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Saturday

By Ian McEwan

(219)

| Paperback | 9780224076753

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Critics

'Saturday' by Ian McEwan

As someone who took part in the Stop the War march, I was keen to read Ian McEwan's Saturday because it is famously set in London on that very day. But the protest is a mere backdrop to a more deeply personal story, that of a day-in-the-life of a wel ... (read full critics)

readingmatters published on Tue, 28 Sep 2010

When Saturday comes

Saturday by Ian McEwan Cape £17.99, pp280 We have learned to expect the worst from Ian McEwan. Since his debut collection of stories, First Love, Last Rites, his fiction has always dwelt at the heart of places we hope never to find ourselves in: the ... (read full critics)

guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

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13 Reviews

1 person find this helpful

I always like Ian McEwan, but Saturday is not his best. It is also no match for his last work, The Atonement.
The story is quite plain and not exciting. But as always, McEwan saved the day through detailed description of the thoughts and struggles of the characters as they tried to make sens ... (continue)

I always like Ian McEwan, but Saturday is not his best. It is also no match for his last work, The Atonement.
The story is quite plain and not exciting. But as always, McEwan saved the day through detailed description of the thoughts and struggles of the characters as they tried to make sense of the insane world around them. Worth a read.

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Tracy W said on Apr 11, 2007 | Add your feedback

There were few pleasures for me in this quite ridiculous story but it did confirm my view that McEuan's novels are indeed as absurd as I had suspected after reading Enduring Love. I found the sections about neurosurgery interesting and well researched and the writing was elegant enough to encourage ... (continue)

There were few pleasures for me in this quite ridiculous story but it did confirm my view that McEuan's novels are indeed as absurd as I had suspected after reading Enduring Love. I found the sections about neurosurgery interesting and well researched and the writing was elegant enough to encourage me to finish it even though I was tired of the continual air of menace that hung over the story from the beginning.

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Top of the pile said on Mar 30, 2012 | Add your feedback

I defenitely don't like McEwan. I've read The Atonement before and then I was told Saturday was his best book and I should give another chance. It's well written and descriptive but I think it's too slow to read.

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Agustín said on Jun 9, 2011 | Add your feedback

You can do better

Definitely not his masterpiece. Somewhere tedious especially when he tries to make you familiar with neurosurgery dictionary !!

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Big Sur said on Apr 14, 2011 | Add your feedback

Having just been lent a copy of Ian McEwan’s more recent novel On Chesil Beach I decided that I should read Saturday first, as the copy my husband read was on our bookshelves. I have previously read and enjoyed, The Cement Garden, Enduring Love, Amsterdam and Atonement. The latter is still my favour ... (continue)

Having just been lent a copy of Ian McEwan’s more recent novel On Chesil Beach I decided that I should read Saturday first, as the copy my husband read was on our bookshelves. I have previously read and enjoyed, The Cement Garden, Enduring Love, Amsterdam and Atonement. The latter is still my favourite, although I highly recommend Saturday as a thought provoking read.
Saturday as the title suggests covers just one day, February 15th 2003 in the life of modern day Londoner Henry Perowne. A successful neurosurgeon living a comfortable middle class existence, happily married to Rosalind, a lawyer and two grown-up children Daisy a poet and Theo a musician. His day starts as he watches the dawn from his bedroom window and events as the day progresses cause him to examine his life and beliefs in detail. In fact detail to the extreme is something this story is full of along with lots of literary and musical references. The detail McEwan goes into on subjects as diverse as brain surgery and a squash match are riveting. The brain surgery details made me feel uncomfortable, as for the squash match I felt I was playing the game myself. He writes in such a realistic manner, the fifties housewives cleanliness and the old peoples homes descriptions were also parts where I actually felt I was there, memories of my own may be?
The story builds slowly to its dramatic climax with Henry spending his Saturday preparing for a family gathering. On the day the streets of London were filled with hundreds of thousands of anti-war protestors, which seemed to have a disconnected effect on everything that happened to Henry that day
I enjoyed this so much that I am going to start On Chesil Beach straight away!

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Lindyloumac said on Oct 26, 2009 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback