SOURCE: "The Tutor's Tale," in Lambda Book Report, Vol. 4, September, 1994, pp. 18-20.

[An American novelist, poet, editor, memoirist, playwright, nonfiction writer, and scriptwriter, Picano frequently writes on gay culture and issues. In the following, he assesses the strengths and weaknesses of The Folding Star.]

Alan Hollinghurst's debut with The Swimming Pool Library was so sudden and complete a few years back that many Americans were surprised to discover that he didn't just pop out of nowhere, but in fact had been the editor of the prestigious Times Literary Supplement for some time. This fact may have explained the rapture with which the book was received in England, but it didn't explain what a wonderful first novel it was, and how, after an excruciatingly long wait, there was finally another gay British novel fit to place next to A Single Man, not to mention a dozen American gay novels...