Amazon.co.uk Review
The critical response to Saturday must be making Ian McEwan a very happy man (not that his virtually unassailable position as Britain’s leading novelist has been in doubt). While contemporaries (and rivals) Martin Amis and Will Self have had much more hit-or-miss records recently, each new McEwan novel gleans a host of plaudits, and Atonement has been generally hailed as his masterpiece. Saturday may not enjoy quite such acclaim, but it’s a remarkably accomplished piece of work, as richly drawn and characterised as anything he has written.

McEwan's protagonist is neurosurgeon Henry Perowne, a man comfortably ensconced in an enviable upper middle class existence. His wife is a successful newspaper lawyer, his daughter Daisy a budding poet. But as he wakes one Saturday morning and witnesses a plane accident through his window, he is not yet aware that this is a harbinger of a sustained assault on all that he holds dear. It’s a McEwan trademark to begin his novels with a striking or violent rupture of everyday existence, but this opening is a prelude to his most impressively sustained narrative yet. It’s the publication day of Henry’s daughter's poetry collection, but a chance encounter with a drunken trio emerging from a lap-dancing club ends violently, even as a march against the war in Iraq streams past nearby. And this encounter with the menacing Baxter, main antagonist of the group, is to have fateful consequences. As Saturday progresses, Henry is forced to examine every aspect of his life and beliefs, not least his attitude to the war.

Unlike many of his peers, McEwan is not content to reduce the issues of the war to simple opposition, in which Tony Blair is characterised as a war criminal. Henry has treated a victim of Saddam's brutality, and although a comic encounter with the Prime Minister himself is a highlight of the book, both Henry (and his creator) are obliged to consider the complex skein of the conflict from all sides. While there are missteps (the poetic daughter, Daisy, is thinly drawn), McEwan's invigorating and trenchant novel is an unmissable experience.

This was in a box of books from the charity shop, as it is on someone's wishlist I'm sending it out via RABCK.com

Thank you Sheelagh, for the nice surprise in the post, it makes such a change from bumph and bills :-)

I'm glad I didn't read the blurb on the back of the book before reading it as it gives away so much of what happens in the book, I hate that!

I've read 'Atonement' and 'On Chesil Beach' by Ian McEwan and liked them both. Sadly, I can't say the same of this book. Perhaps it's because I grew to dislike Henry the more I read about him. He doesn't like reading much, and worst, dislikes my favourite genre, magical realism! I don't have to have anything in common with the characters in the books I'm reading but it helps if I like them. There are pages and pages inserted in the book dedicated to the outpourings of praise heaped on it. It makes one feel quite the philistine!

I was interested to read about the brain surgery Henry performs on his patients and felt in my bones that the accounts would include the brain surgery I have had and eventually, there it was, the very operation he performs on Rosalind is the one I had. It was a very strange feeling to read the somewhat gory details knowing that it has all happened to me.

I feel even more of a philistine when I say that I found the whole book dull, even the exciting bits were dull! Even without having read the blurb on the back of the book I knew that the confrontation with Baxter in the street wouldn't end there, the outcome was predictable and added to the dullness. No, not may favourite McEwan, but I'll keep reading his books because I enjoyed the other two so much.

gingergeoff says he would like to read this next.

RELEASE NOTES:

Thanks for keeping this for me, I have been looking forward to trying some more of Ian McEwan's work.

The nicest thing I can say about this book was that I finished it. I felt it was very predictable in the plot (so far as it was) and there was far too much detail to be entertaining. If I wanted to read about the intracacies of Brain Surgery, I would buy a book on it. The same goes for Jazz and poetry. I got the feeling that a conversation with Mr McEwan could end up being a very long, drawn out affair.

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Sent to Cat207 as she is the only person who wanted to take part in my bookray (sniff sniff).

I hope you enjoy it!

Arrived in today's mail. Thank you Geoff. Lakelady2282 wants to read this one too, then I'll send it on to Gahan.

What a day!

I'm not a fan of all of Ian McEwan's writing, but I did enjoy this one.
I guess it's all a matter of head-space at the time, Geoff.

Will pass this on to lakelady2282 at Thursday's meeting (unless we meet up earlier).

Thanks Cat and Geoff. I always have time for Ian McEwan.

I had trouble with this book and decideed about half way through how it was going to end. It wasn't how I envisioned it but despite the different outcome I felt strangely deflated on finishing the book. Something was just missing. Still rate Atonement as the best McEwan, closely followed by the excellent The Child in Time. Thanks everyone. The book is off to Gahan who has been very patient.

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Off to Italy!

The book arrived safely today. Thank you so much!

I'm half-way through the book, and started thinking about what to do next with it.
I asked in the Italian forum and found several bookcrossers who wants to read it.

The book-ray goes on, here is the list of participants:
** maracujia
** tilly77
** Emotionally
** armonia82
** Heri77
** aly24j
** Lia51
** stefyrogg
** MartinaViola

I am happy I have finished this book but I didn't like it.
It seems that McEwan wants to put a little bit of everything in this book: politics, medicine, suspence, squash, music, poetry, but the result is disappointing and rambling.
The meeting with Baxter is supposed to be the event that will bring a series of changes in the plot and in the lives of the main characters, however this "changement" is not actually perceived because the narrative is interrupted by too many digressions.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Enjoy!

Received some days ago, I started reading it this morning.

This is the first time it takes me so long to finish something written by McEwan!
Unlike all his other writings, this is slow, long and far, sooo far from the bliss of The child in time and Athonement.
I reall didn't liked this book.

Thanks anyway for giving me the possibility to read it! :-)

Just arrived, thanks!

Not the best McEwan I read, some pages were too obscure and difficult to read (for ex. the ones about brain surgery... - but maybe that was due to my bad English!).
Following Henry's thoughts sometimes gives the reader a feeling of discontinuity.

thanks anyway, I'll send it to emotionally soon!

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

spedito ad emotionally!

Arrived today...thanks

This is the first time it takes me so long to finish some english book...some pages were too difficult to read...

I gived it to Armonia at napolitan Meetup...

... here with me! Thank you ;)

I've sent the book to Heri77
Thank you and nice reading to everybody! :)

Thanks to armonia82, is arrived this morning!!!