Amsterdam by Ian McEwan (Man Booker Prize Winner). Not exactly the
worst book I ever read (and I have mentioned it in another thread a while ago, so apologies for boring anyone a second time), but certainly the most disappointing book in terms of not meeting my expectations. I was a big fan of McEwan's before this, and now I will never read another book by him.
If you are interested, this was my review of the book, written a while back:
Spoiler:
The main mystery of this short novel is how it won the Booker Prize. Ian McEwan has several splendid books to his credit - unfortunately this is not one of them. Whilst there is still much of the McEwan charm in the storytelling, it's the plot that lets it down.
AMSTERDAM is the story (very much like Martin Amis's THE INFORMATION) of two friends who are also rivals, each jealous of the other's success. Clive Linley is Britain's most successful modern composer, and Vernon Halliday is the editor of a leading quality broadsheet. The friends meet at the funeral of Molly, a past lover of both men, and subsequently enter into a bargain that will have far reaching consequences for both of them.
As Clive struggles with his Magnum Opus, his grip on reality becoming more and more tenuous, Vernon expends his energy trying to scupper the chances of the Foreign Secretary Julian Garmony (another of Molly's lovers) from becoming Prime Minister. As the story unfolds, the relationship between the two friends becomes increasingly acrimonious, eventually spiraling out of control, building towards an inevitable and calamitous climax.
The denouement in Amsterdam, when the friends enact their promises to each other, is frankly ridiculous, and asks for a suspension of disbelief above and beyond what all but the most accommodating of readers could manage.
A sub-plot, where Clive is a suspect in a serial rape case, is also disappointing, as it never delivers more than a partial justification for his increasing loss of reason and self.
If you want to read Ian McEwan, start with THE CHILD IN TIME, THE INNOCENT or BLACK DOGS. Don't start here, or you may never get any further.
Amsterdam is available in paperback from Amazon.
The Author:
A protégée of Malcolm Bradbury's, Ian McEwan is one of the brightest stars in the contemporary novel firmament. He has produced seven novels, two collections of short stories, and a few TV and film scripts, including THE CEMENT GARDEN, THE COMFORT OF STRANGERS, THE DAYDREAMER and ENDURING LOVE.
Ian McEwan was a student on Malcolm Bradbury's Creative Writing Course at the University of East Anglia. Sir Malcolm Bradbury (unfortunately now deceased, as of three years ago last week) is the author of many books, including "Rates of Exchange" and "The Gravy Train". One of his best known, "The History Man" was made into a controversial TV series starring Antony Cher.