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A review by kevin_shepherd
The Daydreamer by Ian McEwan
3.0
When a novel starts out rather dreadfully but gradually and steadily improves I am never really sure if it is the author who is finding their footing or if it is me who is subconsciously lowering my expectations.
Children’s books aren’t McEwen’s usual stock and trade and it shows. His early chapters, each a foray into the imagination of a nine year old boy, feel a wee bit stilted and contrived. Still, I like what McEwan is trying to do even if it is, at times, unwieldy and off the mark...
“..the burglar struck again, and carried off a box of expensive perfumed soap and a silver-topped walking-stick... The stick had belonged to her great-grandfather, a famously fierce missionary. He used it to beat African children when they didn’t study their Bible lessons.”
Children’s books aren’t McEwen’s usual stock and trade and it shows. His early chapters, each a foray into the imagination of a nine year old boy, feel a wee bit stilted and contrived. Still, I like what McEwan is trying to do even if it is, at times, unwieldy and off the mark...
“..the burglar struck again, and carried off a box of expensive perfumed soap and a silver-topped walking-stick... The stick had belonged to her great-grandfather, a famously fierce missionary. He used it to beat African children when they didn’t study their Bible lessons.”