Nutshell
Ratings27
Average rating3.8
15
Ratings27
Average rating3.8
"Trudy has betrayed her husband, John. She's still in the marital home--a dilapidated, priceless London townhouse--but John's not here. Instead, she's with his brother, the profoundly banal Claude, and the two of them have a plan. But there is a witness to their plot: the inquisitive, nine-month-old resident of Trudy's womb. Told from a perspective unlike any other, Nutshell is a classic tale of murder and deceit from one of the world's master storytellers"--
Reviews with the most likes.
I don't think Ian McEwan is for me.* See, I didn't dislike this novel; I just found it so hard to relate to—anything, really. The situation, the characters, the sex... I don't know. And, again, it's not that I disliked any of that, I just didn't care about it. I didn't feel anything when the fetus tried to kill himself, I couldn't see myself caring if the characters were going to get caught or not. Maybe that's not the point of the book, but what is it, then?
It has a great premise, and the prose is beautiful—it's obvious that McEwan is a talented writer—, but is it enough? I don't know.
*I happened to read one of his other books in 2015. Here's my (very short) review.
I cannot, in all honesty, rate this lower than perfect. A simply perfect book.
A funky story narrated by a fetus with elements inspired by Hamlet. Didn't love it, but it kept my attention.
I started reading Nutshell in August 2023. I didn't have any intention of picking it back up again but had the nagging sensation that I was missing out on something special. I'm glad I took the leap and steamed through it in a few short hours.
Nutshell is a fast-paced visceral retelling of Hamlet from the perspective of a fetus who is building his own picture of the outside world through sound, vibration, and his mother's emotional state.
The writing felt flowery and highfalutin at times and, while this would usually be a turn off, a baby fancying himself a poetic Oscar Wilde type helped me get over that fast.
This book isn't for the faint of heart, but the originality of the storytelling and quality of the writing more than make up for any flaws I felt it had. This was my first McEwan book and I'd love recommendations on others.
