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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
This is a book that very well captures a time and a place in history... namely the early 2000's in the UK. c
Uneven read, but certainly laden with ideas and with some subtly. There are certainly some thought-provoking and reflective gems in here, but there's also a lot that clutters the read. It could have been half the size with twice the impact.
I went through long stretches of being utterly bored and short phases of being utterly gripped. Certainly McEwan is a talented writer able to transport you completely into a mind and a world - quite remarkably so. The research - the minutia - is both astounding and, at times, frustrating. Too much research can tempt a writer to distract from an engaging story. Yet then the tension can, in moments, be unbearable.
You also need to be comfortable in the skin of a middle-aged, middle-class British man, for that seems to be Ian McEwan's target audience and the only viewpoint from which he writes.
Worth a read but don't feel guilty skimming paragraphs.
Uneven read, but certainly laden with ideas and with some subtly. There are certainly some thought-provoking and reflective gems in here, but there's also a lot that clutters the read. It could have been half the size with twice the impact.
I went through long stretches of being utterly bored and short phases of being utterly gripped. Certainly McEwan is a talented writer able to transport you completely into a mind and a world - quite remarkably so. The research - the minutia - is both astounding and, at times, frustrating. Too much research can tempt a writer to distract from an engaging story. Yet then the tension can, in moments, be unbearable.
You also need to be comfortable in the skin of a middle-aged, middle-class British man, for that seems to be Ian McEwan's target audience and the only viewpoint from which he writes.
Worth a read but don't feel guilty skimming paragraphs.
I really just love Ian McEwan's writing. Closer subject matter to Amsterdam (they're both about middle-aged white men) than Atonement. Strange to read about perspectives on 9/11 and the Iraq war as if it is historical fiction. Well, it _is_ historical fiction. Just strange, though.
This exhaustive exploration of a privileged, entitled white man's inner life is clever but oh so tedious, even written in McEwan's exquisite prose.
well, Saturday was quite a day for Henry Perowne! What detail, what insight, what depth in one man's head. I really enjoyed this day, revelling in Henry's house, worrying for his safety, marvelling at his competitiveness and wondering how the day would end. a fascinating read that gets a bonus half a star (taking it to 4.5) for mentioning Jane Eyre.
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Another great book by Ian McEwan. It has similarities to "Mrs. Dalloway" and "The Corrections" (though with much less family dysfunction). McEwan's descriptions and attention to detail bring alive the narrator and post-9/11. You will know Henry Perowne intimately by the end of the book.
This is SUCH a good read. I've read a few of McEwan's before - 'Atonement' is one of my favourite books of all time. 'Saturday', although shorter and not as expansive in terms of the narrative, is almost as good. The prose are lovely, quite verbose without being dull and overly wordy. The dialogue is fairly infrequent which can be boring as well I've found, but it suits the feel of 'Saturday' so well. The story is told in real time and spans an entire day in the life of the protagonist, so has a wonderful sense of closure at the end. The characters are gradually revealed to you through flashbacks of the protagonist and are incredibly well described. Cannot say enough good things about 'Saturday', everybody should read this book.
Saturday offers a deep, deep look into one day in the life of a privileged professional in London. The action truly takes place in one day, and the "deep" part mostly means his inner life, reflecting forward and back as he confronts small and large disturbances in his routine.
I liked Sweet Tooth a lot more, whatever the point ratings. Mostly, I cared more for its young, spunky female character than I did for the Dr. Henry or his family.
Both books have major historical backdrops, the build up to the attack on Iraq and Saddam in one and the latter-day Cold War in the other. Both book's remind you of the intense left-center-right debates of those eras. (I would not I found myself as engaged as I felt re-reading Le Carre's Little Drummer Girl and its also London-ish political reactions, in its case, Israelis and Palestinians in the 80s.)
In Saturday, the inner dialogs set the stage for understanding how Henry copes with a major confrontation which ripples through his emotions and his life, all in one day. I found it fascinating to see confirmed how convoluted and painful thought processes can get and the allied physical and emotional responses.
McEwan writes and describes exceptionally, with so many vignettes to fill in the back stories of the characters and the scene. As the suspense builds, particularly in the last third of the book, McEwan continues to keep the reader on a pace he sets that seems so true to the central character and the times. This I loved.
You may find it amusing that Henry, can process all this with the best of modern neuroscience, about his own and other character's reactions to things. His ability to comprehend represents the pinnacle of modern, traditional Western medicine. And yet. I certainly wanted to ask him if he might consider splitting his "relaxation" time between his potentially life-threatening squash games and a meditation or Chi Gung practice. He is a good and decent man, yet definitely seems like someone who could stand to get out of his head and into his heart and body.
I liked Sweet Tooth a lot more, whatever the point ratings. Mostly, I cared more for its young, spunky female character than I did for the Dr. Henry or his family.
Both books have major historical backdrops, the build up to the attack on Iraq and Saddam in one and the latter-day Cold War in the other. Both book's remind you of the intense left-center-right debates of those eras. (I would not I found myself as engaged as I felt re-reading Le Carre's Little Drummer Girl and its also London-ish political reactions, in its case, Israelis and Palestinians in the 80s.)
In Saturday, the inner dialogs set the stage for understanding how Henry copes with a major confrontation which ripples through his emotions and his life, all in one day. I found it fascinating to see confirmed how convoluted and painful thought processes can get and the allied physical and emotional responses.
McEwan writes and describes exceptionally, with so many vignettes to fill in the back stories of the characters and the scene. As the suspense builds, particularly in the last third of the book, McEwan continues to keep the reader on a pace he sets that seems so true to the central character and the times. This I loved.
You may find it amusing that Henry, can process all this with the best of modern neuroscience, about his own and other character's reactions to things. His ability to comprehend represents the pinnacle of modern, traditional Western medicine. And yet. I certainly wanted to ask him if he might consider splitting his "relaxation" time between his potentially life-threatening squash games and a meditation or Chi Gung practice. He is a good and decent man, yet definitely seems like someone who could stand to get out of his head and into his heart and body.
Fino a poche pagine dalla fine, l'ho trovato vagamente inutile.
il fatto che a pagina 209 di 292 (e 15 giorni di passione) io non abbia ancora capito che cazzo vuole scrivere mac ewan in sto libro è un segnale del fatto che il libro in questione mi sta facendo cagare, i suppose…
(link: http://lapupachasonno.wordpress.com/2007/11/11/sabato-ian-mac-ewan )
alla fine comuqnue non si riprende mica tanto.
secondo me è di una noia mortale, e quando potrebbe svoltare... non svolta.
il fatto che a pagina 209 di 292 (e 15 giorni di passione) io non abbia ancora capito che cazzo vuole scrivere mac ewan in sto libro è un segnale del fatto che il libro in questione mi sta facendo cagare, i suppose…
(link: http://lapupachasonno.wordpress.com/2007/11/11/sabato-ian-mac-ewan )
alla fine comuqnue non si riprende mica tanto.
secondo me è di una noia mortale, e quando potrebbe svoltare... non svolta.