Nope, not another re-hash of my weekend activities, just another book off my reading list.
After reading some lighter fare of late, I thought it was time to get back to some Literature (note the capital L). I have read two of Ian McEwan's earlier works, Amsterdam and Atonement. Well, I think I have. I read the back cover blurb of Amsterdam and have some recall... but I can't say the same about Atonement. I am pretty darn sure I read it (especially since one of the reasons I picked up this novel!) so it is just a tad disturbing that I can't remember anything about it!
But anyhow, whether I read it or not (errrgh!?!), I am still glad that I picked up McEwan's latest paperback release Saturday. Though after those breezier reads, initially this was a bit tough to get into. McEwan's prose was definitely a bit "thicker"... and it is quite detailed (i.e. lots of medical lingo, dozens of pages devoted to a raquetball match).
As the title suggests, the novel is a day (you guessed it, a Saturday) in the life of Henry Perowne, a London neurosurgeon who has quite an eventful 24 hours. The day starts in the pre-dawn hours with Perowne looking out his bedroom window... he sees an airplane on fire and on its way down. Hailed as one of the first post-9/11 novels, Perowne fears it is an act of terrorism. And that's just the beginning. McEwan is the master of the twist and the downward spiral... so let's just say, his day doesn't get any better as the day progresses... including (coincidentally enough for me!) a car accident (I'll come back to this in a future entry). But I can't really say anything more without spoiling the plot... so the lip is zipped.
But it is really a fascinating book... and while that detail that I just spoke of at times makes it a challenging read, I think it had a purpose... getting the reader inside the head of a neurosurgeon (get it!). The book takes place on the eve of United States and the "allied forces" (which, of course, includes the UK) going to war with Iraq. During the course of the novel, Perowne has to navigate around a war protest march... and politics does seep into the story from time to time... while the character of Perowne is not against the war/invasion, it is pretty clear that McEwan is on the other side of the political fence.
To give you an idea of McEwan's style (and talent!)... I found this particular passage particularly brilliant (and that I knew exactly where to find it after I was finished reading should tell you something):
...he's feeling the pull, like gravity, of the approaching TV news. It's a condition of the times, this compulsion to hear how it stands with the world, and be joined to the generality, to a community of anxiety. The habit's grown stronger these past two years; a different scale of news value has been set by monstrous and spectacular scenes. The possibility of their recurrence is one thread that binds the days. The government's counsel -- that an attack in a European or American city is an inevitability -- isn't only a disclaimer of responsibility, it's a heady promise. Everyone fears it, but there's also a darker longing in the collective mind, a sickening for self-punishment and a blasphemous curiousity. Just as the hospitals have their crisis plans, so the television networks stand ready to deliver, and their audiences wait. Bigger, grosser next time. Please don't let it happen. But let me see it all the same, as it's happening and from every angle, and let me be among the first to know.
If you a looking for a quality... and a bit challenging (though certainly not "difficult") read... Ian McEwan's Saturday definitely fits the bill. I suspect I will not forget this one.
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