Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
UNDECIDED BETWEEN 2.5/3 STARS - The majority of this book reads like report of the inner working of the government in Britain during the 70s, lot of pages taken up describing events, the news, lectures, meeting and various sets of dialogue discussing all of it. It tends to weigh the story down a bit but this is kind of an unusual story. Its hard to describe, its not really a spy thriller, its not really a romance...maybe a dramatic soap opera? I really enjoyed the writing and in the end it all wraps up in an interesting although weirdly previously used plot device by the author. My biggest complaint is the odd treatment of the female protagonist, she seems to come across as just plain stupid, repeating things she's heard as her opinion in order to please others & a bit gullible, being the pawn in everyone's game while she cant stop throwing herself at every man she meets. this is a very disappointing portrayal of a woman who could have been written much differently without taking away from the story - by a male author. Especially given the reveal at the end, shouldn't she have been portrayed better for the sake of his love?
So overall I found this book mid. The storyline itself is great, it’s the writing style that gets me. Way too many clunky paragraphs for my pea brain to understand. However, the last chapter was phenomenal. It really makes up for everything I didn’t like.
Lu dans le cadre du challenge Popsugar 2017 pour la catégorie An espionnage thriller
Je suis mitigée sur ce livre. L'histoire est pas trop mal, j'ai aimé le côté très anglais du bouquin mais la fin m'a un peu surprise... C'est pas mal fichu mais
Je suis mitigée sur ce livre. L'histoire est pas trop mal, j'ai aimé le côté très anglais du bouquin mais la fin m'a un peu surprise... C'est pas mal fichu mais
Spoiler
le fait que l'histoire soit raconté non pas par Serena mais par un homme qui s'imagine comment elle pense et pourquoi elle agit comme ça m'a un peu gênée. Même si ça explique beaucoup de choses sur Serena je ne suis pas sûre d'aimer ^^'
I have thoroughly enjoyed some of McEwan's previous works, including [b:On Chesil Beach|815309|On Chesil Beach|Ian McEwan|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1178649691s/815309.jpg|1698999], [b:Saturday|5015|Saturday|Ian McEwan|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348472398s/5015.jpg|2307189], and, to a lesser extent, [b:Solar|7140754|Solar|Ian McEwan|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320510358s/7140754.jpg|7404751]. I found his writing in those works to be beautiful and elegant. [b:Sweet Tooth|13562049|Sweet Tooth|Ian McEwan|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344373046s/13562049.jpg|19137260] is my least liked of McEwan's books. I found the twist at the end insufficient to justify the length of the work, the writing to be less enthralling than his other works, and the plot at times droll. Character development is inconsistent. Unfortunately, I would not recommend this book to others; I would stick to some of his earlier works.
So refreshing to have a female protagonist in a spy novel that is literary & not pulp. Loved the ending. The only reason I dropped it a star in the rating is because of some of the technicalities of MI5 and the IRA fight. Being an American I don't know this history as well and found it a tad boring in those sections
More like 3.5, but I love Ian McEwan so I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt.
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
McEwan remains a master of playing with textuality. Every time I finish one of his books I feel that satisfying rush of 'he's done it again!' Nothing is ever quite what it seems in this story. The novel has some great characters, all with their own motives and histories that are never fully explained - which is a good thing; there is a definite air of 'how well do you ever really know someone'. A great layered story, set in a fascinating time in British history.
I would have enjoyed the book more if not for the gimmicky ending. It didn't ruin the book for me, but it did disappoint.