The Child in Time in Reading with Style

May 18, 2019 Connie G rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1001-books, contemporary-fiction, england

"The Child in Time" is an unusual book with themes of childhood and time. It starts with a terrifying event for any parent--a child is kidnapped in a grocery store. The book explores the effect of this tragedy on the father Stephen, his relationship with his wife, and their different styles of grieving the loss of their daughter.

The author, Ian McEwan, plays with time using magical realism where Stephen's present time morphs into an episode in his parents' past. We see how time can speed up or s ...more

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Oct 30, 2020 Ann rated it did not like it

Shelves: 2020, rws-fall-20

When the kidnapping was described, I teared up. It was harrowing.
And that is about it.
Stephen is a passive, unrepentant douche. What an asshole. The commitment to not dealing with grief, in the hopes that it will just go away or something, is selfish and maddening. He buries himself in THE MOST BORING life possible, which we have to endure in excruciating detail, and he’s self obsessed - but his self is damp toast.
The ending is cringeworthy.
Not recommended.

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Mar 10, 2021 Bucket rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1001-read-all-editions, time, politics, literary, life-and-death, reviewed, tragedy, magical-realism, friendship, psychology

This was not an easy read, emotionally. I grieved along with Stephen and Julie, while also avoiding truly facing the emotions I would have if their reality was mine. The story was so heartbreaking that it almost overwhelmed everything else here -- almost.

McEwan writes deeply about growing up, about childhood vs. adulthood, about the seamlessness of life, and about time, without tying up his ideas and speculations in any way. It's a frenzied knot of feeling and speculation that bends the border ...more

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