Reviews

Finishing McEwan's latest book (at the time of writing this review), Lessons, I decided to bookend it with one of McEwan's earlier novels, The Child in Time. Like Lessons, The Child in Time has autobiographical themes. But, unlike Lessons, it's not, for me, a 5/5. I didn't really see the relevance of the abduction of Stephen's child, Kate, other than (probably) a vehicle for the separation and reconciliation with his wife. And what was Charles doing pretending to be a child? Thankfully, this was later explained. That said, I just didn't 'get' the book.

sophie_99's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

dobbydoo22's review against another edition

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4.0

I don't think I would rate this as my favorite of McEwan's work--the plot is a bit slow--but I thought that it did have some of the most moving characters. Worth a read.

lehall's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

cadyly's review against another edition

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1.0

This book disappointed me. I picked it from the fiction section in the library in a bid to find an author that I hadn't read before. This author had many books on the shelf (has to be good if he's published lots of books, right?) and the premise of the story -- about a man dealing with the aftermath of the kidnapping of his daughter -- was intriguing.

Unfortunately, the book was filled with unimportant details and plodded slowly to nowhere. It was so hard to get into the story. And when I was reading, I wasn't enjoying it. Which is odd for me. I love to read.

krobart's review against another edition

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2.0

The Child in Time is one of Ian McEwan’s earlier books, written in the mid-1980′s. It is an odd book, the themes and subplots of which all have to do with childhood and the relationships between children and their parents, but I did not come away from the novel with a coherent idea of its message.

See my complete review here:

http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/the-child-in-time/

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