Hello readers. Your favorite (or not so favorite) book blogger is back. And so soon after my last entry. Why am I back? Well, because I've read another book and I liked it. The book in question is Ian McEwan's Saturday. I started reading the book this past Saturday, and unlike the events in the book itself that take place all in one Saturday, I didn't finish reading it until today (Wednesday). And as you can see by my last sentence that I wrote two days ago, I actually started this post on Wednesday and just polished it up and added a few more sentences today, Friday. Again, I could not complete an activity in one day. An entire book takes place in one day and I can't even read the book or write about it in one day. What a sorry excuse for a reader and a blogger I am... Anyway, I have found that my calling is not writing about books. My mind is too scattered for such an activity, but I am going to try to continue to order my mind by writing about books on a semi-regular basis. Maybe I'll get better. We'll see...
The central character in the book is Henry Perowne, a neurosurgeon and a man that has very high hopes for his Saturday. He plans on having a pleasant day, starting with a squash (I think it was squash, but I would have to look it up to find out for sure, but I don't think it really matters as it could be tennis or badminton and it wouldn't make a difference) game with one of his colleagues and ending with a dinner with his family, very much looking forward to a reunion with his daughter who he hasn't seen in months. What he doesn't suspect is that a minor car accident and the interaction that he has with the other cars' driver will have have negative consequences that will make his evening far from pleasant.
Perowne is a very methodical man, much in tune with his life of routine. He loves the intricacies and precision of surgery. He likes to know where he's going. He certainly doesn't suspect that this incident, however disturbing it was at the time, will come back to haunt him. I know John Lennon has a lyric in one of his songs about life happening when you're busy making other plans (I'm not going to even bother looking up the quote right now--I think you can catch the drift). I will, however quote from the book: "All he feels now is fear. He's weak and ignorant, scared of the way consequences of an action leap away from your control and breed new events, new consequences, until you're led to a place you never dreamed of and would never choose...(McEwan, 2005)" This pretty much sums up the central theme in the book--that you're never really in control, even when you think you are--that one small decision or action could possibly change the entire course of your life.
The only other Ian McEwan book I have read is Atonement. Despite the movie version advertising the love story as the main element (yes, Hollywood tends to do that, doesn't it?), I think it is more about one young girl's action, one fabricated story that she decides to tell, having a lasting negative impact on all the lives involved, including her own. This is an idea that the author seems to love to explore. Who knows--maybe all stories are about this, in some way or another. I don't know. I'm just a humble blogger rambling on inexpertly about the books I am reading.
I have found, in the course of reading these two books, that I am a big fan of Ian McEwan's writing. I really like his quiet, introspective, poetic style. In fact, I have become such a big fan that I checked out two more of his books from the library yesterday. I don't know if I'll blog about them, or not. Two days ago, I also started a Texas sized book (and no, it doesn't take place in Texas, but in India. I'm just making a size comparison. duh.)called A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth. This book has 1474 pages and I am now on page 14. Only 1460 pages to go! I may or may not blog about this one in 2011, but not 2012 as the world is set to end then.
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