Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - The Cement Garden

My second Ian McEwan read. While it feels a bit slight next to something like Atonement, his perfect prose and uncanny ability to inject tension and suspense into even the most domestic scenes propels the narrative forward. The infamous subject matter — incest — is rendered at turns with an almost clinical dispassion and with an earnest longing that makes these characters sympathetic even as they engage in something considered monstrous by most cultures. All couched in a convincing exploration of grief and its deranging effects, especially on still-maturing children, who see an opportunity to play-act at adulthood but who lack the mental and emotional tools or the life experience to do so.

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sashley98's review

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challenging dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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la_karina1818's review

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challenging dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

Throughout the whole novel, there is a particular creepy tone as you go along reading it, telling the story of these children hit by the death of their two parents and living by themselves. There was a sense of uneasiness even in the beginning as the entire family is quite isolated from society and hence when their parents die, the children only have themselves to rely on. The point of view of the story told from Jack, the oldest son, shows how isolated he is because he only talks about his family, having no hobbies or people outside of his home that interest him. This brings forward the strange things that the children do. From Spoiler
Julie and Jack playing doctor with Suzie (examining her private parts) and Jack later on masturbating to it, Tommy dressing up as a girl, having to bury their mother twice (the second time because the smell of her rotten corpse began to be noticed) and the sex between Jack and Julie
, they all play part in the fact that these children's home life even before the events of the book has been poor, with the father appearing as abusive and the mother being too sick to be able to take care of the basic needs of her children, let alone their psychological or emotional needs. The whole purpose of this novel is to express the danger of letting children rule over themselves in a world where they haven't been socialized properly and how due to their disturbed sense of normality they may not be able to fit in with normal society. Overall I don't have a lot of thoughts over the book itself, I found it to be something that was just written as it is, it doesn't hold a special purpose or message to me but it is still pretty disturbing.

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paulines_reading_journal's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense 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? Yes

4.5

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noblememoruled's review against another edition

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dark tense 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

3.75

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heatherkc's review

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challenging dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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ashley_elizabeth's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense 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? Yes

1.5

Wow. This was.... something. I knew the subject matter would make for a challenging story, but this was far beyond what I expected. The main character, Jack, is not necessarily flat but I certainly found it hard to feel any empathy or compassion for what he & his siblings are going through. I honestly didn't feel much for any of the characters, which as a mental health professional feels like quite a strange place to be. The story gave me flavors of We Have Always Lived in the Castle with its isolationism and insulation, and The Wasp Factory in its coldness and apathetic narrators.
The only reason I feel compelled to give this book more than 0 or 1 star is because that despite it's icky-ness, there were certainly times I felt quite compelled by the overall storyline and what was going on in this family. Also, I loved McEwan's Atonement, so perhaps I'm being a bit generous.

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