Books of the Month

'Enduring Love' by Ian McEwan

I'd never read a book by Ian McEwan until I picked this one up, and I might not have got that far if it hadn't been chosen by someone as this month's read in the book group that I go to in Manchester. For one thing, I recently saw the film version that's come out in the UK (more on that below), and that didn't exactly send me running to the bookstore; and for another, several people I knew who had read it described it as 'a bit of a strange book'.

There's no doubt that McEwan is a very skilful writer. The way he builds the tension in Enduring Love's much-lauded opening chapter, where a helium balloon accident ends in tragedy - but not the tragedy you were expecting - is a great example. He makes sure we know that something momentous is coming up, but just as when we replay events in our head sometimes they take on a 'slow-motion' quality, so here he fragments the dramatic opening to make us feel every heartbeat, one at a time.

I guess it's the storyline that my friends found 'a bit strange'. Religious loner Jed Parry develops a completely random obsession with the already happily-partnered Joe Rose, and begins lurking outside his house and protesting his love in an increasingly bizarre manner. As the book progresses, we see how Joe reacts to being the source of Jed's unwanted attentions, but because we see events unfolding through his eyes, we're never quite sure if things are as one-sided, or as random, as he makes them out to be. His girlfriend certainly doesn't believe him, and the police aren't interested either. The eminently rational Joe, a failed academic scientist who has to be content to write popular science journalism, struggles to cope, and ends up taking drastic measures which almost put paid to his relationship altogether.

Since reading this book I've also read McEwan's Black Dogs, and the two share some common themes. McEwan seems very interested in throwing an 'ordinary' character into a dramatic situation and seeing what happens to them. Both of these stories share a cataclysmic moment which alters the central character's life (and by extension, the lives of those around them) forever. He's also fascinated by the clash between rational thought and more emotional responses.

So I'd certainly recommend the novel. The film version of Enduring Love though, adapted by Joe Penhall, is quite a different fish. Whereas the book is more interested in how Joe copes with becoming the focus of an increasingly disturbing obsession, the film resorts to questioning the nature of that obsession. Is Jed romantically or sexually attracted to Joe? Is he just a religious fanatic? Is he going to kill him? Just what, exactly, is going on? The sense of inner turmoil and confusion is lost because we're seeing things externally, rather than through Joe's eyes. And the conclusion is a bit, well, over-dramatic. But if you get the chance, watch it for yourself - it makes an interesting contrast.

Susan Tranter

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