This story begins on a windy summer's day in the Chilterns when the calm, organised life of Joe Rose is shattered by a ballooning accident. What happens is shocking and tragic, but strangely inco-sequential. The consequences come after, for that fatal accident brings Joe together briefly, with Jed Parry. Unknown to Rose, something passes between them - something that gives birth to an obsession so powerful that it will test to the limits Rose's beloved scientific rationalism, threaten the love of his wife Clarissa and drive him to take desperate measures merely to stay alive.
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: Wonderful work by the great McEwan Comment: You simply can't go wrong with any fiction by the supreme English writer of the day, Ian McEwan. Though not quite as good as "Atonement", this one was terrific and is short enough that it can be read in two or three sittings, as most of his works can be. I made it a point not to read the jacket beforehand, so the plot was a surprise. McEwan in all his books uses "love, faith, and suspense" to weave a wonderful tapestry. Thanks to him. Customer Rating: Summary: One of the worst books I ever read Comment: If you liked Camus' The Stranger you'll like this book. Otherwise, avoid it. Boring and pointless. Customer Rating: Summary: A Terse Literary Masterpiece on Obsessive Love from Ian McEwan Comment: Ian McEwan's slender novel, "Enduring Love", moves along at such an episodic fast clip that it might remind readers more of an Ian Fleming James Bond tale, than as a sophisticated literary confection from one of Great Britain's - and truly the English language's - foremost writers of fiction. McEwan opens quite literally with an explosive opening of such emotional and descriptive power, and one destined to be remembered as among the most memorable literary entrances in recent years. An explosive opening which truly sets the stage for a gripping, often thrilling, fictional exploration into obsessive love. It is such an intense exploration that readers may ponder whether the book's title ought to be "Obsessive Love". In the aftermath of a freak, tragic hot-air balloon accident, science writer Joe Rose finds his life turned unexpectedly by the compulsive acts of a someone he encountered briefly at the scene of the accident; a total stranger named Jed Parry. A stranger who professes enduring love for Rose, before it transforms itself into a twisted, tormented expression of love which threatens not only Rose's own intense love for his wife Clarissa, but also, eventually, his life. Rich in descriptively terse, almost poetic, prose, "Enduring Love" is unquestionably yet another literary triumph from the author of "Atonement" and "Amsterdam".
Customer Rating: Summary: What a letdown! Comment: I was really disappointed with this book. I read Atonement first (also by McEwan) and thought it was great. I then read Amsterdam, which was good but not great. Since then, I have been nothing but disappointed in this author. He is a talented writer but his stories are generally weak and unbelievable, his plots are boring, and his characters are vapid. I can't believe most of his books get such high marks! Customer Rating: Summary: Forever changed Comment: The year this novel came out, I was living in London, going to university and working part-time at a book store. Stocking fiction paperbacks every week, I noticed how many of McEwan's books we always had coming in, but the title Enduring Love caught my attention. There was absolutely no description of the plot, only a few quotes of praise. Of course my curiousity meant I had to buy and read it. Perhaps b/c I read this novel w/ no expectations of any kind, reading this novel has been the single most pleasurable and altering reading experience of my life. While the ignorance that I approached this novel with may account for some of this experience, I do not think that another author could have had such a profound effect on my literary career. I began devouring all of his other writings, but this is still my favorite, and I believe his best work, with Amsterdam a close second. I recommend picking up any of his novels, carefully avoiding any specific reviews, synopsis, etc and just lose yourself in the carefully chosen words, for McEwan never wastes even one, and the poetry that is the sometimes enduring, sometime frightening genius of McEwan's explorations of the human psyche.
