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3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have a soft spot for McEwan, he has pulled me out of many a reading slumps. This one is just okay. He was trying to do too much, pulling in too many stories that bogged down the writing and just didn't work for me.
The premise of the book sounded exciting, but the execution was lacking.
I did like that he started with the ending, and you then see the story unraveling, but I was bored towards the middle and switched to audio. I am having a hard time putting my finger on what about this didn't work, in theory I enjoyed the main character, and her job could have been very interesting, along with her relationship with the writer. But there wasn't the depth or movement I needed to keep my attention.
The premise of the book sounded exciting, but the execution was lacking.
I did like that he started with the ending, and you then see the story unraveling, but I was bored towards the middle and switched to audio. I am having a hard time putting my finger on what about this didn't work, in theory I enjoyed the main character, and her job could have been very interesting, along with her relationship with the writer. But there wasn't the depth or movement I needed to keep my attention.
More like 3.5, but I love Ian McEwan so I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt.
This doesn't reach the heights of McEwan's greatest works, but it still contains all of the important elements that make you want to devour his work in a single sitting: the masterful prose, the tiny mistake that turns fatal, the twist ending. A very good autumnal read if you're still waiting for your library to buy Nutshell.
Serena Frome graduates from Cambridge in 1972 after majoring in math. After an affair with a professor, she goes to London and gets a job with MI5 on his recommendation. The Cold War is going on, and MI5 is just starting to recruit women into its ranks. Serena gets an assignment to recruit a young writer, Tom Haley; MI5 will finance him since he's written some anti-Communist short stories, and they're hoping he'll produce a novel of the same type under Serena's guidance.
One of the best parts of Ian McEwan's writing is the twist he incorporates at the end. Sweet Tooth is especially good at this since he incorporates several of Tom Haley's short stories into the book, each with their own little twists. The book is told from Serena's point of view or maybe not: read it and see what you think.
The writing is excellent, as always from this author. He does a wonderful job of picking out the little details that depict the era. "In the hippie pubs around Camden Lock, which was not yet a tourist attraction, the long-haired men were more insidious and persistent with softer come-ons about their inner feminine spirit, the collective unconscious, the transit of Venus and related hokum."
Ian McEwan always makes me think and takes me places I haven't been before. Sweet Tooth is another fine novel from him in a long line of great books.
One of the best parts of Ian McEwan's writing is the twist he incorporates at the end. Sweet Tooth is especially good at this since he incorporates several of Tom Haley's short stories into the book, each with their own little twists. The book is told from Serena's point of view or maybe not: read it and see what you think.
The writing is excellent, as always from this author. He does a wonderful job of picking out the little details that depict the era. "In the hippie pubs around Camden Lock, which was not yet a tourist attraction, the long-haired men were more insidious and persistent with softer come-ons about their inner feminine spirit, the collective unconscious, the transit of Venus and related hokum."
Ian McEwan always makes me think and takes me places I haven't been before. Sweet Tooth is another fine novel from him in a long line of great books.
With all the literary allusions and talk of what constitutes a reliable narrator at the beginning of the book, I felt like I was being set up for a "trick". As with all of McEwan's novels, this is a real page turner, and works on the level of a gripping triller/romance. But the ended seemed almost a little too clever for its own good.
Really enjoyable read. I motored through this book, which had great character development and an interesting story. Great vacation read.
http://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2012/09/2012-book-240.html
This is an entertaining entry in the McEwan canon and is more on the "amusing" side than the "profound". It's well-written, incredibly atmospheric, and very engaging. The last chapter will strike you as either convoluted and forced or very smart and clever. I was somewhere between those two spectrums.
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.
An old fashioned Secret Service cloak and dagger story artfully weaved into the narrative of Serena Frome, a young woman who is still haunted by her dead lover and overwhelmed by the secret she has to hide from her new beau. Combining short stories written by the charismatic Tom, Sweet Tooth is wonderfully written and utterly gripping, with McEwan back on form. And about time too.