pickWhat a talented writer McEwan is ! A different book to atonement, this book explores a childless marriage and a lawyer contemplating legal, religious and ethical issues. So much packed in a novella!
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The Children Act | 
pickWhat a talented writer McEwan is ! A different book to atonement, this book explores a childless marriage and a lawyer contemplating legal, religious and ethical issues. So much packed in a novella!
pickMcEwan‘s prose suits this story far better than it did Atonement. Atonement was about kids and self-destructive deception, while The Children Act is about ethics and mortality. His writing, which felt overwrought and pompous in Atonement, seems natural in the context of a well-educated very-British judge contemplating marriage and death. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-children-act-ian-mcewan/
I really like listening to Ian McEwan‘s novels. I‘m not sure why but his writing is amazing, there is often an uncomfortable tension...a discomfort in his stories...things go wrong..and I think I love the Britishness of them.
This story is about marital crisis, and moral responsibility😳I haven‘t seen the movie but I love Emma Thompson❤️
Archie and I took a walk to our mail box. The bottle brushes along our road are in full bloom💕
#audiowalk
pickOnly a short novel, but devastatingly good.
I didn‘t expect the ‘secondary‘ storyline, about Fiona‘s marriage but it added so much. Interesting how what you would expect to be the denouement, the decision over the transfusion, was less than halfway through the book and then the story continued on from there.
I loved it!
That was also my #bookspin for August. @Caroline2 - I‘ve decided to go with Three Wishes next. do you fancy it?!
pick#TheChildrenAct #IanMcEwan #AuthorAMonth
Fiona Maye, High Court judge, is childless and her marriage of 30 years is in crises. She is called to a trying case where Adam, 17 year old boy, is refusing for religious reasons the medical treatment that could save his life. She visits the boy in the hospital and the encounter stirs feelings of powerful emotions in both of them. I found this book to be an excellent story and would highly recommend it!
pickThis was the first book I have read by Ian McEwan, but it won‘t be my last. Whilst it was only a short book it had a powerful punch at the end 😭😢 and told a great story examining some interesting legal positions and relationship positions. I really enjoyed the main character in this book. #3 finished during #NutsInMay #AuthoraMonth
Starting my first book for #Authoramonth #IanMcEwan
This will be my first book by Ian McEwan.
#NutsinMay #Readathon
Day 11 - #RippedYourHeartOut #BiblioMaynia
#TheChildrenAct #IanMcEwan #AuthoroftheMonth
Just read this one today!
pickMy unexpected read for the week. I picked this up for #authoramonth after @Eggs review. A judge in the Family Division is called upon to make a decision about a young Jehovah‘s Witness, a few months from legal age, who‘s refusing life-saving treatment. Meanwhile her marriage has stalled.
The prose is quite detached, but I found it very affecting, even if I wasn‘t entirely convinced by the Newcastle situation. I‘ll definitely read more by McEwan.
pickFiona Maye is a leading High Court judge who presides over cases in the family division. There is the lingering regret of her childlessness, her marriage of thirty years is in crisis.
At the same time, she is called on to try an urgent case: Adam, a beautiful seventeen-year-old boy, is refusing for religious reasons the medical treatment that could save his life, and his devout parents echo his wishes. Time is running out. Brilliant
#authoramonth
pickI was pulled in from the start to this short novel about a British judge who is having marital problems while also ruling on a controversial family law case. McEwan was very very convincing at writing from the point of view of a middle aged woman. I borrowed the 2018 film from the library when I returned the book; I bet Emma Thompson is going to fill the role beautifully.
pickA pick, and though not my favorite McEwan, I‘m reading it for a bookclub, and I think it‘s perfect for that. Lots of ‘what would you do?‘ questions to ask.
I always see so many reviews of McEwan saying his writing is ‘cold‘ and that he must ‘hate people‘, yet I never get that from his writing. I find that he cuts quickly to the heart of the matter, honest and without judgement, and the way he shows his characters worst traits, creates complexity.
so-soI really, really enjoyed about two thirds of this very quick read. Then something happened that I just didn‘t buy and it spoilt the last third for me.
I missed the movie so reading the book instead. Any one catch it? Was it good?
pickA judge in a court that deals with the welfare of kids goes through some personal issues and also gets involved in a case that effects her life outside of the court.
pickI didn't feel like I was the target demographic for this book (the protagonist is a 50-sonething lawyer with an intensely challenging job and a poor work/life balance). Nevertheless, I was drawn in and couldn't wait to see how it would end. The terminally ill boy, the religion, the personal interest, the unexpected behaviour - yep, loved it.
so-soThe writing is beautiful at times (the above was my favorite line), but the plot just didn‘t make much sense to me in the end. It‘s a very quick read though, despite the density of some of the issues explored.
so-soNot my favorite plot, but with all the longing, poetic language I‘ve come to expect from Mr. McEwan. A quick, enjoyable bit of prose.
Very interesting topic, that a judge would be so involved in a case, and become more than just the person in the pulpit
Have you ever read a book and wanted so badly to love it because you felt so much loyalty to the author? That is the case here. I know he‘s brilliant- and the words in this are just beautiful. But. I‘m having a hard time with this one. I‘ll hang on because it‘s not very long- maybe the end will surprise me. Definitely some interesting ideas, here. #ianmcewan #thechildrenact
Und dann findet sich alles zurück und es endet wie ich es vermutete weil solche Bücher immer gleich enden... Genial geschrieben, tolle Formulierung und darum diese Enttäuschung...
Und der Schluss trotzdem tröstlich... Ein Buch das wert ist gelesen zu werden.... Aber nicht wegen der Spannung... Sondern wegen seiner Worte
Und plötzlich dreht sich alles, geht es um etwas ganz anderes.... Genial
pickPICK. This book punched me in the heart.
McEwan can write the human condition like no other.
pickThis was an exciting little read. A Jodi Picoult style moral dilemma from the point of view of a high court judge ruling on a 17yr old boy refusing treatment on religious grounds. I enjoyed the day to day life of the judge more than the moral dilemma!! 😆 but still a good little read! 👍🏻
pickA thought provoking story with a complicated protagonist who, through a series of missteps and tiny errors in judgement, rocks the foundations of her career, her marriage and her identity. Beautifully dense prose that deserves all the time you can afford, this resonated at a deep level and is destined to become a much loved favourite.
I am LOVING this. Such exacting prose. The main character is a judge, and the scenes of courtroom proceedings are so detailed and feel so real. Otherwise the plot is simple but the emotions are so palpable. I've only read one other book by McEwan but I have a feeling this won't be my last. #unreadshelfproject2018
“Blind luck, to arrive in the world with your properly formed parts in the right place, to be born to parents who were loving, not cruel, or to escape, by geographical or social accident, war or poverty. And therefore to find it so much easier to be virtuous.”
Reading this #novella by McEwan—this quote sums up my thoughts on life, and on virtue. So much easier to be virtuous and brave when neither is challenged in any way.
so-soA difficult topic was presented in this novel - should a secular court make a life and death decision on behalf of a minor child against the religious beliefs of the child and his parents. At times the story was well written and drew me into the agonizing decision judge Fiona Maye had to make. But in the end, I didn‘t find it as well developed as I would have liked, leaving one event out of character and not quite believable.
Just finished this for book club. Seriously? What was the point? There‘s valuable reading time I‘ll never get back. At least I can go to book club having finished the book like a responsible adult.
Reading this for a book group. 28% in. The legal cases involving children? Interesting. The “domestic” stuff? Please, make it stop.
pickI understand the divided opinion on this novel. It feels disappointing and not McEwan's normal standard. I felt the female voice lacked realism at times however I was utterly heartbroken by her trails and tribulations. I wanted to cling on to my own partner in desperation when I was sharing her fears and worries about her relationships. It's beautiful, and yes, feels unfinished but I felt it reflected life; nothing is ever completed neatly.
pickOpinions on this novel seem to go to either extreme: people either love it or hate it. I fall into the first category. I liked how he showed the workings of the Judge's mind, how she parsed out the evidence in Court but also how she dissected her own actions and motivations. I liked how the progress toward reconciliation was much slower than the original breach, and how seemingly unrelated things affected their progress. 👇🏻
"He spoke to her with an awkward delicacy, as though she were some kind of unusual bomb that might go off mid-sentence."
I don't tend to plan my reading, but these are three I know I'll read from my #TBR. The Iron Heel I started in June so I know I will finish it. The Children Act is for my local book club, and The Satanic Verses is for #thesatanicversesbuddyread. And it's probably my #Julymostanticipated too. #sizzlinsummerbooks #jubilantjuly @RealLifeReading @Tiffy_Reads
pickI am not always positive about McEwan, but I certainly liked this one. I felt very connected to the judge, the main character. I also liked the storyline, McEwan knows how to tell a story.
pickI really loved this. It is a gentle story; yes it is heartbreaking as the cover blurb says but not quite in the way I expected. It is set in and against the backdrop of the High Court; as a lawyer I loved how Fiona's judgments were woven into the story (although as these were perhaps my favourite bits, maybe I should have just read some law reports instead! 😳)
so-soMy first Ian McEwan book and I struggled big time with it. There were 3 story lines and the book was too short to resolve any of them. Just my opinion. But I did love the cover, that's good - right??? 😏😏😏
so-soHmm... not my favorite Ian McEwan. I felt disturbed & disappointed after reading this. It felt thrown together & unfinished & missing bits? Was it about a marriage falling apart ? Was it about what it is like to be a judge? Was it about music? Not sure? It was disjointed & full of details that seemed to go nowhere. Ya I'm giving this one a meh.
pickI love this book. Couldn't put it down. Oh, Ian, I love you so. You've broken my heart again. ❤️
Started this today, I love Ian McEwan - although I think there will be no humor, seems a bit heavy so far....
Just starting this one. I used to read every new McEwan the minute it came out. I love his writing. ❤️
