bbboeken's review against another edition
4.0
Niet zijn beste, maar steekt nog steeds boven de schrijfsels van vele anderen uit. Fantastisch einde --hoewel ge het een beetje ziet aankomen, blijft de manier waarop McEwan beschrijft bijna ongeëvenaard.
khyland's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
bamairi's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
solliereads's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I think this story could have been much more interesting than it was. I feel like a lot of the plot got lost in all these unnecessary details, but I could also somewhat see underneath for what he was striving for. I'm not really sure what he was trying to say, but I didn't necessarily dislike this book, so for that purpose, I'm giving it a 3 stars - a neutral rating.
denisedup's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
sydneycarton's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
missmethven's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
I have nothing good to say about this book. I wanted to try a McEwan novel before reading ‘Atonement’ and I was sorely disappointed. I felt there was a lot of over-writing by the author so much so that you get lost in the descriptions, a lot of it is list like and doesn’t flow with the story. Speaking of, there wasn’t much of one.
diwataluna's review against another edition
3.0
Ian McEwan is like the modern Virginia Woolf, except he is a guy. When I first read Atonement, I felt I wanted more of his writings and decided to be a completist. So far I've read Atonement, On Chesil Beach, Saturday, and Amsterdam. I started Enduring Love, but stopped because of the fear of a heartbreaking story AGAIN. Finding The Child in Time among discounted books at National Book Store was a happy accident then.
This novel is so far the one McEwan I've read with a satisfying ending. That ending saved the book from a 2-star review. Maybe it was because I was reading it in the middle of hell week at work and at school. Maybe I was rushing to finish the book. But I didn't savor McEwan's writing as much when I was reading this novel. Yet, it has the same elements of a McEwan. From one event, he explores the turns that the emotional lives of his characters take. He delves into the human mind and heart. Here, he even posits questions about time and reality, and dabbles into how to raise children. The devices he employed were intelligently used. His portrayal of sadness is neither flat nor melodramatic. There were several interesting things he used and explored in the novel but this perhaps made the novel less unified or fluid as the others.
Or maybe I'll have to read it again during my more relaxed moments.
This novel is so far the one McEwan I've read with a satisfying ending. That ending saved the book from a 2-star review. Maybe it was because I was reading it in the middle of hell week at work and at school. Maybe I was rushing to finish the book. But I didn't savor McEwan's writing as much when I was reading this novel. Yet, it has the same elements of a McEwan. From one event, he explores the turns that the emotional lives of his characters take. He delves into the human mind and heart. Here, he even posits questions about time and reality, and dabbles into how to raise children. The devices he employed were intelligently used. His portrayal of sadness is neither flat nor melodramatic. There were several interesting things he used and explored in the novel but this perhaps made the novel less unified or fluid as the others.
Or maybe I'll have to read it again during my more relaxed moments.