Helpful Score: 4
Simply excellent. Saw the film first, which I thought was good, but this far exceeds the film. Mcewan is a wonderful writer.
Helpful Score: 3
McEwen is a master of point of view. I love how he takes one moment and writes a whole novel about that moment and all the implications.
Helpful Score: 3
Incredibly good book, very creepy story. It was a page turner, I couldn't put it down.
Helpful Score: 2
A very strange and interesting book. You'll probably find yourself trying to out think the plot, but the book keeps you guessing until the VERY end.
Helpful Score: 2
Currently, I am on an Ian McEwen tear. After reading Atonement, Saturday, and On Chesil Beach, I've made it my goal to read all of his writings.
The premise of this book is very interesting, and McEwen does not disappoint--much. The moment when several men converge to save a boy in a runaway hot air balloon is brilliant; however, the characters affected by the tragedy do not live up to this. McEwen never gives the reader any reason why events and people come together, which leaves a large hole that the reader cannot fill in. Additionally, the ending is anti-climatic.
While this sounds negative, I always enjoy reading McEwan's books because his writing is excellent, and his attention to the characters' thoughts are interesting.
The premise of this book is very interesting, and McEwen does not disappoint--much. The moment when several men converge to save a boy in a runaway hot air balloon is brilliant; however, the characters affected by the tragedy do not live up to this. McEwen never gives the reader any reason why events and people come together, which leaves a large hole that the reader cannot fill in. Additionally, the ending is anti-climatic.
While this sounds negative, I always enjoy reading McEwan's books because his writing is excellent, and his attention to the characters' thoughts are interesting.
This was a good book but the author couldve told the same story with a way less amount of words. His tendency to veer off into scientifical stuff got old fast but I just skipped those parts & the story itself was enjoyable.
Like all of Ian McEwan's books, this was great. It pulls you in and you can't put it down until you see how it ends. Very interesting in that the idea for the novel came from an actual case history.
On first glance, Enduring Love is something to aspire towards, right? In this pre-Atonement novel, Ian McEwan shows why this is not always the case. Joe Rose is a relatively successful science writer whose entire life changes when a failed attempt to intervene in a ballooning accident results in a casualty. One of the other rescuers develops an obsession with Joe, which ultimately disturbs all aspects of his life, especially his relationship with wife Clarissa. Part literary novel and part psychological thriller, having a science writer as a first-person narrator allows McEwan to fashion elegant science-infused turns of phrase as the nature of fear, guilt, and misunderstanding is explored through increasingly unlikely plot twists. Joe is actually a relatively likeable McEwan protagonist; my concern about his condition kept me engaged when the action dips about two-thirds of the way through. This was a good read off the list of 1001 books you must read before you die.
Ian McEwan is such a good writer. This is a complicated tale of love, obsession and the journey back to balance after a life changing event.
A man is killed in an attempt to save a child in a hot-air balloon being tossed by the wind. A stranger named Jed Parry joins Joe Rose, a science writer, to bring the balloon to safety. Unknown to Rose, Parry becomes obsessed with Rose to the point where it threatens the love of his wife, Clarissa, and drives Rose to the brink of murder and madness. Itâs a novel of love, faith and suspense and how life can change in an instant. A must read!
By the end of chapter 1, I was in love with this book and the author. It is the magnificent vocabulary and combination of words to form eloquent sentences. So much can happen in seconds. One minute a person is dangling off the end of a rope from a hot air balloon and the next minute, he lies dead on the ground. And that all happens in chapter 1 so no spoilers!
Then there is food for thought such as : what events are swirling around us right now that will affect our future?
The book unfolds after an innocent picnic which pulls readers into the lives of Joe and Clarissa. Joe becomes stalked by a man obsessed with him. At first the relationship seemed puzzling but then soon turned downright creepy. Finally, I was beginning to wonder if Joe was pulling a Russell Crowe as in "A Beautiful Mind." It seemed as if Joe was turning into the crazy one instead of a stalker if there was even a stalker.
All is revealed about two thirds of the way through the book.
Then there is food for thought such as : what events are swirling around us right now that will affect our future?
The book unfolds after an innocent picnic which pulls readers into the lives of Joe and Clarissa. Joe becomes stalked by a man obsessed with him. At first the relationship seemed puzzling but then soon turned downright creepy. Finally, I was beginning to wonder if Joe was pulling a Russell Crowe as in "A Beautiful Mind." It seemed as if Joe was turning into the crazy one instead of a stalker if there was even a stalker.
All is revealed about two thirds of the way through the book.
I found this story immensely disturbing. I had heard of de Clérambault's syndrome before but didn't know too much about it, read up on it a bit more after reading this book, creepy, not the average run of the mill stalking. Ian McEwan is a talented writer, however, this story seemed to lack something, I'm not sure what. The interconnectedness between the characters seemed irrelevant and failed to hold my interest. The film adaptation is equally disturbing, great opening scene!
The novels opening horrific scene (a man is killed while trying to save a boy in a runaway hot air balloon) has been praised, and rightfully so, but this is merely the first step in Ian McEwans masterful psychological suspense novel. The protagonist Joe Rose is a frustrated scientist turned journalist who attempts to help save the boy while picnicking in the Chilterns with his live-in love, Clarissa. After the accident, Joe locks eyes with a stranger, Jed Parry, who also attempted to help, and from this simple scene Joes life begins to unravel as Jed, an unstable man, stalks him.
A couple of chapters are devoted to insane epistles written by Jed to Joe, and we share Joes growing despair as his love life with Clarissa comes apart as Jed inserts himselfor attempts to do soby insisting that Joe is the love of his life and that Joe needs to accept Christ. Theres a sense of impending calamity in every page. In between, McEwan explores the dichotomy between science and religion, logic and intuition, sanity and delusion. McEwans writing is sharp, witty, and thoughtful.; his characters are vivid and realistic. Highly recommended.
A couple of chapters are devoted to insane epistles written by Jed to Joe, and we share Joes growing despair as his love life with Clarissa comes apart as Jed inserts himselfor attempts to do soby insisting that Joe is the love of his life and that Joe needs to accept Christ. Theres a sense of impending calamity in every page. In between, McEwan explores the dichotomy between science and religion, logic and intuition, sanity and delusion. McEwans writing is sharp, witty, and thoughtful.; his characters are vivid and realistic. Highly recommended.
