Enduring Love - Ian McEwan

Enduring Love is another book that I have recently entered blind, completely ignorant of its story or theme, spurred on only by reviews and recommendations. This does leave me somewhat apprehensive of enjoying a book, but in this case, the opening chapter sealed my fate. A gripping encounter at the scene of a terrible hot air balloon accident got this novel off to a scintillating start, unbearable to read, but impossible to put aside.

The story then follows the narrator, Joe, and his partner Clarissa, in their struggle to come to terms with the tragedy and the events that follow. In the aftermath of the accident, Joe has an encounter with another helper, Jed, who develops an unhealthy obsession with Joe, stalking him and waiting outside his apartment for him to be alone. Joe's reaction is not particularly rational, and causes the situation to escalate out of control, as all the characters' lives begin to unravel around them.

This book struggles constantly with the themes of religion, science and rationality, none of which is mutally exclusive. Joe's career as a science writer puts him at further odds with Jed's religious fervor and emotional instability and spurs him to take matters into his own hands. The entire book felt like the moments before a car crash, the tension painfully real and growing towards the inevitable conclusion, though it is perhaps not what the reader expects. Although McEwan's ability to write tense and painful situations is undeniable, I found it hard to really care about his narrator. One can only empathise with the impossible situtation Joe has found himself in, but his attitude and reactions to events made him a somewhat unsympathetic character.

Not an easy read, but impossible to put down and I would still recommend it.

Let me know if you have reviewed this book.