I LOVED Saturday. Which Ian McEwan should I read next?

[franch]

Am slightly resisting Atonement because I never get on well with bestsellers (expectations too high probably)

Did he write Enduring Love? If so, its a great read.

A lot of his early stuff is v v good.

I'd recommend A Child in Time, The Cement Garden, The comfort of Strangers.

I did enjoy Atonement.

Come to think of it, also try Enduring Love.

The only one I didn't really like was Black Dogs.

i read a child in time before i had kids, i think i might find it unbearable now.

enduring love's good

Enduring Love
Cement Garden (personal favorite)
A Child in Time
Chesil Beach
His short stories for kids (The Daydreamer?) are good too

Chesil Beach is great, and not that long! Atonement my favourite though.

I was going to say Last Orders, and then I thought again ... anyway, I do actually think that if you like Ian McEwan you might like Graham Swift even more.

Maybe Iain Banks too.

To answer your ACTUAL question, albeit tangentially, Ian McEwan wrote the screenplay for The Ploughman's Lunch (remember that? icon of the mid-80s) and I was just the other day thinking I should watch that again.

puddydetox - my dad met ian mccean once and he said he wouldnt have written a child in time after having kids

@noonki - I find that really interesting, because I couldn't imagine how someone without kids could write that so well - capturing all those emotions.

I hated Chesil Beach, personally - seems to be a Marmite book. Enduring Love is very good; Atonement still my fave too.

atonement is my favourite. liked Amsterdam. Disliked Enduring Love. HATED Chesil beach

Amsterdam

All of 'em! I used to reread the child in time on an annual basis - not sure if I could now (as puppydetox)

Enduring love was great - best beginning ever to a novel.

Only one i hated was as mumblechum said - Black dog.

Seems I'm following the crowd here!

Thanks all - you're right bink, I do like Graham Swift and enjoyed Last Orders!

My mother actually read the end of Chesil Beach first She said she couldn't stand the suspense!

I was going to say Amsterdam too. I also struggle to enjoy best sellers, but it is worth coming back to Atonement, when all of the hype has worn off. I really enjoyed it.

(Infact I could have written your post Beforesunrise!)

Read them all and can recommend them all. Was jsut a bit disappointed with Chesil Beach, but then that's maybe why it's clever. (won't give any spoilers though)

Did Graham Swift write Waterland or was that another Graham. Have all his stuff in a box somewhere!

Yes, Waterland is Graham Swift too.

Who else do you like, franch?

I hadn't considered that having a child would affect my enjoyment of a book, but now you mention A Child In Time I see that it could happen. I might give it a go to see if it is too harrowing for me now.

Atonement is great, as is Enduring Love. Enjoyed On Chesil Beach, but I think that was mostly because I live in one of the villages mentioned in it. [loser emoticon]

I've read The Innocent, it's a cold war thriller/love story. Not bad.

Also recommend Enduring Love. Was made for TV starring Daniel Craig and Rhys Ifans which was also good.

Another vote for Enduring Love. The beginning with the hot air balloon is just beautifully written.

Thanks for reminding me there are a few of his I haven't read yet.

Atonement, Atonement, Atonement.
HATED Chesil Beach
Loved Amsterdam too.

Franch, what did you love about SATURDAY. I hated it, so am curious. LOVED Atonement and On Chesil Beach though.

Atonement is miles better than anything else.

Cement Garden

I loved The Cement Garden. Very bleak though, and a bit of a shock for anyone who has only read his mature fiction.

I LOVED Saturday, think it's a great book. But I am a TOTAL McEwan fan. Read his earlier stuff years ago and can barely remember it, apart from a general sense of grimness. I liked Chesil Beach, thought it was beautifully written, but I can see how it can really irritate people. I second Enduring Love, loved that one too.