• Enduring Love *
  Being an English As student , and having to study Enduring Love in detail I thought it would be a good idea to right a review about it because I am so familiar with the book. I also decided to write this review as I have my english exams in a couple of days and one of the exams is based on writing something like a review , and the other paper is about Enduring Love , so I figured that by writing a review on this book would be good practise for both papers. I just hope my review doesn't turn out to be too essay-like!
  
  The book was written by a famous British author named Ian McEwan. McEwan was born on June 21st 1948 in Aldershot. He is an author and screenwriter. He has been writing since 1975. His writing comes under the recent history genre. Other books by McEwan include :
  
  First Love , Last Rites
  In Between The Sheets
  The Cement Garden
  The Comfort of Strangers
  The Child In Time
  The Innocent
  Black Dogs
  The Daydreamer
  Amsterdam
  Atonement
  Saturday
  
• Enduring Love - The cover *
  On the top right hand corner of the book is a red/brown coloured hot air balloon in the sky. Below the balloon is a man clinging on to the balloons rope. The background of the cover is of a dark blue sky with grey clouds. On the centre of the cover are the words in large red capitals "Ian McEwan" and underneath his name is the book title in a blue more bolder font than the author's name.
  On the bottom of the cover is an opinion of the book by Bill Bryson from the Sunday Times. It reads :
  
  " I cannot remember the last time that I read a novel so beautifully written or utterly compelling from the very first page "
  
  Other opinions on the back include : " McEwan's exploration of his characters' lives and secret emotions is a virtuoso display of fictional subtlety and intelligence" - Observer
  
  " A page turner with a plot so engrossing that it seems reckless to pick the book up in the evening if you plan to get anu sleep that night" - As Byatt , Literary review.

I know you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover , however on this occasion I'm sorry to say I did. My first impression of the book is that it was something I wouldn't consider reading. If I'm honest I thought it was a book aimed at perhaps male adults , however , wanting to study AS English meant I had to read this book , so I bought it ; from WH Smith for a price of £7.99 , quite expensive considering it wasn't something I wanted to buy.

We were meant to read the book before starting work on it , although I only skimmed over it. I usually enjoy reading , but this just didn't appeal to me , so I didn't read the whole book , just bits of it.
When we did start doing work on it in class though and realised what the novel was about , I thought it sounded quite good and that's when I read it. I therefore think that my review may be helpful to someone else , who wouldn't find the book appealing , however once someone else's has explained it a bit , they change their mind , and decide to read it , like I did.

* Enduring Love - The Story *

* Important characters in the story : Joe , Clarissa and Jed *

Joe is presented as - Well educated , classy , rich , selfish and hard working.
Clarissa is presented as - Classy , in love and scared.
Jed is presented as - Weird , obsessive and dangerous

Enduring Love begins with the couple the story is about , Joe and Clarissa having a picnic in a field to celebrate their reunion. However their life is turned upside down when they witness a balloon accident. Joe is one of the men who runs to try and help the man in the balloon , and while doing so meets a man named Jed Parry ? However this incident puts strain on Joe and Clarissa's relationship , but why ? Will they split up or will they be strong enough to get through it as a couple ?

The story is written in first person. Joe the main character is the narrator. This allows us to see how Joe feels about what is happening around him , which is interesting as the book is based around his life. Joe is presented as a confused and controlling man. Joe is also considered to be a selfish man with his "every man for himself" attitude. As a narrator Joe could be considered unreliable at times , however this adds extra tension to the novel. One thing which I like about the fact that Joe is the narrator is that we can see how Jed is affecting Joe. However saying this , McEwan has written some chapters from other characters point of view which I find is interesting.

McEwan uses effective descriptions in the novel. For example ; " I see us from three hundred feet up , through the eyes of the buzzard we had watched earlier , soaring , circling and dipping in the tumult of currents...". I like this description because it's contrasting between the view the man in the hot air balloon in the sky is seeing. There are also a few hints at the beginning that show that image is going to affect the main character , Joe ; " I've never seen such a terrible thing as that falling man!".

There are many themes in the novel such as : love , crime , children , fear ect. I think this is good , because there is something for everyone in this novel , whether your favourite type of novel is romance or crime there's something here for everyone.

There are two appendixes included in the novel. These are to inform the readers of what happens years later from where the novel ended.

Once that I'd read the book I found it interesting , however it took me ages to get into it , as I was constantly thinking , this is not my type of book at all, but then once we had gone through it in class and I'd read it again I enjoyed it and looked forward to working on the book in class.
I think the story is original and well thought up. I like how there are different themes in the novel and how tension is created. Although I enjoyed the book , I found it difficult when writing essays as there were so many events taking place in the novel that it was confusing at times , and hard to remember absolutely everything. There are so many clever twists in the novel , that a times it can be difficult to keep up especially if you switch off for a while when reading it. However I wouldn't really call it a good book to study for AS Level , yes it's a good book but rather difficult to study although interesting , however I think it's a great book , just as something to do in your leisure.

This book contains swear words and other mild language , and therefore I would not really recommend it to those under the age of 14 or 15.

Enduring Love was made into a film in 2004 starring Daniel Craig.

* Memorable Quotes *
Joe: You're mad.
Jed: That's what they said about Jesus once.
Joe: They also said it about a lot of mad people.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Joe: [lookin' up from the baby] She smiled at me.
Rachel: Don't get excited. She's just hungry. It's biology, remember.
Joe: No, it's not. It's not biology. It's fantastic.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Thanks for reading , I hope this review doesn't seem too much like an essay!

xdonzx

May 17th 2008