By the time this came off the wait-list at the library, I had completely forgotten why my friend had recommended it to me, other than the obvious, which is that I love me some Ian McEwan. And what’s interesting to report now that I’ve read Nutshell is that I may have grown out of my McEwan faze, because this checked a LOT of my boxes but ultimately didn’t blow me out of the water. Which is not to say that this isn’t a beautiful book, […]
Pretty writing hides a lot…
Oh, do I wish some other authors could write like McEwan; I’ve read so many books with poorly executed plots or glimmers of a good idea rendered inert by flat prose. I often joke of my favorite authors that I’d read the phone book if it had their name on the cover, but I didn’t expect to be taken up on it the way McEwan does with Saturday. So, that’s perhaps unfair; things DO happen in the book. It outlines the beginning of the weekend […]
I’m conflicted about this one, you guys.
You all know how huge a fan of Ian McEwan I am, even though he’s a bit polarizing at times. I don’t like all his work equally, either, though most of it can be described as interesting or highly provocative (for every Atonement, there is Between the Sheets, his not-great collection of short stories). I heard about Nutshell, and I was intrigued. The story of death and betrayal, as told by an unborn child? All right. And then I read an interview in which McEwan […]
A moving, but devastating Ian McEwan (Wait! isn’t that all of them?)
So this might be a weird affectation, but whatever it is what it is. I have zero interest in physically reading Ian McEwan’s books. I tried Atonement, but his writing style does not lend itself to my enjoyment. What I do enjoy is listening to his books. All the beautiful prose, and none of giant, never ending blocks of text. This tale is a snippet in time in the life of Fiona, a high family court judge in London. At the start, one evening while […]
One of my favorites, but definitely polarizing.
Ian McEwan tends to be a polarizing author in literary fiction circles. I have friends who LOVE HIM (my sister and I are in that camp, for sure), friends who HATE HIM and despise his work, and friends who run hot-and-cold. If you’re not sure if you’ll like McEwan, Atonement is actually the perfect place to start, since it’s largely considered to be his finest work (and I certainly agree with that argument). It definitely lacks the macabre that characterized his early works. [sidenote: ask […]
Words as Weapons
This book’s masterful use of language makes everything I write about it seem pale in insubstantial. I don’t have the words to say how beautifully McEwan put words together. The words are good in this one, guys! The words! Part of the reason I loved this one so much is how I related to young Briony. A lot of times, people think kids are dumb (and they kind of are, even scientifically because the lobes are still forming), but that doesn’t mean they don’t have […]