Nutshell by Ian McEwan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Revised to 4 stars because what I said was true, the more I thought about this book, the more I appreciated it. That or I've been reading some real stinkers in comparison.....

It's possible I should wait to review this novel so that I am completely fair. I have a feeling this is one that upon immediate completion, I'll decide I kind of dislike. But after stewing on it for a few days, I'll come to appreciate what it is the author was trying to do... That being said, it gets three stars from me.

I was extremely intrigued by the concept. Certainly is unique to tell a story from the perspective of a fetus, and I didn't hate it. Of course you have to accept from page one that this is not to be taken literally. It's a tongue in cheek "fantasy" of sorts and you have to be open to the fact that all information you'll be provided is from a sole narrator that has yet to be born. What I'm saying is take it with a grain of salt, okay? This ain't meant to be Biology 101.

However, at times it did feel like a study in how to sound like the most pretentious elitist on the map. I realize a fetus is not going to give live play by play of his time in the womb regardless - but please explain to me why this particular baby had to be a pint sized Shakespeare? Granted, this is the first and only Ian McEwan novel I have read. I have come to learn that this is his typical writing style, so I should have expected it. Well congrats Mr. McEwan, I'll admit I skipped over some of the prose simply because I am not as worldly and philosophical as this fetus is, apparently. There were sweet spots where this pompous, cynical old man personality worked beautifully, and I chucked at the dry humor and dark sarcasm, but I could have done without most of it. It is effective when used in small doses. In large doses, aka this whole novel, it felt try hard and I found myself rolling my eyes as the fetus preached on about world affairs and distinctions between white wines... For me, these passages were distracting and took away from what was otherwise a good plot.

The characters were flawed (was the very pregnant Trudy ever sober?), selfish (Claude was essentially an erection with legs), and generally unlikeable (they were plotting murder after all..). But I'd be lying if I said that those weren't the same characteristics that made them seem like real people in the real world. Because real people are awful. Real people are morally conflicted and disgusting and have dirty houses and lie and cheat on their spouses, much like Trudy and Claude.

Even our little narrator had hidden, less than innocent agendas and it was because of these that he ultimately determined the fate of everyone else. Being born into the world, which in all reality, is such a common and ordinary occurrence, took on a new meaning in this story. And not to get all deep and reminiscent of Mr. McEwan, but the ending of this book made me see the miracle of childbirth from a different perspective entirely. It might of even made me see the human race a bit differently. Come to think of it, I may be dissecting this one for longer than I anticipated...



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