Ian McEwan's novel, Saturday (2006, Vintage, London, 282 pages), follows an eventful day in the life of Henry Perowne, a London neurosurgeon, but the book suffers from a major flaw -- too much pondering, not enough action.
Henry's expertise as a brain surgeon matches the author's style. The story unfolds in cerebral slow-motion, like a stream-of-conciousness essay. McEwan devotes more words to following the doctor's thoughts than his actions. While the actions are restricted to a single day, February 15, 2003, as hundreds of thousands of protestors march to condemn the pending invasion of Iraq, Henry's thoughts bounce across his entire life experience.
Momentous events are unfolding after the infamous 9-11 attacks against the United States. Terrorist threats loom everywhere. As one character says, “When we go on about the big things, the political situation, global warming, world poverty, it all looks really terrible, with nothing getting better, nothing to look forward to. But when I think small, closer in – you know, a girl I've just met, or this song we're going to do with Chas, or snowboarding next month, then it looks great. So this is going to be my motto – think small.”
Despite the huge anti-war protest, Henry hopes for a quiet day of playing squash, visiting a fish market and cooking for a family dinner, but his plans careen off-course. A car accident triggers confrontation, a home invasion and danger to his family – wife Rosalind, daughter Daisy and son Theo.
Life always looks fleeting. “All lives seemed tenuous when he saw how quickly, with what ease, all the trappings, all the fine details of a lifetime could be packed and scattered, or junked. Objects became junk as soon as they were separated from their owner and their pasts….”
Squeamish readers may wish to reconsider before trailing the protagonist into an operating room: “Using the same dissector, he lifts the whole free flap away from the skull, a large piece of bone like a segment of coconut, and lays it in the bowl with the other bits. The clot is in full view, red of such darkness it is almost black, and of the consistency of recently set jam.”
Detailed descriptions of medical matters, hospital routines and surgeries prove the author did meticulous research. He heartily thanks the medical professionals who gave advice, especially Dr Neil Kitchen at London's National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. “It was a privilege to watch this gifted surgeon at work in the theatre over a period of two years, and I thank him for his kindness and patience in taking time out of a demanding schedule to explain to me the intricacies of his profession and the brain….”
Born in Aldershot, England, in 1949, McEwan studied English literature, graduated from two universities and later received various literary prizes, including the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Saturday. In 1998, he won the Booker Prize for another novel, Amsterdam. That followed the 1987 Whitbread Novel of the Year Award for The Child in Time. He has other novels too: The Cement Garden, The Comfort of Strangers, The Innocent, Black Dogs, The Daydreamer, Enduring Love, Atonement and the latest one, On Chesil Beach.
Although Saturday offers interesting moments and flutters of excitement, McEwan probably could have done better.
Approval rating: 53 per cent.
For more information: www.randomhouse.co.uk/vintage or www.ianmcewan.com
(July 3, 2007)
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Ian McEwan unfolds his one-day
story in cerebral slow-motion.
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