The Child in Time
by Ian McEwan
List Price:
Our Price: $0.01
You Save: $14.94 (100%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Ian McEwanEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1999-11-02
ISBN: 0385497520
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Anchor
Book Reviews of The Child in Time
Book Review: Perfectly rendered
Summary: 5 Stars
I see I'm not alone in loving Ian McEwan's books. I'm working my way through them all, but "The Child In Time" is one to stop and savor. As has been said by many others, McEwan's novels often revolve around protagonists who go through a trial or trauma not of their own making, and the ways in which they reach resolution or some sort of eventual peace. Many marriages do not survive the loss of a child, whatever the circumstances. And it does appear that Stephen and Julie will never reconcile once their small daughter, Kate, is abducted from a supermarket checkout line under her father's nose, in less time than it takes to say it. After the loss of Kate and a lengthy and fruitless search for her, the book becomes largely Stephen's story. As is often the case, each parent grieves differently, and their manners of grief cannot coexist. But even while Julie is absent, her presence remains strong. She is never far away from Stephen or the reader. To say more would not be fair to the first-time reader. But the ending seems appropriate and is very moving. I, for one, did not see it coming.
It seems that few authors writing today are especially confident in their storytelling abilities and their readers' interest in or willingness to stay with them through complex, multi-layered narratives. McEwan isn't like that, and because he is so justifiably certain of his gifts, he spends leisurely, lengthy passages on characters and settings which don't -- at first blush -- seem to have any real function in the plot. But they always do, and finding out what these elements mean, and how they lead to the resolution of McEwan's novels, is part of what makes his writing so enjoyable. He doesn't labor over details, and yet I feel as though I know what his characters look and sound like, what their houses are like. I can feel the rain and smell the flowers in the gardens.
McEwan's fascination with science almost always plays a part in his stories; Thelma, a secondary character in this novel, is a physicist, and I expect she sounds like a real one. (I don't know any.) It is always the role of McEwan's scientists to provide tangible, mathematical proof of the emotional stages his characters are going through. Time either renews or destroys, but it doesn't stand still. As long as this remains so, (and it is Thelma's job in "The Child in Time" to remind Stephen of this), Ian McEwan's subject matter will remain infinite.
Summary of The Child in Time
Stephen Lewis, a successful writer of children's books, is confronted with the unthinkable: his only child, three-year-old Kate, is snatched from him in a supermarket. In one horrifying moment that replays itself over the years that follow, Stephen realizes his daughter is gone.With extraordinary tenderness and insight, Booker Prize?winning author Ian McEwan takes us into the dark territory of a marriage devastated by the loss of a child. Kate's absence sets Stephen and his wife, Julie, on diverging paths as they each struggle with a grief that only seems to intensify with the passage of time. Eloquent and passionate, the novel concludes in a triumphant scene of love and hope that gives full rein to the author's remarkable gifts. The winner of the Whitbread Prize, The Child in Time is an astonishing novel by one of the finest writers of his generation.
The Child in Time opens with a harrowing event. Stephen Lewis, a successful author of children's books, takes his 3-year-old daughter on a routine Saturday morning trip to the supermarket. While waiting in line, his attention is distracted and his daughter is kidnapped. Just like that. From there, Lewis spirals into bereavement that has effects on his relationship with his wife, his psyche and time itself: "It was a wonder there could be so much movement, so much purpose, all the time. He himself had none." This beautifully haunting book won a 1987 Whitbread Prize.
Literary Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Literary Books
Island (Perennial Classics)by Aldous Huxley
Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Published: 2002-07-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.00
Price in other shops:
Angelsby Marian Keyes
William Morrow; Published: 2002-05-28; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.18
Price in other shops:
A Tree Grows in Brooklynby Betty Smith
Harper; Published: 2001-11-13; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.81
Price in other shops:
The Devil and Miss Prym: A Novel of Temptationby Paulo Coelho
Harper; Published: 2006-07-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.50
Price in other shops:
Boonville: A Novelby Robert Mailer Anderson
Harper Perennial; Published: 2003-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops:
Carameloby Sandra Cisneros
HarperAudio; Published: 2002-10-01; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $6.99
Price in other shops:
Headhunterby Timothy Findley
PERENNIAL PUBLICATIONS; Paperback; Book
The Crimson Petal And The Whiteby Michel Faber
Harcourt, Inc./Harvest; Published: 2003; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.50
Great Expectationsby Charles Dickens
Macmillan Pub Co; Published: 1979-06; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops:
This Side of Paradiseby Fitzgerald
Scribner Paper Fiction; Published: 1988-09-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.95
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
In Between the Sheetsby Ian McEwan
Anchor; Published: 1994-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.73
Price in other shops:
Amsterdam: A Novelby Ian McEwan
Anchor; Published: 1999-11-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.48
Price in other shops:
On Chesil Beachby Ian McEwan
Anchor; Published: 2008-06-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.80
Price in other shops:
Solarby Ian McEwan
Anchor; Published: 2011-03-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.94
Price in other shops:
First Love, Last Rites: Storiesby Ian McEwan
Vintage Books; Published: 1994-01-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.45
Price in other shops:
Enduring Love: A Novelby Ian McEwan
Anchor; Published: 1998-12-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.99
Price in other shops:
The Cement Gardenby Ian McEwan
Anchor; Published: 1994-01-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.37
Price in other shops:
The Comfort of Strangersby Ian McEwan
Anchor; Published: 1994-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.91
Price in other shops:
The Innocent: A Novelby Ian McEwan
Anchor; Published: 1998-12-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.83
Price in other shops:
Black Dogs: A Novelby Ian McEwan
Anchor; Published: 1998-12-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.60
Price in other shops: