Loved this, Barr has a way of taking you to the time his books are set he does so with heart and humour some truly beautiful writing a great reimagined story

I had heard of one of these artists before and was intrigued by the relationship between the two Roberts. The details of the galsgow School of Art and of the deprivations of the time were good. I understand a lot of source documents were used for accuracy. But what is evident is that, like any historical biography, especially in novel format, most is made up even though structured by what we know about these people. I found the actual writing rather simplistic. Lots of imagined dialogue. I wanted something more literary than this. There were no phrases to highlight and little real humour.

In the end I found it dull and thought I could have got this from Wikipedia. I like Damian Barr and his Scottish Book Club series on tv so was disappointed.

I read an ARC provided by NetGalley and the publishers.

As he mentions in his acknowledgements, Damian Barr’s novel grew out of a fascination with Robert MacBryde and Robert Colquhoun after he spotted a social media post during lockdown. The two Roberts as they came to be known, were working class Scottish artists who had met on their first day at the Glasgow School of Art in 1933, falling in love at a time when homosexuality was against the law.
Bobby, as MacBryde was known, is the extrovert, a performer whose open gestures of affection make the buttoned-up Robert nervous. Both are immensely talented, standing out from their privileged peers and catching the eye of their tutor. When Robert wins the top position in their class and with it a travelling scholarship, Bobby’s second is so close he’s also awarded a grant. Their adventure begins in Paris, then Italy before it’s cut short by the impending war but not before laying the foundations of a life together that will see them feted by rich patrons, poverty stricken and homeless, their work bought by New York’s MOMA, then sinking into obscurity, all the time loving each other, fighting, drinking and working ceaselessly.
The Two Roberts is a gorgeous, immersive love story that introduced me to two artists whose work in their heyday was compared to Braque and Picasso. It’s also a love letter to Glasgow, vividly evoked, not least Mackintosh’s School of Art. Barr unfolds the their story with such skill that it never feels weighed down by his meticulous research, writing about them both with tender affection while never losing sight of the self-destructive behaviour induced by alcohol. It’ll come as no surprise that their ending was not a happy one but, after pointing out in his Afterword that The Two Roberts is a work of fiction, Barr gives them, and us, the ending he’d wished they’d had making me quite tearful.

I absolutely loved this book. One of the best books I've read in ages. From the very begining I was invested in their story and wanted to know more. The book is written with real humanity, warmth, generosity towards all the characters who were so real I thought I was in Glasgow with them. There's humour, love and also a deep sadness that people were not allowed to be their true selves and were forever trying to hide their real personas. It felt like the author was there with them witnessing their lives and writing it all down for us all to enjoy. Morris was great and brought a smile to my face. All the characters are well crafted, three dimensional and very believable and the book certainly does immense justice to their story. I simply adored the other ending. It was just the icing on the cake. I'm so pleased I got an ARC. Another book I will buy a hard copy of when it's published