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8 Reviews
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Tracy W said on Nov 30, 2008 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback
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1 person find this helpful
Whoo, boys and girls, this is some twisted shit. Say it with me now - vice is nice, but incest is best, put your brother to the test etc. With a subject matter like that, you know a happy ending (well, unless it's the other kind...) is definitely not in the cards, but if you're looking for a dark, c ... (continue)
Danelectrico said on Dec 5, 2007 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback
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Hold Your Spin said on Nov 27, 2006 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback
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Valefish said on Apr 11, 2011 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback
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This was McEwans first novel written in 1978 and I thought much more disturbing than any of the more recent novels of his that I have read. It has all the ingredients of his other later stories, sex, violence, frustration and fear and like the later ones is a psychological novel. It tells of the soc ... (continue)
Lindyloumac said on Nov 3, 2009 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback
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To me, this is Ian McEwan's great masterpiece. I read this book first in its Italian translation and secondly in the original version. One of not so many times in which the original does not delude the translation, indeed. The copy I own is a 1978 first edition gift, by an Italian colleague of mine ... (continue)
Caboto said on May 28, 2009 | Add your feedback
Book Details
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Rating:
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- English Books
- Hardcover 138 Pages
- Edition: 1
- ISBN-10: 0224016288
- ISBN-13: 9780224016285
- Publisher: Jonathan Cape
- Pub date: Nov 01, 1978
- Also available as: Paperback, Others and eBook
- In other languages: other languages
Prices Change currency & sellers
| ISBN | Edition | List | Sale | Seller |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9780224016285 | Hardcover | $19.30 | -- | The Book Depository |
| Other editions → | ||||
| + 2 copies tradable: → | ||||
SarahBabs 
1 person find this helpful
This is by far the worst novel of Ian McEwan that I have ever read. Released in 1978, it was one of his early works. It has obviously taken some time for him to hone his skills which crafted great works like "Amsterdam" and "Atonement" 20 years after this novel. "The Cement Garden" is really bad. ... (continue)
This is by far the worst novel of Ian McEwan that I have ever read. Released in 1978, it was one of his early works. It has obviously taken some time for him to hone his skills which crafted great works like "Amsterdam" and "Atonement" 20 years after this novel. "The Cement Garden" is really bad.
I think McEwan started to delve into psychological thriller in this earlier period of his career. The story was told from the perspective of the 15-year old Jack, one of the four siblings who were left to their own devices in their house after the death of their parents. On the one hand, they had to deal with a corpse, the threat of the family being broken up by adoption and orphanage, the problems at school etc. On the other hand, they enjoyed this new-found freedom and unruliness in the safe haven of their big house until the intrusion of Derek, the boyfriend of Julie the big sister, into the family.
The lives of the siblings in the big house depicted in the story are reminiscent of William Golding's classic "Lord of the Flies". But the evil and vile underlying "The Cement Garden" are even more horrendous. There is a recurring theme in many of McEwan's earlier works with which he is very obsessed - you will know what I am referring to when you reach the end of the novel. It is the sickest act that one can commit and I don't know why McEwan likes to explore it so much. He wrote the bulk of the novel just to set the scene for the shocking denouement that is entirely incomprehensible to me.
He has made his point, but the whole story is senseless. The book is a waste of time for everyone. I hate it.
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