Now in their middle years, Clive Linley and Vernon Halliday have both achieved prosperity and influence. Ian McEwan holds a copy of 'Amsterdam' at The Guildhall in the City of London.

In the case of 'Amsterdam,' two old friends - one a famous composer named Clive, the other a mercenary newspaper editor named Vernon - enter into a strange euthanasia pact that will determine both their fates and send shock And in 'The Child in Time,' a man's 3-year-old daughter is kidnapped during a trip to the supermarket. In 'The Cement Garden,' a group of children are orphanedĪnd bury their mother in the basement. In 'The Comfort of Strangers,' a pair of middle-class tourists fall prey to a Machiavellian sadist during a trip to Venice. Like so many of the author's stories, 'Amsterdam' concerns the sudden intrusion of violent, perverse events into his characters' mundane lives, events that cruelly expose the psychological fault lines running beneath One can only hope that this small, perfectly fashioned novel - novella, really - will send readers back to the rest of the talented McEwan's oeuvre. Than 'The Innocent,' his 1990 masterpiece of Cold War suspense. 'Amsterdam' by Ian McEwan Wins Booker Prize (October 28, 1998)Īn McEwan's new novel, 'Amsterdam,' which won the Booker Prize in Britain this autumn, is a dark tour de force, a morality fable,Ī chilling little horror story, easily read in one enjoyable gulp, 'Amsterdam' is by no means McEwan's finest work: It is less ambitious than 'Enduring Love' (1998) and 'Black Dogs' (1992), and less resonant.DecemBOOKS OF THE TIMES 'Amsterdam': Dark Tour De Force

Amsterdam book ian mcewan