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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Forgive me, Ian McEwan, but for some inexplicable reason I didn't enjoy reading the unrelenting ruminations of an extremely condescending fetus.
Great reimagining of a classic, but from a very awkward perspective.
As always with McEwan, I put this book down with mixed feelings. For some unknown reason, maybe strictly for his original plots, I keep coming back to his books. But too often does he drown his admittedly original stories in needless prose that is so goddamn distracting.
Nutshell was so ridiculous that it worked. I genuinely laughed out loud at certain moments, due to it’s absolute absurdity, and yet it was still somehow suspenseful, rich in character, and vivid.
The prose was, however long-winded, magnificent. I highlighted half the book just to turn the language back over in my head. There’s no denying McEwan writes with the skill and practice of a master—just often too much so. And while many of the opinions of our unborn protagonist don’t match my own, I get the metaphor here. We’ll just have to agree to disagree.
Nutshell was so ridiculous that it worked. I genuinely laughed out loud at certain moments, due to it’s absolute absurdity, and yet it was still somehow suspenseful, rich in character, and vivid.
The prose was, however long-winded, magnificent. I highlighted half the book just to turn the language back over in my head. There’s no denying McEwan writes with the skill and practice of a master—just often too much so. And while many of the opinions of our unborn protagonist don’t match my own, I get the metaphor here. We’ll just have to agree to disagree.
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
John Cairncross is unhappy. His wife is cheating on him. She has kicked him out of their home. She has plans ... devious plans ... deadly plans — all of it observed and narrated by her fetus. Yep. You heard me right! An amazingly brilliant mystery.
challenging
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes