What is one to make of Alan Hollinghurst?  Winner of the Man Booker Prize (for The Line of Beauty in 2004), loved by critics, feted as a great prose stylist, he seems to be Britain’s foremost literary novelist du jour.  And yet … It seems entirely possible to admire his writing, all that elegance, careful craft, and cool poise, and not be moved even slightly by his novels.

That was certainly my experience with his most recent book, The Sparsholt Affair.  The story follows a coterie of painters, writers, and various hangers-on from their time in Oxford in the early years of the second world war through to the 1970s and centers on David Sparsholt, athlete and fighter pilot, whose impact on the group and his family reverberates through more than forty years. Time and again as I read the novel, I found myself impressed by Hollinghurst’s skill and simultaneously untouched by the story or its protagonists.  All in all, a disappointing end to my 2017 reading.

It snowed heavily on my second evening in Paris, the first snow in the city for five years according to the concierge.  The heavy, swirling snowflakes made St-Germain-Des-Prés, picturesque on any day, postcard perfect. Where better to watch this winter wonderland than from a great café?  Although they’re undeniably touristy, it’s hard to resist the romantic appeal of the literary and artistic cafés of St-Germain-Des-Prés.  But which to choose?  Café de Flore with its starry clientele going back to the 1890s or Deux Magots, much loved by the Surrealists?  Or maybe Brasserie Lipp if you feel like channeling the spirit of Hemingway?  I considered going to all of them, but that would have meant getting wet and cold, so I opted for Café de Flore and got a window seat from which I watched the Parisians rushing to the Metro.

The snow receded, so I ventured out into the early evening.  Is there anywhere in the world with a greater concentration of wonderful bookshops and galleries than St. Germain?  I visited an old favorite (Galerie Maeght on Rue du Bac) and made some new favorites. What better way to end a bitterly cold evening than robust, country-style French cooking?  Earlier in the day I had stumbled across Cinq Mars, so I made sure I was waiting outside when it opened .  A good move – the restaurant was full within ten minutes of opening its doors. Pâté en croute, jugged hare, a glass of wine … la belle vie.