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![Saturday by Ian McEwan 4th (fourth) Edition [Paperback(2006)] by Ian McEwan](https://assets.thestorygraph.com/assets/placeholder-cover-a3ae92250eb3301e32dc3eabf8d50576c2f047dda89f6ee7cfa9a859cb1fd746.jpg)
3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
I love books that are very descriptive and stories that are character driven, but this book was a bit much. I think it would have made a really great short story, but I didn't need (or enjoy) the extraneous details. I did find the various conflicts between the characters interesting, but I wish they would have gone further. Every time I thought something interesting was going to happen, nothing would actually happen.
I will say that the book prompted me to think back to those days after 9/11 and before the war. I enjoyed the argument between Henry and Daisy where they discuss the pros and cons of going to war. It made me consider who's argument turned out to be "correct" in the end.
I will say that the book prompted me to think back to those days after 9/11 and before the war. I enjoyed the argument between Henry and Daisy where they discuss the pros and cons of going to war. It made me consider who's argument turned out to be "correct" in the end.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
In the beginning, I didn't really know what I was getting into. Luckily for me, Saturday definitely flies by. It's a pretty short book but it's filled with a lot of characters and some action. In it, you will meet Henry Perowne. Don't ask me how to pronounce his last name because I will butcher it until the day I die.
He is a neurosurgeon who gets into an accident on his day off. From this little action, so much happens afterwards. It involves his entire family and it will eventually become a hot and confusing mess. Interestingly enough, it just proves how one thing can switch everything up. The small things tend to matter and I kind of liked how this one situation sort of blew up within the family.
Other than that, it was an okay book that had some boring moments. I kind of wish it was a bit longer because then those boring moments probably wouldn't be there. It could just me and my opinion though.
He is a neurosurgeon who gets into an accident on his day off. From this little action, so much happens afterwards. It involves his entire family and it will eventually become a hot and confusing mess. Interestingly enough, it just proves how one thing can switch everything up. The small things tend to matter and I kind of liked how this one situation sort of blew up within the family.
Other than that, it was an okay book that had some boring moments. I kind of wish it was a bit longer because then those boring moments probably wouldn't be there. It could just me and my opinion though.
Üle mõistuse raske lugemine lausestuse koha pealt - pea iga teise lause järel uitas mõte kusagile mujale. Üsna keeruline oli sündmuste kulgemise juures olla, aga tasub kiita huvitava arstiteaduse sõnavara kasutamise eest. Kahjuks ei suutnud lõpuni lugeda, vastikult vastumeelseks kohustuseks kujunes lõpuks.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Beautiful writing, but this is a book for middle aged men - I had trouble relating to the character's angst.
This year my New Years resolution was to finish every book that I start. It is New Years Eve in 2 days, I have read many books this year, books which were it not for this resolution I might have left unread. But this book. This book is the straw that broke the camels back.
Having read and not enjoyed either of the two books of McEwan’s I have read (Atonement and Enduring Love) I did not have high hopes, but I was willing to give this one a go for the sake of my MA.
It was unbelievably boring for the first 200 pages, which came complete with 20 page breakdown of the minutia of two men in a power-locked squash match and minor peeves at some of his smug self-indulgent quips about his bookish daughter (too bookish if you ask Perowne!) and musician son (how oh how could the great scientifically minded neurosurgeon Perowne have artsy children!!?). I was struggling to get through it but determined to finish nevertheless, even though Henry Perowne is the most self-gratifying uppity nit that I have ever had the misfortune of reading.
What pushed it into unreadable was the burglary scene. Imagine using your diagnosis of the intruders’ Parkinson’s as justification for the sexual humiliation he is inflicting on your daughter? Well that’s he, Henry Perowne, neurosurgeon, who had sex with his wife this morning, does (he likes to bring up his 6 minutes of missionary with no pleasure for his wife a lot turning the course of the book)! What made this scene worse is his daughters reaction after the incident. She has just been forced to undress in front of her whole family in a humiliating manner, so an intruder won’t murder her mother, exposing her hidden pregnancy. Yet she proceeds to joke with “bitter gaiety” about her high school PE teacher forcing her to undress?! She also thinks about her grandfather, who is also watching her undress and whom she has a very strained relationship with.
Despite this traumatic experience she is “bitterly gay”?? Not only this but her grandad (who has the most pretentious name on the planet- Grammaticus) says he believes that the intruder had fallen in love with her as he forced her to recite poetry naked, as if that makes it better!!
I’m not buying it McEwan.
And I’m not finishing it either.
Having read and not enjoyed either of the two books of McEwan’s I have read (Atonement and Enduring Love) I did not have high hopes, but I was willing to give this one a go for the sake of my MA.
It was unbelievably boring for the first 200 pages, which came complete with 20 page breakdown of the minutia of two men in a power-locked squash match and minor peeves at some of his smug self-indulgent quips about his bookish daughter (too bookish if you ask Perowne!) and musician son (how oh how could the great scientifically minded neurosurgeon Perowne have artsy children!!?). I was struggling to get through it but determined to finish nevertheless, even though Henry Perowne is the most self-gratifying uppity nit that I have ever had the misfortune of reading.
What pushed it into unreadable was the burglary scene. Imagine using your diagnosis of the intruders’ Parkinson’s as justification for the sexual humiliation he is inflicting on your daughter? Well that’s he, Henry Perowne, neurosurgeon, who had sex with his wife this morning, does (he likes to bring up his 6 minutes of missionary with no pleasure for his wife a lot turning the course of the book)! What made this scene worse is his daughters reaction after the incident. She has just been forced to undress in front of her whole family in a humiliating manner, so an intruder won’t murder her mother, exposing her hidden pregnancy. Yet she proceeds to joke with “bitter gaiety” about her high school PE teacher forcing her to undress?! She also thinks about her grandfather, who is also watching her undress and whom she has a very strained relationship with.
Despite this traumatic experience she is “bitterly gay”?? Not only this but her grandad (who has the most pretentious name on the planet- Grammaticus) says he believes that the intruder had fallen in love with her as he forced her to recite poetry naked, as if that makes it better!!
I’m not buying it McEwan.
And I’m not finishing it either.
I read Saturday because slowly but surely I'm getting through all of McEwan's novels. I read Solar in April and in a lot of ways, the story in Saturday was similar. Both novels were politically relevant and charged, and were very about the here and now in current events. The story is about the 9/11 attacks and tensions around Iraq at the time. It takes place during one day, and the story develops while readers learn more about the main character's family life and his personal connections to the current events.
I'd recommend this novel to anyone who is interested in current events. The reading felt labored at times and I'm still not sure that I ever found my groove while reading it. Thus far, it was probably my least favorite of McEwan's books, though I think because I don't necessarily have a personal connection to the story.
I'd recommend this novel to anyone who is interested in current events. The reading felt labored at times and I'm still not sure that I ever found my groove while reading it. Thus far, it was probably my least favorite of McEwan's books, though I think because I don't necessarily have a personal connection to the story.
I really enjoy books by this author - he seems to be able to take the mundane and make it interesting, or take someone's everyday thought process and make it intriguing. This book was all set to go the same direction. It had a good concept - things that happened over the course of one day, the difference one day can make in someone's life. It centers on Henry Perowne, things he sees and experiences on that Saturday, his thoughts about being married, having children, being almost 50, taking care of his mother, who has Alzheimer's. Besides all of these fairly routine thoughts, there is also a confrontation and the resolution of that confrontation, something that can be life-changing for everyone involved.
I did enjoy how basically that one day paralleled life: it starts out with a promise of something, or some sort of expectation, but it can go an infinite number of different ways. I did lose interest in parts, and I wonder if I read this book when I am older and am dealing with similar things to what Henry is dealing with, if I would get more out of it. It was good, but not one I would read again (unless, like I said, it's at a much later point in my life) and not one of my favorites by him.
I did enjoy how basically that one day paralleled life: it starts out with a promise of something, or some sort of expectation, but it can go an infinite number of different ways. I did lose interest in parts, and I wonder if I read this book when I am older and am dealing with similar things to what Henry is dealing with, if I would get more out of it. It was good, but not one I would read again (unless, like I said, it's at a much later point in my life) and not one of my favorites by him.