Discussion date: June 12, 2006

What we thought:
Reactions to this book were all over the map. One person absolutely loved it and gave it the highest score of 5, while another couldn’t relate to the characters, didn’t like the story, and only rated it 1 star. Most people did feel Henry was a sympathetic character, citing his devotion to his family and work, and all agreed that Ian McEwan has great command of the English language. But there was also a general feeling that the story was slow to get going and many found it too episodic, without enough continuing plot development, and said they had a hard time staying with it.

As a sideline, our discussion veered towards questions about the British educational system. Since we’re fortunate to have a UK expat among our members, she was able to give us the benefit of her knowledge. Most of us had not realized how early British students begin to specialize — starting at age 16 — with nothing like the American “distribution requirements” at the university level.

Links of interest:

Interview with the author
Reading Group Guide
Saturday Web Site