A comment from the blogkeeper at Underbelly (thank you Buce) inspired me to look this up. I was fairly certain that I had reviewed the book in the recent past, and so I discovered this. a good book is worth appreciation--over and over and over again. Also, while you are appreciating, you might want to take in Underbelly's look at Helena as well. La Belle Hélène on March 18, 2005 8:11 AM In reading Helena last night I stumbled across a large number of passages I would like to share. But I thought the more important thing to share was an observation. Evelyn Waugh liked this best among his books. There are a good many reasons why this might be so: it is splendidly written--both the prose and the coherence are several notches above some of his earlier, more frenetic work. It is tightly done, with just the right strokes and exactly the right selection of detail. But I suspect the reason Waugh prized this above all the other works is that in t...
Sometimes I think that McEwan thinks all women discovered the idea of sex suddenly about 1940. His themes of women's sexual awareness ARE better suited for Edwardian times.
ReplyDeleteDear Connie,
ReplyDeleteI blush to admit that I haven't read enough McEwan to even be able to agree. My introduction was _On Chesil Beach_ and I've been disinclined to pursue any others I've picked up to their conclusion. I'm sure they are fine works, but I just haven't discovered the access point yet.
shalom,
Steven