One windy spring day in the Chilterns Joe Rose's calm, organised life is shattered by a ballooning accident. The afternoon, Rose reflects, could have ended in mere tragedy, but for his brief meeting with Jed Parry. Unknown to Rose, something passes between them - something that gives birth in Parry to an obsession so powerful that it will test to the limits Rose's beloved scientific rationalism, threaten the love of his wife Clarissa and drive him to the brink of murder and madness. (1998-04-23)
Enduring Love
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Amazon Review
Joe Rose has planned a postcard-perfect afternoon in the English countryside to celebrate his lover's return after six weeks in the States. To complete the picture, there's even a "helium balloon drifting dreamily across the wooded valley." But as Joe and Clarissa watch the balloon touch down, their idyll comes to an abrupt end. The pilot catches his leg in the anchor rope, while the only passenger, a boy, is too scared to jump down. As the wind whips into action, Joe and four other men rush to secure the basket. Mother Nature, however, isn't feeling very maternal. "A mighty fist socked the balloon in two rapid blows, one-two, the second more vicious than the first," and at once the rescuers are airborne. Joe manages to drop to the ground, as do most of his companions, but one man is lifted sky- high, only to fall to his death.
In itself, the accident would change the survivors' lives, filling them with an uneasy combination of shame, happiness and endless self-reproach. (In one of the novel's many ironies, the balloon eventually lands safely, the boy unscathed.) But fate has far more unpleasant things in store for Joe. Meeting the eye of fellow rescuer Jed Parry, for example, turns out to be a very bad move. For Jed is instantly obsessed, making the first of many calls to Joe and Clarissa's London flat that very night. Soon he's openly shadowing Joe and writing him endless letters. One insane epistle begins, "I feel happiness running through me like an electrical current. I close my eyes and see you as you were last night in the rain, across the road from me, with the unspoken love between us as strong as steel cable." Worst of all, Jed's version of love comes to seem a distortion of Joe's feelings for Clarissa.
Apart from the incessant stalking, it is the conditionals--the contingencies--that most frustrate Joe, a scientific journalist. If only he and Clarissa had gone straight home from the airport... if only the wind hadn't picked up... if only he had saved Jed's 29 messages in a single day... Ian McEwan has long been a poet of the arbitrary nightmare, his characters ineluctably swept up in others' fantasies, skidding into deepening violence, and--worst of all--becoming strangers to those who love them. Even his prose itself is a masterful and methodical exercise in defamiliarization. But Enduring Love and its underrated predecessor, Black Dogs, are also meditations on knowledge and perception as well as brilliant manipulations of our own expectations. By the novel's end, you will be surprisingly unafraid of hot-air balloons, but you won't be too keen on looking a stranger in the eye.
Review
"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 any sleep that night" (A S Byatt Daily Mail)
"Taut with narrative excitement and suspense...a novel of rich diversity that triumphantly integrates imagination and intelligence, rationality and emotional alertness" (Sunday Times)
"He is the maestro at creating suspense: the particular, sickening, see-sawing kind that demands a kind of physical courage from the reader to continue reading" (New Statesman)
"Hypnotically readable" (Sunday Telegraph 2002-06-14)
"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 any sleep that night" (A S Byatt Daily Mail)
"Taut with narrative excitement and suspense...a novel of rich diversity that triumphantly integrates imagination and intelligence, rationality and emotional alertness" (Sunday Times)
"He is the maestro at creating suspense: the particular, sickening, see-sawing kind that demands a kind of physical courage from the reader to continue reading" (New Statesman)
"Hypnotically readable" (Sunday Telegraph 2002-06-14)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
By Greedo
Format:Paperback
I have not before submitted any online reviews to Amazon, but I felt compelled to do so in this case for two reasons. Firstly, because I found it a truly masterful piece of fiction, and secondly, in order to answer those reviewers who have labelled the book "nasty" and insinuated that it is offers a purely pessimistic view of the world.
Much has been made of the first chapter of the book, and rightly so, but I would draw attention to the final chapter, for it was this part which left me breathless. It is also here that McEwan answers the conundrum that he set us in the title of his book. Is he saying that love is a nuisance - an affliction that we must endure? Or is his message that love can endure whatever hardships are placed before it?
If you finished reading after the penultimate chapter, then the message would clearly be the former. However, in the beautifully written conclusion, McEwan offers us a feeling of redemption, offering hope to each of the relationships in the novel which feature mutual affection, and hence ending on an optimistic note. The very last line made my heart miss a beat.
In addition to this neat trick, McEwan also displays perception and empathy of the highest order - qualities that for me seem to be found in all the most accomplished authors, and not easy when writing about both men, women, children, and, erm, psychopaths. The characters in the novel are believable, and seem like living, breathing entities rather than merely being shards of the authors own ego.
So, nasty? Well, yes. The world can be a ugly place, and thus McEwan does not shirk from documenting this. But, ultimately, uplifting. Love, McEwan is saying, can endure. Indeed, true love will. A positive message, and an outstanding novel.
56 of 62 people found the following review helpful
By J. J. Lavin
Format:Paperback
Enduring Love is one of Ian McEwan's finest works. It is
also one of the most beautifully written and emotionally
engaging books to have come out of Britain in the past
decade. Fans of McEwan familiar with his superb wartime
novel, Atonement, will enjoy Enduring Love very much.
The novel focuses on love and obsession and the factors
that drive us and how we perceive ourselves through the prism
of our relationships in the modern world.
The story also renders a nuanced expose of the stalking
phenomenon and is constructed in such a way as to encourage
the reader to ponder whether the central character Joe
is imagining the stalking he seems to be undergoing.
An informed and well written dissection of this modern
phenomenon complete with the usual McEwan themes of love, loss
and beautiful prose.
I enjoyed this novel and found it an excellent companion piece
to Atonement. I must admit I prefer McEwan in this form
than to his enjoyable but farcical Booker-prize winning romp, Amsterdam. I would also encourage fans of the recent film
starring Daniel Craig and Samantha Morton to read the novel
as it differs in some regards from the film, which is
also excellent, though the medium lacks the same narrative
scope.
also one of the most beautifully written and emotionally
engaging books to have come out of Britain in the past
decade. Fans of McEwan familiar with his superb wartime
novel, Atonement, will enjoy Enduring Love very much.
The novel focuses on love and obsession and the factors
that drive us and how we perceive ourselves through the prism
of our relationships in the modern world.
The story also renders a nuanced expose of the stalking
phenomenon and is constructed in such a way as to encourage
the reader to ponder whether the central character Joe
is imagining the stalking he seems to be undergoing.
An informed and well written dissection of this modern
phenomenon complete with the usual McEwan themes of love, loss
and beautiful prose.
I enjoyed this novel and found it an excellent companion piece
to Atonement. I must admit I prefer McEwan in this form
than to his enjoyable but farcical Booker-prize winning romp, Amsterdam. I would also encourage fans of the recent film
starring Daniel Craig and Samantha Morton to read the novel
as it differs in some regards from the film, which is
also excellent, though the medium lacks the same narrative
scope.
Perhaps Britain's finest novelist today.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This book has the best opening chapter I have ever read - one that sticks in the reader's mind for years. It is also satisfactorily concluded, but the middle of the book is rather sparse and, despite being short, almost woffly. It just about does enough to lead the reader to the end, but really that's all. Over all, this is a fairly slight work from such a great author, but I'll forgive him anything after such a great start.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
McEwan is a talented writer but he has a passion for digression - dinosaurs, quantum physics, Romantic poetry - off he goes on a little ego trip, often leaving the reader stranded at a pivotal juncture in the story. He'll get to the point eventually but only in his own good time. Perhaps this is his way of heightening the narrative tension but it doesn't work for me.
His characters are not recognisable as independent human beings - they're all McEwan, obviously wearing an imaginary pleated skirt when he's being Clarissa. If one compares this novel to the way Roddy Doyle transforms himself into Paula Spencer in The Woman Who Walked Into Doors - the gulf is vast.
On page 192 of this book he writes, 'A powerful odour of burnt food and ammonia rolled, or blared, out of the house...'. The idea of an odour blaring out of a house is great but its rather spoiled by first positing that the odour 'rolled out' - which is not nearly as evocative. But why give us the choice in the first place?
McEwan regularly exhibits flashes of brilliance both in his language and ideas but too often they're lost in a cloud of indecision.
The idea behind this book is fascinating but the McEwan's treatment of it is not.
His characters are not recognisable as independent human beings - they're all McEwan, obviously wearing an imaginary pleated skirt when he's being Clarissa. If one compares this novel to the way Roddy Doyle transforms himself into Paula Spencer in The Woman Who Walked Into Doors - the gulf is vast.
On page 192 of this book he writes, 'A powerful odour of burnt food and ammonia rolled, or blared, out of the house...'. The idea of an odour blaring out of a house is great but its rather spoiled by first positing that the odour 'rolled out' - which is not nearly as evocative. But why give us the choice in the first place?
McEwan regularly exhibits flashes of brilliance both in his language and ideas but too often they're lost in a cloud of indecision.
The idea behind this book is fascinating but the McEwan's treatment of it is not.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I purchased this book on the whim and recommendation of a magazine withouteven reading the reverse to dicover its subject matter. I had no idea that it would turn out be one of the most chilling books I have ever read. The proseis superb and the Keats link is irony at its best. The characters are deep whilst the descriptionof even the most inconsequential items shows what a brilliant author McEwan is. The final chapters are as shocking as they are excellent. Mental health is a disturbing area and McEwan portrays this in the sinister character of Jed Parry who you feel that YOU could meet at any time and who is not confined to the annals of fiction. This is the best book of te ninetiesin my opinion and I would advise everyone to read it asap.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing
This is a brilliant book and after studying it for AS Level it has became one of my favourites. Would recommend.
Published 15 days ago by Kate Marlow
5.0 out of 5 stars
English studies
Bought this for my English exam. Not really my sort of thing, but it was on the course. Made me quite sad.
Published 1 month ago by KarCup
5.0 out of 5 stars
Enduring love
Good service,but I would not have read the book if it had not been our book club choice I don't think I will read anymore of his books
Published 1 month ago by L.Jopson
5.0 out of 5 stars
All good.
No problems. Everything was fine, nothing else to say as it was very smooth and description was good and accurate.
Published 2 months ago by Adam Hiscocks
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great read
Could not put this book down.
A wonderful book
Gripping from first page
Loved it.
Will buy more Ian McEwan books.
A wonderful book
Gripping from first page
Loved it.
Will buy more Ian McEwan books.
Published 2 months ago by Collette Callan
2.0 out of 5 stars
Wouldn't read by choice.
I studied this book for English Literature A-Level and wasn't a massive fan. The plot is hard often hard to follow, and McEwan's writing style is just overly descriptive. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Abbie
5.0 out of 5 stars
A recommendation worth making
I heard about this book from a review on Radio 4, so I thought I'd break my usual reading genre and try an Ian McEwan. Not disappointed.
Published 3 months ago by AmaZick
5.0 out of 5 stars
A gripping read
I read this book on an 8 hour flight, only stopping to eat, go to the loo and talk to my friend (occasionally!) it's the kind of book that makes you quite unsociable! Read more
Published 3 months ago by carolinem82
5.0 out of 5 stars
THOUGHT PROVOKING
What a book, very good read and enjoyable. Made you sit and think what would happen if you told the truth and nobody believes you.
Published 3 months ago by J A MCHUGH
4.0 out of 5 stars
Peculiar book
Read this for my A Level literature. Very thought provoking and interesting to see how people empathise with characters. Personally, I found Joe rather irritating.
Published 4 months ago by Miss Khatchadourian
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