Ian McEwan, Saturday Review

Overall Rating

The construction of this book, built on the events of a single day, is astounding. The ease with which the author inserts reflections on the past and speculations about the future into a continuum of the present is breathtaking. As are the scenes from the neurosurgeon's operating theatre. You feel yourself inside someone else's mind, sometimes literally.

Its only weakness is an occasional lack of credibility in the character, Baxter. But it is a very minor criticism.

I have been reading Ian MsEwan's work for many years and I feel that this is his greatest achievement to date. I can thoroughly recommend the book.