Rated of 5
by Ewa
I'm a Polish student and had to read that book for an English competition. I've chosen it mainly because it had so many good opinions and was rewarded a prize. Contrary to what the 'pundits' may say, I found that book a bit boring. And that Amsterdam-thing I mean the fact that one couldn't connect the title with the plot till the last chapter wasn't really a good idea. But after all, I've read it in less than one day so it wasn't that bad.
Rated of 5
by jpj
For some reason I can say I've read everything by McEwan and this book, although it won a Booker Prize, is not his best. At least to me. The ending is down right stupid and loses the entire tone of the novel. And if McEwan meant it that way, than he kind of insults his readers. The Child in Time, Black Dogs, The Comfort of Strangers, Atonement, all of them are better than this one. Still, he writes well, and I'll read everything he writes...perhaps in Amsterdam I missed something? p.s. don't read this book if you're looking to get a feel of Amsterdam...
Rated of 5
by kansas_bookie
Most recently I re-read this novel for a class discussion...and predictably I found further meaning in the characters.
First time through, however, it was a bit unsettling, stretched myself frequently to attach substance to twists and turns.
Leaping that far down into the emptiness of two unfortunate, politically driven characters was a learning experience.
I don't doubt the validity and truth behind McEwan's purpose, I just didn't realize at first how reptillian it could get. :)
Rated of 5
by Ruthanne
A great manipulator: Ian McEwan is a brilliant author but this book almost put me off reading his more recent and masterful work, ATONEMENT.
The plot is dark and the characters not well drawn in AMSTERDAM. It begins with a funeral and two men who are star-crossed lovers of the dead woman. It ends with the two men sealing their fates together in the city of Amsterdam...to say more would give the plot away.
I could not relate to either male character or to their angst over a lost love. The characters lacked the type of emotion one would expect them to feel and did not inspire any kind of empathy.
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Stranger than fiction, blending tragedy and farce, How to Create the Perfect Wife is an engrossing tale of the radicalism, and deep contradictions, at the heart of the Enlightenment.
Z, the novel about the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald is at points charming and; like another reviewer, I kept thinking of the movie, "Midnight...
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Although heavy on the scientific details, which slowed down the story for me (OK, I admit, I was one of those liberal arts majors who skipped out on...
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Loved this book. Magical, quirky, enchanting I could go on. All books do not have to be literary fiction, sometimes it is just so comforting to read...
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British Parliament asks Amazon to clarify why it pays $9 million in income tax on $23 billion of UK sales.(May 20 2013) Amazon will be called back to give further evidence to members of the British Parliament "to clarify how its activities in the U.K. justify its low corporate...
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