Ian McEwan Criticism
Ian McEwan stands as a luminary in British literature, renowned for his incisive narratives and exploration of complex psychological and moral landscapes. Emerging with early works like First Love, Last Rights and In Between the Sheets, McEwan swiftly garnered attention for his forensic narrative style and the unsettling themes of his stories, such as those highlighted in Wendy Lesser's analysis of his career's distinct phases. These early works are marked by a macabre touch that McEwan would evolve over time, transitioning to broader themes while retaining a focus on the gothic and shocking elements.
As McEwan's oeuvre expanded, so did his thematic repertoire. His novels, such as The Comfort of Strangers and The Child in Time, exhibit his technical skill and satiric wit, probing power dynamics and obsession. Jack Slay Jr. observes a notable shift in McEwan's work towards more mature narratives that delve into themes of time, loss, and recovery, particularly evident in The Child in Time.
McEwan's later works, including Black Dogs and Enduring Love, continue to engage with morality and psychological tension. In Black Dogs, as Kerry Fried highlights, McEwan explores personal and political upheaval. This thematic depth is further exemplified in Atonement, where McEwan navigates guilt and redemption against a historical backdrop, demonstrating his narrative prowess.
Despite criticisms over his focus on disturbing topics, McEwan's narrative skills and characterizations receive widespread praise. While critics like Jonathan Taylor might find his moral opposition distracting, others see the maturation in psychological and political depth in his post-1980s works. Compared to contemporaries like Martin Amis, McEwan deftly balances avant-garde and more conventional narratives.
McEwan's unique blend of black humor and macabre themes, as observed by critics such as Jonathan Raban, John Mellors, and Anne Tyler, is evident in works like The Cement Garden. These narratives explore the grotesque and the tension between private and public realms, with Tom Paulin, Helen Harris, and Robert Towers highlighting his psychologically insightful style that ensures his place as a compelling voice in contemporary literature.
Contents
- Principal Works
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McEwan, Ian (Vol. 169)
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The Heart of the Matter
(summary)
In the following review, Lesser discusses the two phases of McEwan's career commonly identified by critics, examining such elements as plot, characterization, and style in Black Dogs.
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Seeing the ‘Debased Imagination’ That Shapes History
(summary)
In the following review of Black Dogs, Brent commends McEwan's unsettling depiction of domestic violence, but finds his political commentary lifeless.
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Fissures under the Crust
(summary)
In the following review, Swartley presents a plot synopsis of Black Dogs, asserting that the character portraits of Bernard and June Tremaine and the attack on June by a pair of feral dogs both reflect McEwan's penchant for examining humanity.
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Criminal Elements
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Fried examines various aspects of Black Dogs, such as its handling of domestic violence, the importance of Jeremy in comparison to protagonists June and Bernard, its portrayal of the post-World War II period, and the events surrounding the fall of European communism in 1989.
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Review of Black Dogs
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Feeney offers praise for Black Dogs, lauding its “scope, depth, and unity,” and its treatment of such themes as politics, religion, the quest for family, and European political oppression.
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Vandalizing Time: Ian McEwan's The Child in Time
(summary)
In the following essay, Slay examines the connections between children and the passage of time in The Child in Time, drawing attention to parallels between the loss of the protagonist's child and the theme of time as the destroyer of youth and, alternately, as a mode of recovery and rejuvenation.
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Studies in Solipsism
(summary)
In the following review, Baker offers praise for The Daydreamer, lauding the characterizations, wit, and attention to detail in the work. The Daydreamer is a children's book, containing seven stories about the adventures of young Peter Fortune. Peter is a “difficult” child, not because he is badly behaved but because he is so quiet and dreamy. Throughout these stories, he slips in and out of reality, crossing the threshold with a just perceptible shift.
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Time, Romanticism, Modernism and Moderation in Ian McEwan's The Child in Time
(summary)
In the following essay, Edwards considers McEwan's evocation of Romantic and Modernist conceptions of time, experience, and natural order in The Child in Time, especially as such motifs underscore the novel's literary critique of British social and political reality.
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Ian McEwan—Pornographer or Prophet?
(summary)
In the following essay, Byrnes provides an overview of McEwan's artistic and thematic development through the publication of The Daydreamer, drawing attention to his explorations of sexual obsession and psychic integration.
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Desire and Pursuit
(summary)
In the following review, Brookner praises Enduring Love for its effective use of “psychological terrorism,” McEwan's patient building of conflict and suspense, and the book's ultimate portrait of disintegration.
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Out of the Balloon
(summary)
In the following review of Enduring Love, Craig criticizes the novel's schematic opposition of science and religion.
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A Master of Accidents
(summary)
In the following review, Reynolds proposes that each of McEwan's novels follows a template of three parts revolving around a male-female relationship, an external threat to that relationship, and a definite focus on language. However, Reynolds faults Enduring Love for its asides on scientific theory and the vagaries of love, and its use of multiple narrative points of view.
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Of Human Bonding
(summary)
In the following review, Johnson extols the descriptive opening portions of Enduring Love, praising McEwan's ability to delineate events with precision.
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Twitching Curtains
(summary)
In the following review, Eder finds major flaws in the uneven narrative energy and invented case study in Enduring Love.
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Review of Enduring Love
(summary)
In the following review, Taylor offers an unfavorable assessment of Enduring Love, asserting that McEwan's style and structure in the novel is overbearing and repetitive.
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So Alert with Love
(summary)
In the following review, Dinnage argues that Enduring Love is an efficient, gripping examination of such themes as “guilt and love and fear.”
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Up, Up and Away
(summary)
In the following review, Sayers offers a positive assessment of Enduring Love, but notes that the novel's philosophical ideas and thematic tensions ultimately give way to the demands of narrative movement.
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Comfy Conspiracies
(summary)
In the following review, Baker judges Amsterdam to be an entertaining examination of such favorite McEwan themes as “grotesque private behaviour, the violation of privacy, and a couple threatened by circumstances.”
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Lost Promise
(summary)
In the following review, Burrows provides an unfavorable assessment of Amsterdam, deriding McEwan's tendency toward melodrama and forced symbolism in his novels.
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All Good Pals and Jolly Bad Company
(summary)
In the following review, Brookner criticizes Amsterdam, faulting the plot for being underdeveloped, lacking female characters, and weak characterizations.
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Review of Enduring Love
(summary)
In the following review of Enduring Love, Bien commends McEwan's literary skill, but finds the novel weakened by its dependence on plot for its impetus.
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Sadism Demands a Story: Ian McEwan's The Comfort of Strangers
(summary)
In the following essay, Seaboyer examines the significance of psychic trauma, violence, and the cultural landscape of Venice in The Comfort of Strangers.
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Wages of Sin
(summary)
In the following review, Annan commends Amsterdam, praising it as a “savage farce” and an “indictment of human nature.” Annan also lauds McEwan's descriptive skills, scientific acumen, and portrayal of children.
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Narration and Unease in Ian McEwan's Later Fiction
(summary)
In the following essay, Morrison examines aspects of time, gender identity, and historical memory in Black Dogs and Enduring Love, particularly as informed by Paul Ricoeur's Time and Narrative and the feminist theory of Julia Kristeva.
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Between the Acts
(summary)
In the following review, Winder offers a mixed assessment of Atonement, praising McEwan's literary skill but finding the novel's narrative leaps and omissions unsatisfying.
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The Trick of Truth
(summary)
In the following review, Wood commends Atonement as one of McEwan's finest novels, lauding the large scope of the plot and a feeling of “spaciousness” that is in contrast to McEwan's other works which, Wood asserts, have at times seemed “artificial” and contrived.
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Quests for Redemption
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Schwartz praises the engaging fictional world of Atonement, but objects to the novel's concluding postmodern conceit.
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The Heart of the Matter
(summary)
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McEwan, Ian (Vol. 13)
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Jonathan Raban
(summary)
In the following essay, Jonathan Raban praises Ian McEwan's First Love, Last Rites for its original vision and stylistic brilliance, highlighting the author's ability to craft morally ambiguous characters with clarity and exploring themes of innocence, cruelty, and alienation despite occasional lapses into bathos.
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John Mellors
(summary)
In the essay, the critic highlights Ian McEwan's debut collection "First Love, Last Rites" as a brilliant illustration of black humor with inventive and stylistic storytelling, drawing comparisons to Roald Dahl while emphasizing McEwan's unique narrative approach and keen observation of the grotesque and absurd.
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Damaged People
(summary)
In the following essay, Anne Tyler critiques Ian McEwan's novel "The Cement Garden" for its depiction of unlikable characters isolated by the death of their parents, arguing that while McEwan's writing is skillful, the novel lacks a hopeful element that might engage readers more fully with its bleak narrative.
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Tom Paulin
(summary)
In the following essay, Tom Paulin examines Ian McEwan's The Cement Garden as a narrative exploring the tension between public and private realms, depicting a journey from isolated familial secrecy to a confrontational interaction with societal norms, thus highlighting the complexities of adolescence and emotional survival.
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Helen Harris
(summary)
In the following essay, Helen Harris critiques Ian McEwan's The Cement Garden for its unique blend of banality with horror, arguing that its emotionally detached characters and static world, while convincingly portrayed, occasionally diminish the novel's tension despite McEwan's instinctive ability to disturb.
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Robert Towers
(summary)
In the following essay, Robert Towers assesses Ian McEwan's work, particularly First Love, Last Rites and The Cement Garden, as showcasing a powerful blend of sinister themes and magic realism, highlighting McEwan's mastery in narrative control and psychological insight, while pondering the potential expansion of his thematic range.
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Jonathan Raban
(summary)
- Further Reading