Saturday
This page is rather grandly entitled "The Novels of Ian McEwan," but only one of this great writer's novels is discussed, and that his most recent, Saturday. Even worse, the "discussion" turns out to be an assortment of "random notes." I have tidied up a few blots and, in two instances, altered the wording. But I've let the pretension of comprehensiveness stand. Aside from a collection of stories, I've read all of Mr McEwan's work, and I have dreams of rereading it and adding more pages to Portico. These dreams seem, I must say, incredibly fantastical these days, as I struggle to tread new books. That's right - tread books. Treading water is hard enough to keep up for a long time; treading new books is the Stairmaster of the mind: very wearing. Will I ever re-read anything? (NB: the Never Let Me Go re-reading is on hold at the moment, while new participants get their copies, making the project a reading/re-reading.)
Comments
My father and I both agreed to reread "Saturday" and spent an entire evening out to dinner discussing only the novel. Frankly, I didn't make it entirely through the second time having the same limitations on my time and focus as you do, RJ. I am very happy to have been redirected to your notes, and the quoted passage is especially relevant to my current endeavors. Thank you, again. This is a good idea, revisiting your excellent and well-thought-out writing.
Posted by: Nom de plume | August 20, 2006 08:51 AM