Transcript Ian McEwan Amsterdam

Ian McEwan
Amsterdam
Title: Amsterdam
Author: Ian McEwan
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Pages: 194
Publisher: , 0
ISBN: 0385496486
Format: PDF / Kindle / ePub
Size: 8.1 MB
Download: allowed
Description
When good-time, fortysomething Molly Lane dies of an unspecified degenerative illness, her
many friends and numerous lovers are led to think about their own mortality. Vernon Halliday,
editor of the upmarket newspaper the Judge, persuades his old friend Clive Linley, a selfindulgent composer of some reputation, to enter into a euthanasia pact with him. Should either
of them be stricken with such an illness, the other will bring about his death. From this point
onward we are in little doubt as to Amsterdam's outcome--it's only a matter of who will kill
whom. In the meantime, compromising photographs of Molly's most distinguished lover, foreign
secretary Julian Garmony, have found their way into the hands of the press, and as rumors
circulate he teeters on the edge of disgrace. However, this is McEwan, so it is no surprise to find
that the rather unsavory Garmony comes out on top. Ian McEwan is master of the writer's craft,
and while this is the sort of novel that wins prizes, his characters remain curiously soulless
amidst the twists and turns of plot. --Lisa Jardine
Insightful reviews
Maciek: I gave Amsterdam two stars because it's so short and there's this weird kind of peculiar
joy when you read it. Look, 20 pages! 50 pages! Halfway through!
Other than that, it's one of those boring white-collar novels featuring the seemingly enlightening
but nonethelessly ponderous, intelectual and philosophical musings of succesful, rich people
who live in their big villas and feel sorry for themselves. None of the characters is memorable or
likeable, and the novella (it's under 200 pages) never really gains any sort of coherence. I don't
think McEwan himself knew what he wanted to do - a nostalgic love story? A social parable? A
morality tale? Character study? Bits of these surface, but are swallowed by the meandering and
unfocused plot (or what can be described as one) and boring, self-absorbed characters. It's not
humorous enough to be funny, not suspenseful to be gripping, and not challenging to be
thought provoking. It just is, bland pseudo-intelectual pulp fiction masqueraded as "novel of
ideas" that are supposed to be challenging but never really hit the mark. McEwan should have
won the Booker for Atonement which is a far, far superior work, moving and memorable.
Amsterdam reads fast, but the memories of it evaporate even faster.
NocturnalBlaze: Una lettura breve ed intesa, di un'acutezza che colpisce, incredibilmente
ironica ed intelligente, un affresco perfetto che delinea un'analisi della natura umana pungente e
puntuale. La vicenda raccontata è a tratti drammatica ed intensa, a tratti divertente ed ai limiti
del surreale, in un connubio perfetto fra alto e basso, fra profonde riflessioni intellettuali e istinti
più bassi.
I due protagonisti di questa vicenda, le cui prospettive si alternano durante la narrazione, sono
tutt'altro che piacevoli da leggere, sono due personaggi deprecabili, antipatici, egoisti e
concentrati unicamente sui propri scopi, ma, forse proprio per questo loro essere così terribili,
non si può fare a meno di sentirsi coinvolti nelle loro vicende, nella tensione di scoprire se
realmente faranno ciò che stanno pensando di fare, se si abbasseranno così tanto solamente
per ottenere ciò che desiderano.
Il libro porta avanti una grande riflessione sulla moralità, su cosa sia giusto e cosa sia sbagliato,
sull'arbitrarietà del concetto di giustizia e correttezza, sulla necessità di dover scegliere fra ciò
che è giusto in senso più alto e ciò che, invece, può portare ad un tornaconto personale. C'è,
poi, un'analisi molto acuta sull'ipocrisia dell'amicizia, sulla disparità dei rapporti, sull'intrinseco
egoismo che regola le relazioni umane. Centrale è anche l'elemento della vendetta, che si
esplica perfettamente nel surreale e divertente finale, che va a coronare una spirale
discendente di avvenimenti che vanno man mano a logorare il rapporto fra i due protagonisti.
E' una lettura veloce, in virtù delle poche pagine che compongono il volume, ma non semplice
né priva di spunti di riflessione, le varie tematiche trattate e lo stile coinvolgente e ricco
dell'autore riescono a creare una storia molto coinvolgente, intelligente, una lettura decisamente
arricchente per chiunque si approcci ad essa con la mente aperta.
Becky: another booker prize winner, amsterdam is a tightly constructed little novel filled with
black humor and sharp satire. it begins with four men, ex-lovers of a dead woman, meeting up
at her funeral. two of them, old friends, make a pact to kill each other if they become as insane
as the recently deceased became toward the end of her life. that pact, unsurprisingly, has
unexpected consequences as their friendship begins to spin out of control, devolving into hatred
and revenge. many complain that the plot of the novel is too predictable and the characters too
unlikeable, and though i agree somewhat, i thought those aspects of the novel added to it rather
than subtracted. the moderate predictability of the plot really underscored the fatalistic tone
taken by the narrator, and i found the characters realistically flawed rather than simply
despicable. overall, i personally thought the book was a thought-provoking fable about the
consequences of morally bankrupt life decisions and their resulting fallout, as well as the
emotional instability that lurks within even the most self-composed of us, driving us to the brink
in the heat of anger. this was my first introduction to ian mcewan. i've heard that this book isn't
his best, that the booker prize was awarded to it more as a recognition of his overall body of
work. however, i thoroughly enjoyed this one, so i look forward to reading more of his work.
David: In its favor, this used to be compulsively readable, stress-free in its way, and lovely
amusing. The shrewdpermanent plot most likely does not delay lower than any type of cautious
scrutiny, notwithstanding McEwan's writing is skillful sufficient to paper over many of the extra
evident improbabilities. Booker prizeworthy? i am not so sure. yet then the Booker jury is kind of
recognized for making atypical choices.I supply it 3 stable stars, yet no more. and that i imagine
the Dutch have a correct to be annoyed approximately McEwan's imagined denouement.It's
challenging to claim even more with no veering into spoiler territory. An a laugh trifle, skillfully
executed. A bagatelle. but when you're looking for excellent literature, stream alongside folks.
not anything to determine here.
Stephen P: as a holiday from interpreting proust's in a budding grove i speedy came upon the
characters intriguing,the sparse naked prose admirable, and the narrative witty and gripping.
then mcewan begun leaving his fingerprints everywhere in the manuscript, virtually announcing,
i'm planting this the following so that you can are expecting what is going to quickly unfold. i
discovered the finishing crossing the road from witty to slapstick absurd. my disbelief had
already been suspended to the purpose of snapping. i believe that mcewan couldn't make up
his brain even if to put in writing a unique of taut wit and suspense or a ebook that's outlandish
and funny. the indecisive blend didn't paintings for me. however, my desire for get away from
proust-a booklet i admire yet i'm a little exhausted-might be greater than amsterdam or very
likely any ebook instantly can provide. i will supply it a 1-i suppose like an assassin-but after my
sadness fades i could good get back with higher generosity.
Kamil: pfff, alright, both i am too spoiled with sturdy literature already or this can be not anything
extraordinary.
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