Amsterdam – Ian McEwan
Ian McEwan is one of the more exciting authors writing in Britain today and his Booker Prize is well overdue. However, it is a shame he had to win it for what is by far his least accomplished novel.
Amsterdam concerns two friends who meet at the funeral of their former lover Molly Lane. One is a composer, trying to write the Millenium Symphony, whilst the other is a newspaper editor. Both enjoy great success and live the ‘high life’. Upon seeing the undignified way in which their lover perished – after a long, debilitating, degenerative disease – they make a pact ensuring that each would end the other’s life should it ever begin to slip away like Molly’s did. A dignified death in a time where such deaths are few and far between.
Amsterdam is essentially a ‘morality play’ – at times funny, sad, and disturbing. It raises some complex issues, particularly the question of what it is that constitutes a life worth living. Unfortunately, however, it misses the mark, ending up shallow and lacking.
Kudos to Ian McEwan. He has finally won the coveted Booker.
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