Welcome to Litsy!

#themedthursday @dabbe

Not only did I have to read (endure) Enduring Love at school, but I also sat through the film at the cinema. That's 2 hours of my life I'll never get back.

But Rae, I hear you say, the film was only 100 minutes long. THERE WAS AN INTERVAL!!

Also, I like this theme and have started a Playlist on Spotify... so far we have:

Mimi Webb - House on Fire
Taylor Swift - Look what you made me do
Rihanna - Fire bomb

This pic showed up in my FB memories today… a stack of books purchased at my favorite local used bookstore at their annual Labor Day Fire Sale. This was from 7 years ago. Guess how many of these I‘ve read in those seven years? Yep. 0️⃣

I mean, “Forty Thousand Sublime and Beautiful Thoughts” isn‘t a reading book, it‘s a flip-through pretty-on-the-shelf book, but I have no excuse for the others. 🙈

A man is killed in an attempt to save a child in a hot-air balloon being tossed by the wind. A stranger named Jed Parry joins Joe Rose, a science writer, to bring the balloon to safety. Unknown to Rose, Parry becomes obsessed with Rose to the point where it threatens the love of his wife, Clarissa, and drives Rose to the brink of murder and madness. It‘s a novel of love, faith and suspense and how life can change in an instant. A must read!

Day 2: Enduring Love by Ian McEwan #7Days7Books

This was the first (and only) book I had an overwhelmingly negative visceral reaction to. I loathed this book. It was required reading for A Level, the teacher shamed me for disliking the book because I clearly did not ‘understand‘ it.

This experience really helped me define my relationship with reading and books, it was my first step to ‘fuck you, I‘ll read what I want and won‘t be shamed for it‘

Ian McEwan‘s critically acclaimed literary suspense novel (first published in 1997) is a prescient examination of the helplessness and paranoia that comes from being a victim of stalking, which slowly builds tension in a way that still feels relevant today. However the literary allusions are smug and heavy handed and I never quite bought into Joe‘s lack of reaction to the homosexual overtones of Jed‘s obsession or Clarissa‘s lack of support.

I could hardly imagine this novel becoming such an enthralling and creepy thriller about obsession. I love McEwan's writing style, when he gets from main character's reflections to the scenes full of suspense and then to scientific pieces, and all these become a cohesive story. I was impressed with the book and watched the movie immediately. Craig is 😍 and the adaptation is decent, though there are some changes from the original

Saw the film, but haven't read the book yet.

#marchintothe70s @Lizpixie @Cinfhen

#WontGetFooledAgain is what a lot of people might have thought after McEwan eventually came clean of his "hoax".

Apparently the case file printed in the Appendix of the book was based on the novel and part of McEwan's fiction, but a lot of people thought it was real. A bit of research could have cleared this up.

Link to Guardian article from 1999 in comments.

Clear, concise prose as usual, with similar characters from his other novels, but I read half the book thinking the main character - Joe was deluded.

A good quick read. Obsession, distrust and some psychology thrown in for good measure

#love

#currentlyreading

I tried. I really really tried to read this. I got about half way and absolutely nothing had happened, I just had to give up 😕

This book has a really gripping first chapter that captures you from the outset, and is a tense book of obsession and guilt that really keeps you on the edge of your seat until the end, which is dramatic to say the least! It‘s a brilliant book from start to finish, quite wordy but very good. Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This kept me guessing throughout. I flitted back and forth between believing the narrator and the implied. Really interesting and carefully written book, as you'd expect from McEwan.
Plus the ending was brilliant!

This had one of the most intense and harrowing openings I‘ve ever read. It‘s a super compelling read. The prose is gorgeous, and the ongoing analysis of morality, guilt, responsibility and self-preservation is deeply fascinating. There‘s a lot of layered complexity throughout as the characters‘ perceptions and subjective realities are challenged. In order to convince others, we must first convince ourselves—but to what lengths, and at what cost?

Another from the book swap; quite a wordy read so far, not necessarily a negative as I like the need for concentration :)

I released this #Bookcrossing registered book today. I loved this book and felt it matched this graffiti artists love for Dave.
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/14768678

Ian McEwan again writes in a beautiful language and style about people in today‘s society. The novel starts excellent, but looses his pace fast. However, one does not read McEwan to have a lot of action and suspense. The characters wander, can‘t manage to have real understanding of eachother, and have very different memories and opinions.A central theme is the opposition between science and the world of wonder, magic, storytelling,...

Again, McEwan showed what a good writer he is. "Enduring Love" has a faster pace than "Atonement". However I prefer "Atonement" over this one. The story itself was okay but not exactly phenomenal. I felt that the characters was detached to the readers. I do love how McEwan has incorporated elements of science and John Keats life. I'm intrigued by his writing style and I feel and I will enjoy him immensely.

With a title like Enduring Love, I had no idea what to expect from this Ian McEwan novel. Was I going to get a story of young love? A story of love that lasts forever? No, I got none of these! Rather, Enduring Love tells the story of a man and his stalker. Is this stalker real? Imagined? Read and find out!

A random event can alter the course of your life. Love the ideas surrounding this book. Bravo, McEwan, Bravo.

#maybookflowers #obsession
It's a while since i read this but as well as an amazing opening chapter it definitely falls into the obsession theme.

"When it's gone, you'll know what a gift love was. You'll suffer like this. So go back and fight to keep it."
My pick for a book with #loveinthetitle
#17booklove @jess.how

#17booklove #loveinthetitle

This book drained the crap out of me. I think that's just McEwan's style. The premise of the book is so interesting and a little terrifying, but I was so frustrated by the time I finished reading I almost swore off McEwan forever...but addicts gonna addict. 4/1,001 #1001Books

Tedious and overly long. There was potential in the premise but finishing it was a chore