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3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
McEwan never disappoints me and this novel was no exception. Though a spy book seemed out of McEwan's wheelhouse, this turned out to be a love story and a story of deceit, stories he is well-experienced in writing for us. I loved the surprise turn at the end and the way the novel ends in a question. I definitely recommend this book.
I feel like I should have liked this book more than I did. I think I would probably give it 2.5 stars if I could. I enjoyed the second half much better than the first.
This is a hard one. It took me over a year to read. I hated it at first, not used to McEwan writing in the first person and not liking it, bored by all the details on England politics in the cold war, feeling that the story was never really starting. I dropped it for months, and then decided that I should go back to it. It frustrated me many many times, but I could not but admire the playfulness I've always loved in McEwan's work, the constant intertextuality, references to his own work, reflections on the process of writing.
In the end, it made me feel as satisfied as I had been the first time I finished Atonement and on reading the last words of Sweet Tooth I feel in love with McEwan all over again.
In the end, it made me feel as satisfied as I had been the first time I finished Atonement and on reading the last words of Sweet Tooth I feel in love with McEwan all over again.
I thought this book was decent. Maybe a little better than decent. I threw this on a pile of books to purchase at a bookstore one night after having had mused over books of his on several other occasions. Most of the summaries on the backs of his novels make the books sound appealing, interesting- and although I've read Atonement and wasn't particularly impressed by that one always intended to give McEwan another chance. So thats what Sweet Tooth was. And while it surely wasn't the global-scandals-all-powerful-government-officials-top-secret-hidden-identities-classic-espionage book I was expecting, there WAS the love story I was looking for. A love story between a reader and a writer, and the agonies of keeping a secret from the man you love.
I didn't particularly like Serena, there didn't seem to be anything exceptional or special about her apart from her beauty, and even that seemed downplayed, mentioned only a few times in passing in the manner of stating a simple fact or referencing a minor detail. She wasn't especially strong in any way, I would have preferred she stood up for herself a little more adequately. Vocally. But that's just me. In other ways her quiet passivity was strength, and sometimes endearing but I couldn't help feeling she just allowed everything to happen to her, taking no active part in MAKING anything happen. Her job, her relationships with Canning and Max, then ultimately Haley. She's just a feather in the wind, floating along with whatever happens to engulf her.
I enjoyed the literature aspect. I looked up all the books listed and mentioned and found several that I am looking forward to reading. There were tidbits of book lore, and bits like a little poem about the difference in literary tastes between men and women. I think ultimately thats what this book was about, a book about reading and writing. Which as a reader and book lover this wasn't a problem for me, only not what I intended to read when I picked it up. But while I was surprised, I wasn't necessarily disappointed. I was entertained throughout the book and there were plenty of passages that I felt truly beautiful, or that I felt a connection with. WIll come back later and list a few. Upon it's conclusion I decided that I liked it enough to even try ANOTHER McEwen. Maybe, someday, one day in the future. It was moderately suspenseful, never too slow, pleasant to read. It did it's job.
I didn't particularly like Serena, there didn't seem to be anything exceptional or special about her apart from her beauty, and even that seemed downplayed, mentioned only a few times in passing in the manner of stating a simple fact or referencing a minor detail. She wasn't especially strong in any way, I would have preferred she stood up for herself a little more adequately. Vocally. But that's just me. In other ways her quiet passivity was strength, and sometimes endearing but I couldn't help feeling she just allowed everything to happen to her, taking no active part in MAKING anything happen. Her job, her relationships with Canning and Max, then ultimately Haley. She's just a feather in the wind, floating along with whatever happens to engulf her.
I enjoyed the literature aspect. I looked up all the books listed and mentioned and found several that I am looking forward to reading. There were tidbits of book lore, and bits like a little poem about the difference in literary tastes between men and women. I think ultimately thats what this book was about, a book about reading and writing. Which as a reader and book lover this wasn't a problem for me, only not what I intended to read when I picked it up. But while I was surprised, I wasn't necessarily disappointed. I was entertained throughout the book and there were plenty of passages that I felt truly beautiful, or that I felt a connection with. WIll come back later and list a few. Upon it's conclusion I decided that I liked it enough to even try ANOTHER McEwen. Maybe, someday, one day in the future. It was moderately suspenseful, never too slow, pleasant to read. It did it's job.
I was a bit frustrated by the ending, though it did explain some of the quirkier aspects of the overall story. I also had a hard time keeping Serena's perspective straight from the lengthy descriptions of the lectures she was hearing and books/short stories she was reading.
Spoiler
not the twists and turns so much as the narration, in the form of a letter
3.5 stars. An interesting experience, to read this McEwan on the heels of Solar! One thing I took away from Solar was that, although I despised the main character, I loved his point of view and his story. I didn't need to "relate" or "empathize" with the main character to enjoy the book...
Without giving too much away, this book confirmed that for me by proving the opposite. I might (want to?) like the character, relate to her voice, but still not be moved by, or even believe, the story. It's almost mathematical, which is ironic since Serena Frome has a background in math. Her narration was punchy, jaunty, clever, but her apparent confidence is at odds with her constant (annoying) hunger for approval and male attention. At many points, I wondered why the author was making it so hard for me to like her?
But the end explains all, and I do think it was smart and that McEwan tied up all the loose ends that mattered. In fact, the final chapter alone bumped it from a 3 star to a 3.5 star read for me.
Without giving too much away, this book confirmed that for me by proving the opposite. I might (want to?) like the character, relate to her voice, but still not be moved by, or even believe, the story. It's almost mathematical, which is ironic since Serena Frome has a background in math. Her narration was punchy, jaunty, clever, but her apparent confidence is at odds with her constant (annoying) hunger for approval and male attention. At many points, I wondered why the author was making it so hard for me to like her?
But the end explains all, and I do think it was smart and that McEwan tied up all the loose ends that mattered. In fact, the final chapter alone bumped it from a 3 star to a 3.5 star read for me.
Ian McEwan is an excellent writer and so reading one of his books is always just a pleasure. This one was fun and, as usual, does not always go where you expect it to go. Based on the story of a woman in the British equivalent of the CIA during the cold war. She is not a very confident employee and her internal dialogue is interesting. I found it to be lighter than many of his other novels, but not less enjoyable.
This review and others can be found at Cozy Up With A Good Read
So ever since reading Atonement I have loved Ian McEwan's writing and have been trying to read through all his books (haven't actually started that list yet but am trying to get there), so I knew I had to get my hands on a copy of his new book. I'm glad I did, it was definitely worth the time I put in to read the story.
I find that McEwan has a unique writing style from what I am used to reading usually, and I really love it. His descriptions are very vivid and the story seems to always have this intense idea behind it with the romance leading to so much more drama. I love how the romance of his stories always leads to something bigger, it keeps you interested in what is going to happen in the story.
I did take awhile to read SWEET TOOTH, I find that it is a book that you will need to devote your time to and not one that you can just read in the middle of doing other things. McEwan is a writer that calls for you full attention (not that I don't with most books, but there are those books that you can pick up and put down easily in between things... this is not one of those). I do feel like a part of me did not devote enough attention and I want to go back and reread it because I know I will love it more than I do now and I think I can learn more about the characters in a second reading (I debated just turning back to the first page after finishing the last page. I feel that because I did not give enough attention I had a few troubles getting through everything and really understanding what was happening with some things (I had to go back a few times to reread something). But as I continued I found I couldn't turn away and put more energy into the book because I needed to know what was going to happen next with the characters and see how they would get out of some of the predicaments.
The best part of this book that really drew me in was how the literary world had such a strong impact on the story. It brought so much more to the story, McEwan does such a beautiful job describing the literary scene and T.H. Haley's stories throughout. And finding out how Haley comes up with ideas for his stories was interesting.
My favourite part of SWEET TOOTH was the final chapter. I did not see what happened coming at all. I find that the last chapter was done amazing and really finished the story well, it was one of the best closures to a story for me. This story has confirmed for me that McEwan is an amazing storyteller and just reinforces my need to read all his previous works one day.
So ever since reading Atonement I have loved Ian McEwan's writing and have been trying to read through all his books (haven't actually started that list yet but am trying to get there), so I knew I had to get my hands on a copy of his new book. I'm glad I did, it was definitely worth the time I put in to read the story.
I find that McEwan has a unique writing style from what I am used to reading usually, and I really love it. His descriptions are very vivid and the story seems to always have this intense idea behind it with the romance leading to so much more drama. I love how the romance of his stories always leads to something bigger, it keeps you interested in what is going to happen in the story.
I did take awhile to read SWEET TOOTH, I find that it is a book that you will need to devote your time to and not one that you can just read in the middle of doing other things. McEwan is a writer that calls for you full attention (not that I don't with most books, but there are those books that you can pick up and put down easily in between things... this is not one of those). I do feel like a part of me did not devote enough attention and I want to go back and reread it because I know I will love it more than I do now and I think I can learn more about the characters in a second reading (I debated just turning back to the first page after finishing the last page. I feel that because I did not give enough attention I had a few troubles getting through everything and really understanding what was happening with some things (I had to go back a few times to reread something). But as I continued I found I couldn't turn away and put more energy into the book because I needed to know what was going to happen next with the characters and see how they would get out of some of the predicaments.
The best part of this book that really drew me in was how the literary world had such a strong impact on the story. It brought so much more to the story, McEwan does such a beautiful job describing the literary scene and T.H. Haley's stories throughout. And finding out how Haley comes up with ideas for his stories was interesting.
My favourite part of SWEET TOOTH was the final chapter. I did not see what happened coming at all. I find that the last chapter was done amazing and really finished the story well, it was one of the best closures to a story for me. This story has confirmed for me that McEwan is an amazing storyteller and just reinforces my need to read all his previous works one day.
Of all the things I expected... a love story was not it.
Spy stuff, yes; love interest, yes; full on love story, not really!
It got a bit boring at times, especially when then talked politics (but that could just be me...I hate politics), and at times you just lost hope for the hole book, but the ending, for me, made up for most of it.
You really need to read it until the end!
Spy stuff, yes; love interest, yes; full on love story, not really!
It got a bit boring at times, especially when then talked politics (but that could just be me...I hate politics), and at times you just lost hope for the hole book, but the ending, for me, made up for most of it.
You really need to read it until the end!
I was actually a bit disappointed in Sweet Tooth. A book about a misguided MI5 agent lends itself to intrigue, action, and tawdriness. Unfortunately the book was rather slow and predictable. I would have given it two stars except for the ending which actually caught me by surprise. As my friend Monet would say, it was an "Agatha Christie" ending. I was so sure I knew exactly what was going on, and I really didn't. I feel like the book actually needs to be read again now that I know the ending and it would be better, but it wasn't good enough to warrant the re-read.