Saturday
Last Saturday, while at the Pasadena Public Library monthly book sale, I was joyous to find Ian McEwan's Saturday:
Ian McEwan is a preeminent English novelist. His Amsterdam won the Booker Prize about five years back while his Atonement was shortlisted for the same prize the following year.
Saturday appealed to me on several levels. The most obvious was the quaintness of the title: Having purchased the book on a Saturday and being on the verge of finishing it on the next Saturday (today). Superficial attractions aside, with Saturday, Mr. McEwan follows a Mrs. Dollaway-like scheme-- following the a day in the life of a person. With McEwan's book, the subject is a neurosurgeon named Henry Perowne. Served against the back-drop of England, 2003 with anti-Iraqi war demonstrations and the British-American coalition pleading their case before the U.N., Mr. Perowne moves through an ordinary Saturday. The charm of the book is Perowne's coloring of events, persons with logical scrutiny and the warmth of thoughts and flashbacks.
A good book if you ever get a chance to check it out!
Ian McEwan is a preeminent English novelist. His Amsterdam won the Booker Prize about five years back while his Atonement was shortlisted for the same prize the following year.
Saturday appealed to me on several levels. The most obvious was the quaintness of the title: Having purchased the book on a Saturday and being on the verge of finishing it on the next Saturday (today). Superficial attractions aside, with Saturday, Mr. McEwan follows a Mrs. Dollaway-like scheme-- following the a day in the life of a person. With McEwan's book, the subject is a neurosurgeon named Henry Perowne. Served against the back-drop of England, 2003 with anti-Iraqi war demonstrations and the British-American coalition pleading their case before the U.N., Mr. Perowne moves through an ordinary Saturday. The charm of the book is Perowne's coloring of events, persons with logical scrutiny and the warmth of thoughts and flashbacks.
A good book if you ever get a chance to check it out!