Ian McEwan Saturday Reviewed by Nazalee Raja

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Saturday

Ian McEwan

Jonathan Cape, Random House

UK, Hardback

ISBN: 0 224 072994

279 Page; £17.99

Publication date: 7 February 2005

Date Reviewed: March 15, 2005

Reviewed by: Nazalee Raja © 2005

Saturday

Ian McEwan

Nan A. Talese / Random House

US Hardcover

ISBN: 0-385-51180-9

304 pages; $26.00

Publication date: 7 February 2005

Date Reviewed: March 15, 2005

Reviewed by: Nazalee Raja © 2005

 

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February 2005 saw the publication of Ian McEwan's eagerly awaited tenth novel, 'Saturday'. I say eagerly awaited because this respected literary author has performed the remarkable feat of pleasing both critics and readers, receiving critical acclaim and winning awards for his novels – his novel 'Amsterdam' won the Booker prize – and also managing to hit and stay at the number one bestseller spot with each of the three novels which preceded 'Saturday'. As literary novels do not tend to sell in sufficient numbers to become bestsellers, the fact that McEwan has managed to produce popular literary novels on several occasions is in itself a testament of his writing talent.

'Saturday' is set in London, with all the action taking place on a single Saturday in February 2003, when we follow the main character, a successful neurosurgeon called Henry Perowne as he goes about his day. At the forefront of the story are the events of Perowne's day, all that he experiences, feels and worries about, including a confrontation which turns out to have frightening consequences for him and his family. The political backdrop to the main story is provided by reference to the impending conflict in Iraq, and the anti-war march through London which takes place on the same day. This march, and the debate over whether Britain should go to war against Iraq, without or without a further UN resolution, is a re-occurring theme throughout the book. The anti-war march features heavily in the narrative. It is referred to on the news, is discussed by the characters, and precipitates a menacing confrontation as Perowne is forced to avoid a road taken by the hundreds of thousand of marchers.

McEwan's narrative, like one of his characters, "unravels in little steps"; with a measured tightening of the tension, a careful, well-judged pacing which maintains reader interest, and draws the reader inevitably to the dramatic conclusion. The concise, controlled prose, now a hallmark of McEwan's writing, serves to increase the tension; his style of prose constantly alludes somehow to the impending denouement, the crisis point which the reader accurately anticipates is awaiting the protagonist. Reading McEwan is almost cathartic from this point of view.

Although the novel contains tension by the bucketful, it would be wrong to give the impression that McEwan, or 'Saturday' is about action. Although the reader spends an eventful day with Perowne, and this is by far his most overtly political novel to date, McEwan's concern is to explore as much of the character's internal world as the external one. The reader is party to Perowne's thoughts for the length of the day, viewing his reactions to each event, and his weighing up of various actions and consequences, of right verses wrong. In this, 'Saturday' is a characteristically introspective novel: the plot moves forward and maintains interest, as required, while remaining inferior to the exploration of the novel's themes. Do the ends justify the means? How far can we go, what actions are ethically permissible, to protect our loved ones and our way of life? The reader is given various perspectives on these issues as Perowne's Saturday progresses.

The main characters, Perowne and his family, are drawn in intimate detail, brought fully to life for the reader. The depths of McEwan's research are evident throughout, for at no point does the reader doubt that Perowne is a neurosurgeon. Regrettably, this strength is undermined by the character of Baxter who does not seem to have been invested with the same amount of research and believable detail. Baxter came across as no more than a plot contrivance, and he remained, for me, an unrealistic and unauthentic working class figure. This flaw is carried through to the dialogue. Every character, including the registrar and Perowne's mother, has an individual, characteristic, realistic voice; but sadly this does not extend to the working class characters of Baxter and Nigel. I tried hard to be convinced by the voices of these characters, but found many of their expressions jarred as being incongruous with their class, background or personality.

All in all, I enjoyed 'Saturday' immensely and was pleased to find that not only was this latest offering of the calibre we have come to expect from McEwan, but that if anything, he appears to have honed his skills. As such 'Saturday' may appeal to those who have read and enjoyed McEwan's earlier works, as well as those who have yet to encounter this pleasure.