Acton reviewed First love, last rites by Ian McEwan
Review of 'First love, last rites' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
This short story collection was not at all what I'd expected from Ian McEwan, but then, this is some of his earliest work. Seven out of eight of these short tales focus on disparate male characters, and I found all of them disturbing. Actually, I had a hard time getting past the first story, Homemade. I found it upsetting and repulsive. The next story, Solid Geometry, had a particularly gross element about it, Butterflies was sad and scary, and I'm afraid I did not know what to make of First Love, Last Rites . There were a couple stories about little boys that were troubling, to say the least.
And yet, I kept reading because--Ian McEwan does seem to arrange words with a certain flair (he writes well). It's a talent most of us admire, around here.
It was interesting to see what this fabulous writer got up …
This short story collection was not at all what I'd expected from Ian McEwan, but then, this is some of his earliest work. Seven out of eight of these short tales focus on disparate male characters, and I found all of them disturbing. Actually, I had a hard time getting past the first story, Homemade. I found it upsetting and repulsive. The next story, Solid Geometry, had a particularly gross element about it, Butterflies was sad and scary, and I'm afraid I did not know what to make of First Love, Last Rites . There were a couple stories about little boys that were troubling, to say the least.
And yet, I kept reading because--Ian McEwan does seem to arrange words with a certain flair (he writes well). It's a talent most of us admire, around here.
It was interesting to see what this fabulous writer got up to whilst in his twenties....fair warning.