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Amsterdam (novel)
Encyclopedia
Amsterdam is a 1998 novel
by British writer Ian McEwan
. It is a morality tale revolving around a newspaper editor and a composer. McEwan was awarded the 1998 Booker Prize for the novel.
Clive and Vernon muse upon Molly's death. It seems she had some kind of rapid-onset brain disease (not specified) that left her helpless and mad. Neither man can understand her attraction to Julian Garmony, the right-wing Foreign Secretary who is about to challenge the Leadership.
Clive returns home to continue work on his symphony. He has been commissioned to write a piece for the forthcoming millennium and much of the work is complete, all save the crucial signature melody. He resolves to go walking in the Lake District
, as this tends to inspire him.
Vernon is the editor of a newspaper whose readership is diminishing. He is trying to change the content of the paper to be more sensationalist. George, Molly's husband, gives him a golden opportunity, but he and Clive argue furiously about the moral responsibility of the act.
However, in the Lake District, Clive faces a difficult moral decision himself. He chooses to walk away from a potentially dangerous situation he could have helped with, because his elusive melody, the crucial notes, have arisen and he has to get them down. Instead of helping, he crouches unseen besides a rock and writes his music. This has repercussions that will change his life.
During the course of the book Clive and Vernon become mortal enemies bent on exacting revenge. The consequences of their decisions, and a pact made between them, lead them both to Amsterdam
where the novel's dénouement plays out.'
, critic Michiko Kakutani
called Amsterdam "a dark tour de force, a morality fable, disguised as a psychological thriller." In The Guardian
, Nicholas Lezard wrote, "Slice him where you like, Ian McEwan is a damned good writer" and discussed "the compulsive nature of McEwan's prose: you just don't want to stop reading it." In The New York Times Book Review
, critic William H. Pritchard called the book, "a well-oiled machine, and McEwan's pleasure in time-shifting, presenting events out of their temporal order (flashing back in Clive's mind, say, to a conversation he had the day before) is everywhere evident. Vladimir Nabokov
, asked whether sometimes his characters didn't break free of his control, replied that they were galley slaves, kept severely under his thumb at all times. McEwan follows this prescription in spades."
1998 in literature
The year 1998 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*March 5 - Tennessee Williams' 1938 play, Not About Nightingales, receives its stage première....
by British writer Ian McEwan
Ian McEwan
Ian Russell McEwan CBE, FRSA, FRSL is a British novelist and screenwriter, and one of Britain's most highly regarded writers. In 2008, The Times named him among their list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945"....
. It is a morality tale revolving around a newspaper editor and a composer. McEwan was awarded the 1998 Booker Prize for the novel.
Summary
Amsterdam is the story of a strange euthanasia pact between two friends, a composer and a newspaper editor, whose relationship spins into disaster.Plot
The book begins with the funeral of Molly Lane. Guests at the funeral include Foreign Secretary Julian Garmony, newspaper editor Vernon Halliday, and eminent composer Clive Linley. These three share certain attributes: each has a very high opinion of himself, each was at some time Molly's lover, and each regards the dead woman's husband, George, with a mixture of amusement and contempt.Clive and Vernon muse upon Molly's death. It seems she had some kind of rapid-onset brain disease (not specified) that left her helpless and mad. Neither man can understand her attraction to Julian Garmony, the right-wing Foreign Secretary who is about to challenge the Leadership.
Clive returns home to continue work on his symphony. He has been commissioned to write a piece for the forthcoming millennium and much of the work is complete, all save the crucial signature melody. He resolves to go walking in the Lake District
Lake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
, as this tends to inspire him.
Vernon is the editor of a newspaper whose readership is diminishing. He is trying to change the content of the paper to be more sensationalist. George, Molly's husband, gives him a golden opportunity, but he and Clive argue furiously about the moral responsibility of the act.
However, in the Lake District, Clive faces a difficult moral decision himself. He chooses to walk away from a potentially dangerous situation he could have helped with, because his elusive melody, the crucial notes, have arisen and he has to get them down. Instead of helping, he crouches unseen besides a rock and writes his music. This has repercussions that will change his life.
During the course of the book Clive and Vernon become mortal enemies bent on exacting revenge. The consequences of their decisions, and a pact made between them, lead them both to Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
where the novel's dénouement plays out.'
Reception
The novel was well-received by critics. In The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, critic Michiko Kakutani
Michiko Kakutani
is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning critic for The New York Times and is considered by many to be a leading literary critic in the United States.-Life and career:...
called Amsterdam "a dark tour de force, a morality fable, disguised as a psychological thriller." In The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, Nicholas Lezard wrote, "Slice him where you like, Ian McEwan is a damned good writer" and discussed "the compulsive nature of McEwan's prose: you just don't want to stop reading it." In The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to The New York Times in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely read book review publications in the industry. The offices are located near Times Square in New York...
, critic William H. Pritchard called the book, "a well-oiled machine, and McEwan's pleasure in time-shifting, presenting events out of their temporal order (flashing back in Clive's mind, say, to a conversation he had the day before) is everywhere evident. Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
, asked whether sometimes his characters didn't break free of his control, replied that they were galley slaves, kept severely under his thumb at all times. McEwan follows this prescription in spades."
Awards
Amsterdam received the 1998 Booker Prizer. Announcing the award, Douglas Hurd, the former British Foreign Secretary who served as the chairman of the five-judge panel, called McEwan's novel "a sardonic and wise examination of the morals and culture of our time."External links
- New York Times on Booker Prize
- The New York Times Review on Amsterdam
- The Guardian on Amsterdam
- Michiko Kakutani in The New York Times on Amsterdam
Resources
- Ian McEwan, Amsterdam, Anchor Books, November 1999. ISBN 978-0-385-49424-3.