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Saturday
 

Saturday

by Ian McEwan

In his triumphant new novel, Ian McEwan, the bestselling author of Atonement, follows an ordinary man through a Saturday whose high promise gradually turns nightmarish. Henry Perowne–a neurosurgeon, urbane, privileged, deeply in love with his wife and grown-up children–plans to play a game of squash, visit his elderly mother, and cook dinner for his family. But after a minor traffic... (read more)

Top tags: fiction,  contemporary fiction,  british,  england,  literature (all tags)

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Other Reviews

Amazon Reviews (5)
 

Most Helpful Reviews

Liked It

3 of 3 members found this review helpful.
Tinky
  • Rated 4 stars

“This novel has haunted me like few contemporary novels I’ve read. I think it is the best “9/11” novel out there, precisely because it’s not “about” 9/11. Without ever coming out and hitting us over the head with it, “Saturday” is about the effect of 9/11 on the West’s cultural soul, our collective psyche. McEwan has obviously patterned the book on Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway,” and the homage works beautifully. Both novels take place during one twenty-four hour period and both make...”

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Didn’t Like It

Peach
  • Rated 2 stars

“Neurosurgeon Henry Perowne seems to live an idyllic life complete with loving family members, meaningful work, and worldly success. One Saturday, though, a minor traffic accident upsets his equilibrium.

Saturday follows Perowne’s day in a stream of consciousness style. As a character, Perowne is almost maddeningly reductionist, a man who understands brain tissue but not poetry. I found myself exasperated with him, even with his decency and efficiency, as he went about his day....”

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Community:
  • Rated 3.644758 stars
Amazon:
  • Rated 3.5 stars
  

Newest Comments

  • Helly

    helly said:

    “this is the first Ian McEwan i have read and i was really looking forward to it... however i am finding it very heavy going and am only about 50 pages in... i hope it gets better :s there was so much promise with the plane and it came to nothing... very strange .....”

    posted Friday, August 29 2008
  • Janice P

    janice p said:

    “I read this book for my bookclub, I had never read any Ian McEwan before. The plot is thin but his individual descriptions of people and events are wonderful. His description of his relationship with his wife of over 20 years was unlike anything I have ever read, it will stay with me for a long time. That alone is worth the price of the book.”

    posted Thursday, July 10 2008
  • Janice P

    janice p said:

    “I read this book for my bookclub, I had never read any Ian McEwan before. The plot is thin but his individual descriptions of people and events are wonderful. His description of his relationship with his wife of over 20 years was unlike anything I have ever read, it will stay with me for a long time. That alone is worth the price of the book.”

    posted Thursday, July 10 2008
  • Cristina S

    cristina s said:

    “Perhaps I'm in the wrong frame of mind at the mo', but I'm finding the first couple of chapters frustrating. The depth of imagery and detail is what I love about McEwan, and yet I'm fighting the urge to skip to a chapter where something is actually HAPPENING. Someone please hit me over the head and tell me it's going to get better!”

    posted Saturday, June 28 2008 ( | view 1 reply )
  • Lisa L

    lisa l said:

    “I just started reading this book over the weekend, and I'm really into it. The author is so descriptive in every detail, you really get the feeling he is enjoying himself. On page 39, he's describing "what gives tyrants their childish air"....."Saddam, for example, doesn't simply look like a heavy-jowled brute. He gives the impression of an overgrown, disappointed boy with a pudgy hangdog look, and dark eyes a little baffled by all that he still can't ordain."”

    posted Monday, June 9 2008 ( | view 3 replies )
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