Coachella Message Board Book Club: Discussion of Amsterdam by Ian McEwan

[Courtney]

This is the thread in which we discuss Amsterdam by Ian McEwan for the Coachella Message Board Book Club: January 2011 Edition.

We will officially start discussion on Monday, February 21. Those of you who wish to discuss the book while reading may discuss it in this thread immediately. Those of you who do not wish to read spoilers should just avoid opening this thread until February 21. On the week of February 21, our official discussion will be begin and Patrick (SoulDischarge) or I will post one question each day as a jumping off point to facilitate discussion. Of course, anyone is welcome to discuss the book in any way and at any time in this thread.

[TomAz]

he totally stole that melody.

[guedita]

Fuck. This reminds me that I left my library copy at Safeway on Tuesday. And lost and found doesn't have it.

[RageAgainstTheAoki]

Hmmm. I might join this. A friend loaned me Amsterdam a couple of weeks ago and I'm almost done with Catch 22 and looking for my next read. Have to say, though, I found McEwan's Atonement really disappointing.

[bmack86]

I've read the first two large chapters. It's entertaining so far.

[algunz]

I'm with you all, just FYI.

[amyzzz]

I just bought my book yesterday, so I'm officially in.

[Courtney]

Just bumping this as a reminder. I've only just read the first 27 pages, because I'm a procrastinator to the extreme. Good thing we still have two weeks to go.

[downingthief]

I've read the first two chapters.

[amyzzz]

I am mostly through chapter 3. This is a short book though, so it shouldn't take long.

[fatbastard]

Just ran across this thread. I'll thumb thru it at the library on the next trip.

[HighViolet]

Ian McEwan is a genius. I'm in.

[Courtney]

Bump. One week left until the official discussion begins.

[Courtney]

Ok! Who finished? Overall impressions?

[amyzzz]

I'm done. I found it hard to sympathize with the characters because they all seemed like pompous assholes, but McEwan probably did that on purpose, considering the end.

[TomAz]

One gets the impression over the course of reading a selection of McEwan novels that all he knows are pompous assholes.

[amyzzz]

Perhaps he enjoys making fun of them.

[TomAz]

No, I think he feels a kinship.

[downingthief]

Amy, I agree. It was hard to sympathize, yet they still drew you into their self centered world. Clive was interesting to me. The lonely artist, working on his craft, believing in every positive thing that was said or written about him and letting it feed his bloated ego. I found it hilarious that he did actually steal from Ode to Joy in the end.

[bmack86]

Blame Pot, because I instead got immersed in The Unconsoled

[Starraven]

I got bored reading about rich people and their "problems"... I liked the character development on molly tho.

[amyzzz]

I felt that way at first, but I think the story moved things along nicely, and I am glad I kept reading. I liked that Molly was an unbelievable slob and had a long string of lovers.

[downingthief]

For that, Molly was the most "real" character, in that she was who she was always. Can't say that about Clive or Vernon. They kept trying to present themselves differently to others, and suppressing things. Hence what helped lead to their simultaneous ends.

[downingthief]

Also, based on the lack of comments...did most not enjoy the book?

[menikmati]

These Coachella book clubs never work out from what I can tell.

[humanoid]

the only book club worth a damn is Oprah's!!!


joking...if this continues, I'd like to be involved in the next one...I was distracted this time around.

[amyzzz]

This one has had the poorest response. I remember more discussion for White Noise and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles. Maybe this one was too short to discuss?

Did anyone like the ending, or was it too easy to figure out ahead of time?

[downingthief]

I liked it. I knew something like that had to happen, but I still think it was done in such a way to keep it interesting.

[SoulDischarge]

While looking for stuff to read at the used book store at the local library, I ended up running across Amsterdam and read it over the past few days whenever I found time. Here's the review I wrote for it on Good Reads.

Amsterdam concerns the compromised ethics of four successful, wealthy men in modern London who are all connected through their former sexual relations with a free spirited woman whose funeral opens the book. One each comes from the professional worlds of the arts, the media, politics, and business, but they all fall victim to the same human weaknesses: self absorption, jealousy, deceitfulness, and an ambition that comes at the expense of others' well-being. The novel is ostensibly a darkly comic morality play that seems to be poised as a biting satire on the notion of success in British society, but the entire thing is so underdeveloped, it lacks the intended bite. It's a brief and easy read, falling just short of 200 pages and being written in a serviceable but not entirely remarkable prose, yet the slightness of the material makes it feel far shorter. The characters never feel completely fleshed out, more ideas of people used to prove a point than fully realized personalities. More often than not, McEwan tells us about their defining characteristics instead of showing us. A lack of action in general is a real problem, as the most basic elements of character and plot are laid out and then put into action in order to get to the predictable twist ending (although it's debatable whether it's actually intended as a twist considering how obvious it is from the time the first seed of its development is planted). Additionally, the pieces of the plot are moved about in such a contrived manner that you pretty much always can tell where things are going. This lack of surprises makes the rote shocks of the story seem dull and familiar instead of horrifying. In slavishly attending to the central theme, McEwan forgets to create anything truly memorable to make the impact of its ramifications felt. If there was one thing I really did enjoy about this book, it was the insight into Clive's process of composing his symphony. In fact, it seemed as though a disproportionate amount of time was given over to this in relation to every other element of character and plot building. Overall, it's a light and easy read disguising itself as literature; not particularly offensive while reading it, but ultimately inconsequential.