false 6862 31 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 upmarket newspaper the <I>Judge</I>, 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 be stricken with such an illness, the other will bring about his death. From this point onward we are in little doubt as to <I>Amsterdam</I>'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 rumors circulate he teeters on the edge of disgrace. However, this is McEwan, so it is no surprise to find that the rather unsavory Garmony comes out on top. Ian 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. <I>--Lisa Jardine</I> 933082 1998 Amsterdam total:5627|5:624|4:1875|3:2118|2:814|1:196| 5627 18798 7399 622 5 8 false false Sun Mar 23 14:12:48 -0700 2008 Thu Mar 27 15:32:10 -0700 2008
Is it just me or do other people "shy away" from books that look a little too intellectual for them? I read because I enjoy it. I am at an age where I don't need to read to impress. I like a good book (and I hate a bad book) and will read anything tha...more...]]> 3 2 false false Tue Nov 18 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 18 22:07:34 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 18 22:45:07 -0800 2008
In retrospect, that was about right. What the hell, Amsterdam...more...]]> 4 3 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Mar 05 11:04:30 -0800 2008 Thu Apr 10 07:22:51 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 2 false false Tue Jan 06 23:07:28 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 06 23:08:02 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 2 false false Fri Apr 25 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Apr 24 05:09:55 -0700 2008 Tue May 06 02:13:32 -0700 2008 3 1 false false Thu Feb 12 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 15 19:56:39 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 15 20:09:03 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 2 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 26 14:36:38 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 26 14:52:13 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Sat Jun 28 09:07:41 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 28 09:20:23 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 30 12:33:56 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 30 12:40:35 -0700 2008
It takes most of the novel for McEwan's characters to get to Amsterdam, but there are memorable chapters in London and out in the Lake District along the way. The novel is center...more...]]> 3 1 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Mar 01 09:06:21 -0800 2008 Sat Mar 01 09:50:53 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false true Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 25 02:04:15 -0800 2008 Tue Mar 18 01:18:14 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Fri Dec 28 16:45:31 -0800 2007 Fri Dec 28 18:43:08 -0800 2007 more...]]> 4 2 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Nov 22 16:01:43 -0800 2007 Sat Nov 24 16:08:04 -0800 2007 amsterdam is a tightly constructed little novel filled with black humor and sharp satire. it begins with four men, ex-lovers of a dead woman, meeting up at her funeral. two of them, old friends, make a pact to kill each other if they become as insane as the recently dece...more...]]> 4 1 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 22 07:13:44 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 22 07:13:44 -0700 2007
Molly Lane has passed away and gathered at her funeral are all her ex-lovers: Clive, the composer; Vernon, the editor of a tabloid newspaper; Julian, high up in London government; as well as her husb...more...]]> 2 1 false false Thu Sep 25 05:10:12 -0700 2008 Thu Sep 25 05:10:40 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon Feb 25 01:29:45 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 24 14:50:54 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 25 01:29:28 -0800 2008 a...more...]]> 3 1 false false Sun Oct 26 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 17 15:16:54 -0700 2008 Sun Oct 26 14:57:21 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 2 false true Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 06 11:00:35 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 06 11:27:59 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Mar 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 22 07:42:35 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 22 08:08:39 -0700 2009
Favorite passage - note - "he" is the composer

He had arrived, as he had intended, in the stalls above and behind the orchestra, behind the percussionists, in fact. The musicians c...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jul 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 16 11:26:39 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 16 16:38:49 -0700 2009
The novel comes full circle but begins with the funeral of a woman both friends took on as their mistress at different times in her life. She brought them together whereby t...more...]]>