Rating: 
Summary: CHECK THIS PIECE
Review: My favorite book is now Amsterdam. A quick read that moves along at a great pace. Perhaps the most rewarding part of this book is the way McEwan ties up all the loose ends in the conclusion. While the ending is a bit predictable, the way it exploits subtle details is not. Don't be surprised, however, if you find yourself laughing out loud at some parts of the novel. One thing to look for in pretty much all of McEwan's writing is a dark aspect. In Amsterdam, this aspect is definitely present, but does not take away from the lively pace of things, as well as the symmetrical structure of reciprocating main characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Fine quality entertainment
Review: From ALAS! DECEIVED [1994] by Alan Bennett: "As it was, lovers on the grass in Pearson Park would catch among the threshing chestnut trees the dull glint of binoculars, and on campus errant borrowers, interviewed by the Librarian, found themselves eyed up as well as dressed down."
From AMSTERDAM [1998] by Ian McEwan: "The overstated and contemptuous cartoon, for example, and the crowing leader with its childish pun on 'drag', the doomed crowd-pleaser of 'knickers in a twist', and the feebly opposed 'dressing up' and 'dressing-down'."
Mere coincidence? Methinks you don't give a crap, so I won't press it. I liked the way that Linley opposed Halliday's smear-job even though Linley hated Garmony. And I was delightfully tickled at the way that all 3 characters had surnames that end in the letter "y". I'll take that troika with a "y" over Liza with a "z" anyday. (Sorry about that gratuitous showbiz non-sequitur, but whenever the subject-matter is euthanasia, Liza always seems to spring immediately to mind.)
Rating: 
Summary: Boring
Review: The writing style is Nabokovian without Nabokov's sensuality and his intimacy with the environment. The characters are cardboard caricatures, that limp along at an indolent pace. There's precious little dialogue, largely replaced by the author's narrative of their reactions and intentions The pieces fit together provided logical segues are not a prerequisite. The story is about two friends -- who withdrawn into their own private worlds. They are drawn into a conflict over photos of a Foreign Secretary in drag. The cross-dressing Secretary also wants the Prime Minister's job, which the photo will undermine. The editorial friend knows he has to pander the pictures to increase circulation of which he is editor. Conflict is just theorectical, because each character can only act as circumstances of each demands that theydo what they would obviously do. And, to tidy matters in the end, our two friends try to poison each other. Obviously, the plot is thin. So is the book, which is large print on less than 200 pages.
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