Book Review: SATURDAY by Ian McEwan

Saturday by Ian McEwan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


"When anything can happen, everything matters."

My golly, but can Ian McEwan write!!!!!!!!

Saw this book at the SM Baguio Booksale, and for 115 pesos (2. 17 USD), it was a steal!

SATURDAY is about one day in the life of a brain surgeon. The single-sentence synopsis is accurate enough for a tweet, but then again, this is the genius of Ian McEwan's writing: He manages to weave so many immortal themes in the most simple and mundane episodes of modern living. It is one day in the life of a man, both ordinary and yet... Unforgettable. It contains this one man's every waking thought and deed, and the consequences of a seemingly innocuous decision like driving down one road instead of another. Ultimately, it is a novel of the singular blending with the universal, as well as the degree to which the individual can be connected to (or disconnected from) the world... All this written with such clear prose that manages to be literary yet mathematically ruthless in balancing action and mental activity.

This is the first time that I've read anything of his that came close to a thriller, and when the home invasion episode started around 3/4 in the novel, I shrieked and could not be torn away from the book! That is how good a writer McEwan is.

I've always admired how Ian McEwan's plots evolve around an ethical concern. In this particular novel, the question was: Would a doctor be willing to save the life of one who had intended to harm his family?

One thing's for sure: I will never read or look at Matthew Arnold's DOVER BEACH in the same way, ever again. And I will continue to buy Ian McEwan's books on sight.

Now when will the film version of this be made?? Ahaha.



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