- Hardcover: 192 pages
- Publisher: Jonathan Cape; First Edition First Printing edition (27 Aug 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0224051709
- ISBN-13: 978-0224051705
- Product Dimensions: 21.8 x 14.4 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (88 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 275,965 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Amsterdam
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
When good-time, fortysomething Molly Lane dies of an unspecified degenerative illness, her many friends and numerous lovers are led to think about their own mortality. Vernon Halliday, editor of the up-market newspaper The Judge, persuades his old friend Clive Linley, a self-indulgent composer of some reputation, to enter into a euthanasia pact with him. Should either of them succumb to such an illness, the other will effect his death. From this point onwards we are in little doubt as to the novel's outcome--it's only a matter of who will kill whom. In the meantime, compromising photographs of Molly's most distinguished lover, foreign secretary Julian Garmony, have found their way into the hands of the press, and as rumours circulate he teeters on the edge of disgrace. However, this is McEwan, so it is no surprise to find that the rather unsavoury Garmony comes out on top. McEwan is master of the writer's craft, and while this is the sort of novel that wins prizes, his characters remain curiously soulless amidst the twists and turns of plot. --Lisa Jardine
Review
"with Alan Bates reading, HarperCollins has scored a palpable hit that captures perfectly the McEwan menace." Times 5/12/98 "Alan Bates has the luxury of an unedited text, which he delivers in a rich, fruity timbre, with both ease and pleasure." Observer 17/1/99 "Deliciously sharply written, this tale of moral dilemmas is superbly read by Alan Bates." Express 19/12/98 "Bates conveys that he is enjoying the book, especially the tightly realised descriptive passages and the racy narrative." Financial Times 12/12/98
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Cold in Amsterdam,
By E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Amsterdam (Hardcover)
Ian McEwan is, without a doubt, one of the greatest writers of dark fiction today. But his novella "Amsterdam" is something of a misfire, reading more like the sluggishly-filled-out outline for a novel rather than a novel itself. While it has the seeds of genius, his usual introspection and depth is both missing and sorely missed.
Molly Lane is dead, her mind and body wrecked by an unspecified disease. Now her assorted lovers and friends reunite one last time, including Molly's ex-boyfriends Clive and Vernon, respectively a prominent composer and a not-so-respected newspaper editor. Because of Molly, they are friends -- and they enter into a pact because of her death. But things go awry when Vernon gets his hands on photos of the Foreign Secretary Julian Garmony, cross-dressing and photographed by Molly. Eager to bring down Garmony and bring up his readership, Vernon wants to publish the photos in his newspaper; Clive is disgusted by this, yet he allows a rapist and murderer to go free for the sake of his musical inspiration. Which man is worse? "Amsterdam" is like a city in winter: pretty at a distance but rather empty and cold when you walk through it. In theory it has all the elements needed for a great novel, but it feels vaguely unfinished, as if McEwan was expanding an outline into a full-fledged novel but somehow never finished the job. The characters are lacking in the complexity found in most of McEwan's other books, where many dimensions can be found. Clive is almost impossible to connect with; Vernon is more understandable, given his waning career. But if these characters aren't really connectable, McEwan uses them to make us look at morality, hypocrisy, and where our bad intentions can lead us. Aside from the characters, the prose is simple and straightforward: it describes what the characters do, but very little of what they think. As a result, some of the actions -- such as Clive watching a woman being attacked -- seem almost random. But in places, such as Mrs. Garmony's public speech about her husband and Vernon, his brilliance shines forth, and the entire ending is lit up by the irony. So while an acceptable novel by most standards, it's perhaps the least of McEwan's works thus far. Has its moments of pure brilliance, but in large patches, it's dreary and empty.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
His farce from his elbow...,
By
This review is from: Amsterdam (Paperback)
You're browsing Amazon, or walking down the aisles of your local bookshop or library, and your eyes land on this... 'Amsterdam', by Ian McEwan. You've not read any of his work before, and you think, "Hey... This won the Booker. Must be good."
STOP RIGHT THERE. I've read quite a lot of McEwan's work, and 'Amsterdam' is, without exception, the worst thing he's written. Run away from it as you would a pyroclastic cloud, and go read 'On Chesil Beach', 'Atonement', 'The Cement Garden', or 'Enduring Love' instead. Anything but 'Amsterdam'. Okay, so even when he's phoning it in McEwan's capable of some lovely quasi-comic set pieces and observations. The problem here is plot, and McEwan's complete and utter disregard for the reader's suspension of disbelief. This might have been forgivable if the novel was more clearly structured as a farce. Certainly, the convoluted way in which it hurtles towards its climax feels, at times, like a particularly dark episode of 'One Foot In The Grave'. If only it were as funny, or featured anything as memorable as Victor Meldrew's "I don't believe it" catchphrase. Sadly, what we're left with is a novella which uses cross-dressing as a set-up and euthanasia as its punchline, with all too few laughs and thrills in between.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
McEwan never dissapoints,
By
This review is from: Amsterdam (Hardcover)
As usual McEwan has a knack of leading you in one direction and then taking you off on a completely different and unexpected path . This is what i love about all the McEwan books i have had the privilage of reading and this one is no exception. In true McEwan fashion the tale begins with the funeral of Molly Lane, a whirlwind of a character who we get to know through her husband, George and three of her ex lovers. From this the repercussions of Molly lanes' relationship with these men is skillfully played out with twists and turns and shocking punches. I wont go on about the plot too much but all i will say is that it is a wonderfully crafted novel which expertly deals with themes of euthanasia, ethics and midlife crisis. A must read for any McEwan fan.
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