Children Act (McEwan) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
(Starred review.) As in Atonement, what doesn’t happen has the power to destroy; as in Amsterdam, McEwan probes the dread beneath civilized society. In spare prose, he examines cases, people, and situations, to reveal anger, sorrow, shame, impulse, and yearning. He rejects religious dogma that lacks compassion, but scrutinizes secular morality as well.... Few will deny McEwan his place among the best of Britain’s living novelists.
Publishers Weekly


Obsession is a familiar subject for McEwan, most memorably explored in his 1997 Enduring Love. This time the theme is a touchstone in a novel exploring a man's fixation on having an open marriage, a boy's fascination with the judge who will decide his fate, and a couple's determination to follow the strictures of their religion no matter the cost. —Henrietta Verma
Library Journal


(Starred review.) Irrefutably creative.... With his trademark style, which is a tranquil mix of exacting word choice and easily flowing sentences, McEwan once again observes with depth and wisdom the universal truth in the uncommon situation.
Booklist


(Starred review.) British judge faces a complex case while dealing with her husband's infidelity in this thoughtful, well-wrought novel..... McEwan, always a smart, engaging writer, here takes more than one familiar situation and creates at every turn something new and emotionally rewarding.
Kirkus Reviews