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The best chewy fiction read for me this year. Taut, controlled writing; interesting and well-researched characters; real location and events used to springboard the plot. The timing was brilliant for me in that I was also re-reading Mrs Dalloway at this time and Saturday is like this and another ground-breaking work, Ulysses, in that its events occur over the span of one day (the idea being that all of life occurs or is present in each day of every life). Like Ulysses, McEwan's subject matter and location are contemporary/topical and the events centre around the London protests against the invasion of Iraq in the early 2000s. McEwan manages to weave in and out of this plotline many thoughts, philosophical and mundane, about contemporary living, modern technology, rich vs poor, urban London living, inter-generational concerns and much more, without it being burdensome. You are also treated to some highly technical descriptions of brain surgery, but don't worry, he wears his learning lightly and it's all driving the story home. I personally loved the detail of Henry travelling around his local streets in Fitzrovia and enjoyed checking his exact path in my A-Z or online. I really miss living in London and this level of true detail was so enjoyable. Another fun thing I intend to try is his fish stew recipe (yes, you can find it in many literary cooking blogs!) which is cleverly alternated with monitoring news reports in the text. It's not the lightest read, but that is part of its attraction. Sometimes you get fed up with junk food and just need a good old nutritious roast dinner to work through. Highly recommended.