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Saturday offers a deep, deep look into one day in the life of a privileged professional in London. The action truly takes place in one day, and the "deep" part mostly means his inner life, reflecting forward and back as he confronts small and large disturbances in his routine.
I liked Sweet Tooth a lot more, whatever the point ratings. Mostly, I cared more for its young, spunky female character than I did for the Dr. Henry or his family.
Both books have major historical backdrops, the build up to the attack on Iraq and Saddam in one and the latter-day Cold War in the other. Both book's remind you of the intense left-center-right debates of those eras. (I would not I found myself as engaged as I felt re-reading Le Carre's Little Drummer Girl and its also London-ish political reactions, in its case, Israelis and Palestinians in the 80s.)
In Saturday, the inner dialogs set the stage for understanding how Henry copes with a major confrontation which ripples through his emotions and his life, all in one day. I found it fascinating to see confirmed how convoluted and painful thought processes can get and the allied physical and emotional responses.
McEwan writes and describes exceptionally, with so many vignettes to fill in the back stories of the characters and the scene. As the suspense builds, particularly in the last third of the book, McEwan continues to keep the reader on a pace he sets that seems so true to the central character and the times. This I loved.
You may find it amusing that Henry, can process all this with the best of modern neuroscience, about his own and other character's reactions to things. His ability to comprehend represents the pinnacle of modern, traditional Western medicine. And yet. I certainly wanted to ask him if he might consider splitting his "relaxation" time between his potentially life-threatening squash games and a meditation or Chi Gung practice. He is a good and decent man, yet definitely seems like someone who could stand to get out of his head and into his heart and body.
I liked Sweet Tooth a lot more, whatever the point ratings. Mostly, I cared more for its young, spunky female character than I did for the Dr. Henry or his family.
Both books have major historical backdrops, the build up to the attack on Iraq and Saddam in one and the latter-day Cold War in the other. Both book's remind you of the intense left-center-right debates of those eras. (I would not I found myself as engaged as I felt re-reading Le Carre's Little Drummer Girl and its also London-ish political reactions, in its case, Israelis and Palestinians in the 80s.)
In Saturday, the inner dialogs set the stage for understanding how Henry copes with a major confrontation which ripples through his emotions and his life, all in one day. I found it fascinating to see confirmed how convoluted and painful thought processes can get and the allied physical and emotional responses.
McEwan writes and describes exceptionally, with so many vignettes to fill in the back stories of the characters and the scene. As the suspense builds, particularly in the last third of the book, McEwan continues to keep the reader on a pace he sets that seems so true to the central character and the times. This I loved.
You may find it amusing that Henry, can process all this with the best of modern neuroscience, about his own and other character's reactions to things. His ability to comprehend represents the pinnacle of modern, traditional Western medicine. And yet. I certainly wanted to ask him if he might consider splitting his "relaxation" time between his potentially life-threatening squash games and a meditation or Chi Gung practice. He is a good and decent man, yet definitely seems like someone who could stand to get out of his head and into his heart and body.