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3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a hard call on the rating. It felt like 5 stars as I finished it, but parts in the middle were a bit of a slog, particularly those about the history of MI5 and 6. That being said, it's a clever novel and has a lot to say about writers and readers and the relationship between them. The ending is perfect and not at all what I expected.
Spy novel, post modern twist at the end. Cambridge girl becomes a spy and "runs" a novelist, who doesn't know the source of his funding. Nice turn at end justifies all that's come before, with plenty of clues it was coming. Quite enjoyed it. Thanks Pam!
I felt while I was reading this that I was hanging out with a firend who had a really interesting life, but every time she opened her mouth to tell her story, it was as if it was the most boring thing I'd ever heard. Should have been more interesting than it was, is what I'm trying to say. So either McEwan is off his game or based on the ending he's a freakin' genius because Or McEwan just dropped the ball. Either way, Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Spoiler
since Tom Haley was actually telling the story, Haley has revealed himself to not be quite the genius Serena thought he was because he managed to make her story dull. So Haley, whose short stories were sublime (according to Serena), who was failing as a novelist (also according to Serena), has now shown us, the reader his true talent or lack thereof.
Gah, gah, gah. "You like spies," multiple people said. "Read this book." What they should have been saying was, "You like prolonged descriptions of women who exist solely to flit from one misguided and chemistry-free affair with dubiously powerful men to another. Read this book."
The problem is, I don't like prolonged descriptions, etc., etc., and I never will.
Forget that this isn't really about a spy. Forget that this isn't even really about a voracious reader. I still wouldn't like it on the basis of how it's essentially about a woman who exists solely to cater to the whims and fantasies
Gah.
There was one fleeting bright spot. In the midst of their umpteenth round of "love-making" (vom), Serena looks at a dude and, "Tell him now, I kept thinking. Tell him what you do." This is not a bad distillation of the urges experienced by so many spies in all those (better, better, so much better) books I read for my thesis, especially when it came to loved ones. Those people are always a liability, which is probably why Serena is so amazingly terrible at her job. She has no sense of subtlety, and she falls in love with everyone.
"Shall we say we have reservations about your professionalism."
SHALL WE.
The problem is, I don't like prolonged descriptions, etc., etc., and I never will.
Forget that this isn't really about a spy. Forget that this isn't even really about a voracious reader. I still wouldn't like it on the basis of how it's essentially about a woman who exists solely to cater to the whims and fantasies
Spoiler
of the author. And I think I mean Tom Haley, but I might mean someone else.Gah.
There was one fleeting bright spot. In the midst of their umpteenth round of "love-making" (vom), Serena looks at a dude and, "Tell him now, I kept thinking. Tell him what you do." This is not a bad distillation of the urges experienced by so many spies in all those (better, better, so much better) books I read for my thesis, especially when it came to loved ones. Those people are always a liability, which is probably why Serena is so amazingly terrible at her job. She has no sense of subtlety, and she falls in love with everyone.
"Shall we say we have reservations about your professionalism."
SHALL WE.
This is how I truly came to understand the 3 door probability paradox, and for that alone I'll always love this book. It's also really good
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
tense
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:
Yes
Oh my GOD can Ian McEwan nail an ending. My heart is bursting!