weren't exactly interesting and perhaps suffered from the fact that neither were given precedence. Clutching at straws, the only positive thing I have to say about this text at all is that it is well written. Aside from the odd brave (borderline pretentious) sentences, it's very easy to follow. It's just a shame that it was painfully dull. "
— David, 2/16/2014