Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
Let’s see… MI5. Spy fiction. Historical. Written by a critically acclaimed author. I knew going in that I’m a little bit over my head with this novel. But I’ve always been a believer of trying new things, and while McEwan is a pretty popular author in the literary circle, this is my introduction to his world.
His writing is something that one needs to get used to in order to fully appreciate what you’ve signed up for. Unfortunately for me, the formality of his narrative couldn’t keep me drawn into the story.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it…
It’s the 70s, the Cold War is in full swing, and close to home, Britain is under civil unrest. Serena Frome didn’t have a clue what she wants to do in her life. English Literature is out, since her mother – one of feminist values – dissuaded her against taking the lazy way out. After a stint in Cambridge majoring in maths, a number of forces and influences would land her a position in Britain’s covert intelligence agency. Unexpectedly, she’ll find out that a former lover was recruiting her all along.
Her first mission was Sweet Tooth; an operation which focuses on finding the ten best writers England has to offer, but would have to have proven skepticisms about the developing Eastern utopias in Europe. Her path would cross with one Tom Haley; a writer she’s commissioned to pursue. Serena, being a compulsive reader, soon starts to fall in love with his work, then with the man.
Of course she kept him in the dark about a lot of things. Least of all, why the struggling writer was all of a sudden flushed with money. She kept her real employment a secret, but in the end, she’ll discover that Tom Haley is harbouring secrets of his own.
This message will self-destruct in 3…2..
Spy fiction! I’ve never read something like this before…not that Sweet Tooth was one. Unfortunately, this is not in the scale of Ian Fleming’s type of work. Or the more modern, Ludlum. In fact, the mission was kind of lame. MI5 created a top secret operation in which they will support the livelihoods of ten writers in the hopes that they’ll write something significant in the future. A bit like propaganda against the rising powers of the Red countries. But what a complete waste of resources! Considering what kind of literature their chosen writers were writing, and how painstakingly long it would take for the whole of England to take notice. Talk about a slow return on investment.
It wouldn’t have been so bad if the novel was a psychological thriller, because then, the mission would make more sense. But since the focal point was on Serena’s romantic entanglements, this book would’ve been better off marketed as romance. The entire thing felt too hopelessley contrived to make it believable. That twist in the end did nothing to stave off the boredom I felt while reading this book. Some may find Tom’s secrets to be quite interesting, but for me, it neither enhanced it nor did the story suffer with its inclusion.
I should’ve chosen Atonement for my induction to his work. If Ian McEwan is capable of writing fluff, I’m thinking this is his version of one.
His writing is something that one needs to get used to in order to fully appreciate what you’ve signed up for. Unfortunately for me, the formality of his narrative couldn’t keep me drawn into the story.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it…
It’s the 70s, the Cold War is in full swing, and close to home, Britain is under civil unrest. Serena Frome didn’t have a clue what she wants to do in her life. English Literature is out, since her mother – one of feminist values – dissuaded her against taking the lazy way out. After a stint in Cambridge majoring in maths, a number of forces and influences would land her a position in Britain’s covert intelligence agency. Unexpectedly, she’ll find out that a former lover was recruiting her all along.
Her first mission was Sweet Tooth; an operation which focuses on finding the ten best writers England has to offer, but would have to have proven skepticisms about the developing Eastern utopias in Europe. Her path would cross with one Tom Haley; a writer she’s commissioned to pursue. Serena, being a compulsive reader, soon starts to fall in love with his work, then with the man.
Of course she kept him in the dark about a lot of things. Least of all, why the struggling writer was all of a sudden flushed with money. She kept her real employment a secret, but in the end, she’ll discover that Tom Haley is harbouring secrets of his own.
This message will self-destruct in 3…2..
Spy fiction! I’ve never read something like this before…not that Sweet Tooth was one. Unfortunately, this is not in the scale of Ian Fleming’s type of work. Or the more modern, Ludlum. In fact, the mission was kind of lame. MI5 created a top secret operation in which they will support the livelihoods of ten writers in the hopes that they’ll write something significant in the future. A bit like propaganda against the rising powers of the Red countries. But what a complete waste of resources! Considering what kind of literature their chosen writers were writing, and how painstakingly long it would take for the whole of England to take notice. Talk about a slow return on investment.
It wouldn’t have been so bad if the novel was a psychological thriller, because then, the mission would make more sense. But since the focal point was on Serena’s romantic entanglements, this book would’ve been better off marketed as romance. The entire thing felt too hopelessley contrived to make it believable. That twist in the end did nothing to stave off the boredom I felt while reading this book. Some may find Tom’s secrets to be quite interesting, but for me, it neither enhanced it nor did the story suffer with its inclusion.
I should’ve chosen Atonement for my induction to his work. If Ian McEwan is capable of writing fluff, I’m thinking this is his version of one.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Always a pleasure, with him. This one seemed so visual to me.
2.5/5 stars.
I am struggling to understand if this book is incredibly annoying or incredibly clever.
Sweet Tooth was very difficult to get into. In some respects it felt as if I were reading a detailed history of the cultural climate in the United Kingdom during the Cold War. Serena is an avid reader, but she is not a critical one -- and it shows since the book is written through her narrative, which quite frankly droned on. My eyes and mind seemed to glaze over her words; I was disengaged, and I am lucky that I got to the eightieth page so that the point of this book could finally fall into place. Sweet Tooth is a cultural operation begun by MI5 to collect and support writers who have anti-communist viewpoints. It is Serena's job to go undercover as an agent of a fictional organization that wants to provide monetary support to authors while they write; the goal is that the writers never learn they are working on behalf of the government. The first author Serena is to recruit to the foundation is Tom Haley, and the reader already knows from the first sentence of the book that she will muck up her mission by falling in love with Tom.
For a novel that is touted to be a "spy novel" with "espionage," there is not much of that evident in the text. The most undercover thing Serena does is recruit Tom and then never tell him the truth about who funds his pension as they fall in love. Therefore, I would consider Sweet Tooth to be much more of a love story; it is only when Serena and Tom begin to fall in love that I began to enjoy their interactions and the book itself. But that still brings us to the dilemma that I posed at the beginning of this review: is Sweet Tooth annoying or incredibly clever? At the risk of giving away spoilers I can not dive further into my thoughts concerning that question. All I can say is that the final twenty pages of the book were revealing and explosive. The issues I had with the tone of Serena's vapid narrative voice were explained. Suddenly, everything made such perfect sense.
Although this will not go down as one of my favorite Ian McEwan books, I can give him credit for being creative. This is a book about writing and the success of it. The payoff of Sweet Tooth is the final twenty pages of it, but whether or not the reader has the drive or interest to reach that point is up for debate.
I am struggling to understand if this book is incredibly annoying or incredibly clever.
Sweet Tooth was very difficult to get into. In some respects it felt as if I were reading a detailed history of the cultural climate in the United Kingdom during the Cold War. Serena is an avid reader, but she is not a critical one -- and it shows since the book is written through her narrative, which quite frankly droned on. My eyes and mind seemed to glaze over her words; I was disengaged, and I am lucky that I got to the eightieth page so that the point of this book could finally fall into place. Sweet Tooth is a cultural operation begun by MI5 to collect and support writers who have anti-communist viewpoints. It is Serena's job to go undercover as an agent of a fictional organization that wants to provide monetary support to authors while they write; the goal is that the writers never learn they are working on behalf of the government. The first author Serena is to recruit to the foundation is Tom Haley, and the reader already knows from the first sentence of the book that she will muck up her mission by falling in love with Tom.
For a novel that is touted to be a "spy novel" with "espionage," there is not much of that evident in the text. The most undercover thing Serena does is recruit Tom and then never tell him the truth about who funds his pension as they fall in love. Therefore, I would consider Sweet Tooth to be much more of a love story; it is only when Serena and Tom begin to fall in love that I began to enjoy their interactions and the book itself. But that still brings us to the dilemma that I posed at the beginning of this review: is Sweet Tooth annoying or incredibly clever? At the risk of giving away spoilers I can not dive further into my thoughts concerning that question. All I can say is that the final twenty pages of the book were revealing and explosive. The issues I had with the tone of Serena's vapid narrative voice were explained. Suddenly, everything made such perfect sense.
Although this will not go down as one of my favorite Ian McEwan books, I can give him credit for being creative. This is a book about writing and the success of it. The payoff of Sweet Tooth is the final twenty pages of it, but whether or not the reader has the drive or interest to reach that point is up for debate.
Very good read, wonderfully written, and captures a moment in history brilliantly. Still, I was left wanting more depth to and u see standing of the characters. A little political heavy at times, but worth a read.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I put myself in McEwan's hands as I couldn't understand nor really like the protagonist Serena. It was totally worth it as all by the end of the book. If you are looking for a well written, clever story this one is a good investment of time.
This was an interesting and WELL written book. It was written like the nested Russian dolls, a story within another story. At times, I loved it, at other times, I just wanted for the plot to advance. McEwan's descriptive language was dark and perfect. This is the first book that I read by him and I was impressed by his descriptions and characters. Bleak and British.
Well written and clever, more a book about writing and about writers (and their relationships with their subjects) than about the nominal topic, a young girl in England (daughter of a Bishop) who excels in Math but loves literature and is recruited to MI5 and tasked with cultivating (funding) a writer who - they hope - will prove helpful through more indirect "cultural warfare" with Soviet / communistic ideologies. The issue is that I did feel played with, as a reader, especially at the end, and that's not something I generally appreciate. McEwan is good, and interesting, and this is intriguing, but there was a little too much cuteness about it all when it wrapped up.