Enduring Love

Rating:
Summary: Compelling story, powerhouse writing - McEwan at his best
Review: To say that Ian McEwan is a master of prying below the surface of a well-established relationship is an understatement. This story is a perfect counterpoint to "The Comfort of Strangers", both books examining the effects of the intrusion of a dangerous and obsessive outsider into a relationship between man and woman (each couple being in the English upper-middle class). In each case, a seven year relationship is put to great strain and difficulty, the difference being that the encounter with the stranger in "The Comfort of Strangers" (an ironic title by the way) resurrects passion in a relationship that has become dull and unhinged, and in this story, replaces passion with callous indifference, suspicion and cynicism.

Joe and Clarissa, the couple at the centre of this story are a part of the intellectual and ideological elite. Joe writes magazine articles on scientific matters; Clarissa is something of an historian on the works and life of Keats. Joe is a rationalist who Clarissa comes to believe is in denial of his emotional responses to the events that take place in this story. We also get some insight into the inner mind of Clarissa, through letters and insights that balance Joe's, since the story is written in the first person of Joe.

The first chapter of this book had me hooked. And it only continues to grow better and more satisfying as the story progresses from the pivotal event which set in motion all that followed. Joe is placed in an impossibly difficult moral dilemma involving the saving of a child's life, and his response to that situation and those that follow, unhinges both him, and his precious relationship to Clarissa. The person who incites this is an intense character named Jed Parry, a deluded religious-obsessive-homosexually-oriented nut who fixates on Joe, and provokes reactions in Joe that form the basis of a very rich, dark and provocative psycho-drama. In the midst of this, McEwan mines the Joe-Clarissa relationship to depths that feel almost voyeuristic to the reader. Through it all, McEwan writes beautifully, always seeming to find the right words to make my hair stand up on the back of my neck, while causing me to reflect, underline, and shudder. He is a great writer.


Rating:
Summary: An Enjoyable Read
Review: While I can admit that I didn't like this novel to the extent that I liked other Ian McEwan novels that I have read (Amsterdam and The Comfort of Strangers), this book deserves 5 stars. At times, the narrator's thoughts get a little complex, but this all serves the greater psychological purpose of the novel. The book means to play with human emotions and ethics; and the extensive ruminations of the narrator act as a great vehicle for that purpose. I thought this book was enjoyable throughout, and at times difficult to put down. When captured by the book's many scientific explanations, one can feel a little bored, but just at those times, there is often something that catches you offguard, pulling you right back into the story. In addition, it is all the more satisfying to reach a point where some of the many details described earlier become significant.

Rating:
Summary: Here's a Plot Twist and Surprise...
Review: Whoa! Here goes a first chapter that has you gasping at the edge of your seat. Yikes! Then there's a fatal attraction 'of sorts' with some additional spice to a story filled with curiosity, mayhem, suspense, attempted murder, love and more. I think it has a lot of psychological thrilling moments. What a clever and very 'well-written' novel. This was recommended to me by Trina Owens, a very sweet English Schoolteacher that I met on the island of St. Lucia in April 2004. I'd definitely recommend this one. I bet it would make a great movie, too!

Rating:
Summary: Here's a Plot Twist and Surprise...
Review: Whoa! Here goes a first chapter that has you gasping at the edge of your seat. Yikes! Then there's a fatal attraction 'of sorts' with some additional spice to a story filled with curiosity, mayhem, suspense, attempted murder, love and more. I think it has a lot of psychological thrilling moments. What a clever and very 'well-written' novel. This was recommended to me by Trina Owens, a very sweet English Schoolteacher that I met on the island of St. Lucia in April 2004. I'd definitely recommend this one. I bet it would make a great movie, too!