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jenbebookish 's review for:
Sweet Tooth
by Ian McEwan
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.