Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful and Engaging
Review: This very quick read about amorality at the end of the millenium flows like Clive's symphony. Is it no wonder that when the characters seem to disintegrate, the symphony does as well? Completely unemotional characters so blindly following their emotions of loss. If you love the interplay of character and theme, you will see that what the author has done here is not easily accomplished - that is why he was honored with the Booker Prize.
Rating: 
Summary: Dreadful, Dull, and Disappointing
Review: I think my title says it all. The Booker prize was not deserved, but stolen.
Rating:
Summary: I didn't want my plane to land
Review: I read this on a flight. I didn't want my plane to land. And although I got to my destination at midnight, I stayed up to finish it.
Rating: 
Summary: Amsterdumb
Review: A beautifully constructed, masterfully written, but at the core, really dumb story. McEwan dared the Booker committee to give him a prize for Amsterdam -- and the committee took the dare. They should have noted McEwan's tacit admission that this novel, like Clive's promising Millenium symphony, just got tired and died.
Rating:
Summary: Close, but no cigar...
Review: This is the third Booker Prize winning book I have read and I have come to the conclusion, the Booker Prize means nothing. The book was engaging, the dialogue terrific at times and then the story hung on thin threads of vapid characterization and stereotypes. The unethical, two-faced politician, the FLEA like journalist and the eccentric musician. We have met these stereotypes before and meeting them again in Amsterdam, didn't quite impress me. It was a mediocre book, that can be enjoyed if your bookshelf is empty and there is a snowstorm outside that will not allow you to go out and buy a GOOD book. In any case, borrow it from someone -- don't waste your money on the Booker Prize hype.
Rating: 
Summary: Swift and Fluent
Review: Fast-paced and attention grabbing. A short, sweet snippet in time which is all it will take to read. Great for a Saturday morning in bed.
Rating: 
Summary: Quite entertaining but basically shallow
Review: McEwan's ease with language and his facile skill with dialogue help to make this samll book a pleasure to read. But there is not enough depth, either in character developement or the expanse of the plot, to add up to anything other than a seeming sketch for a more serious, detailed novel that still waits to be written. The characters are types, with just enough idiosyncrasy and detail to suggest real persons and the plot hinges on a setup that is all too obvious from the moment it occurs. Though the language of the novel is a pleasure from start to finish, it merely whets the appitite for more. Perhaps it is unfair to make these kinds of judgements. After all, it is McEwan's book and if he felt that under 200 pages was right for the story he wanted to tell, who am I to argue? Except that the book left me simply wanting a lot more than was forthcoming - more of the characters, more in the plot and more - much more - of the bright, sharp language that zips one much too quickly to the book's conclusion.
Rating:
Summary: Major disappointment
Review: Beautifully written, carefully observed...and the whole thing is a setup for an (literally) unbelievably stupid joke. I can only conclude that the Booker prize committee awarded McEwan the prize for this novel to make up for overlooking his previous work. A major disappointment from this extremely talented writer. Check out "The Innocent" or "Black Dogs" instead.
Rating:
Summary: short, sharp, and fascinating from the opening line
Review: An outstanding novel that addresses many aspects of the lower side of human nature and the self-indulgent 90's mentality in a witty and extremely readable manner. As with Mr. McEwan's other novels, it was almost impossible to put down after the first paragraph. A fantastic read!
Rating:
Summary: Underlying ethical questions provide for a great read
Review: "Amsterdam" is an engaging novella with a thought-provoking ethical base. Each of the two main characters is at odds with himself regarding his own and the other's behavior, and each decides he is right while the other is wrong. McEwan seems to attempt to make the reader believe that both men are in the wrong, which leads to some predictable plot devices toward the end. However, the real fun comes in deciding for yourself -- posing upon yourself the same issues of morality that the characters face.
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