Welcome to Litsy!

In McEwan's work the narrator Hamlet is the unborn child of Trudy, herself involved in an affair with her brother-in-law Claude. Tired of the Villanelles & Pantoums of her husband, poet John, they begin plotting his demise. The narrator is a wine enthusiast who is also socially aware. Thoughts of revenge are tempting. This is one of the most lyrical novels I have read all year. I loved this version of one of my favorite Shakespeare plays!!

A retelling of Hamlet told from the POV of an unborn baby. A bit odd but also pretty good!

#bookspinbingo - got a bingo!
#pop25 - book under 250 pages

I genuinely don‘t know what will surpass Nutshell as the most trash book this year. It‘s set the bar pretty damn low 💩

#ReadingBracket2024 ➡️ @CSeydel

Birthday book haul! Going on an Ian McEwan binge as I'm going to hear him speak at the Seamus Heaney HomePlace in Bellaghy at the end of the month! Any McEwan recommendations? I'm reading Lessons at the minute!

Hamlet, but if Hamlet were in utero. Stay with me; it‘s amazing. Even though the plot of Hamlet is so well-known to me, I was still hoping against hope that it would change in this story. It‘s so interesting and insightful. McEwan is one of those authors who, even if you‘re not sure about the book, still manages to get under your skin.

A Hamlet retelling from the POV of a fetus? Sounds bizarre, and it is, but really good and so funny. Great audiobook.

#Hilarious #MayMoms
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

It‘s a novella, only of 198 pages in total. Ian McEwan‘s prose is impeccable as his taste for varied themes. This is a rewriting of Hamlet but the Hamlet here is yet unborn. Foetus hears the planning of his father‘s murder by the duo (his mother and his uncle) and decides to avenge his father in a strange manner by strangling himself with umbilical cord.Here the novel differs from the original as the fate of the Hamlet is suspended too.

#incipient - just beginning or just coming into existence #beautifulwords Trudy has betrayed her husband, John. She's still in the marital home – a dilapidated, priceless London townhouse – but not with John. Instead, she's with his brother, the profoundly banal Claude, and the two of them have a plan. But there is a witness to their plot: the inquisitive, nine-month-old resident of Trudy's womb. Hopefully not too tenuous!!

Book 2 finished for #24B4Mobday

Well this wasn‘t what I expected. A very different & unique book told from the perspective of a mother‘s 9 month old foetus. A good murder mystery & in typical Ian McEwan style it is told in a great lyrical style. This was an enjoyable read, but I can see that it might be a book that some people don‘t like. Rory Kinnear did a great job of narrating the book and I think it is a book that works well in this format.

A slow start to the #24B4Monday Readathon die to big work commitments today due to the star (villain) of 2020. Thanks COVID,

So far got to 2 1/2 hours and finished off The Fire Witness by Lars Kepler, review to come.

Now started Nutshell by Ian McEwan, third book this month for #Authoramonth

Clever story of murder and deceit told from the POV of a baby growing in the womb of protagonist Trudy. Trudy kicked out her husband John and has taken up with John‘s brother!

#authoramonth @Soubhiville May 2020: Ian McEwan

I think an unborn baby with a great knowledge of wine counts as an #UnusualNarrator!

#BiblioMAYnia
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@OriginalCyn620

#BiblioMAYnia
This has an #unusualnarrator . I enjoyed it.

This was not exactly what I was expecting when I picked this one, but it was intriguing. The narrator is the unborn child of Trudy and John, and he is very intuitive about what is happening in his home. His parents are separated, mostly because Trudy is sleeping with Claude now, and the two are planning to kill John. The narration is poetic, which is fitting because John is a poet, and he used to read to Trudy and the baby often.

#AuthoraMonth

A unique thriller told from the perspective of a fetus.
#AuthorAMonth

#bookspin for April! Beautiful writing with a spin on Hamlet .Trudy and Claude plan to do harm to John , Trudys husband & Claudes brother .Trudy is pregnant with Johns baby who narrates this tale of unsavory characters.It was nice to start this day slow , finishing this in bed before the coffee. Philosophical, lyrical, smart .

My #bookspin for April! I have to be honest , I have a few chapters left in my March selection, I will probably finish it this weekend, fun challenge !
Thanks, @TheAromaofBooks

#Bookspin for April, I left 9 in from last month , so 11 are new .1.Blow up & other stories 20.Desk 88 .so left to right , top to bottom. I feel they are all winners or I would have culled them from #TBRMountain

The tagged book is a modern take on Hamlet from the perspective of a #BabyBabe in the womb. A little odd but a good read.

#AugustABC @Eggs

It‘s certainly #unusual for a story to be told from the perspective of an unborn child. I‘ve enjoyed reading it. 👍

#augustabc

Hamlet, written from the perspective of a baby in the womb. A foetus with a discerning taste in wine. What‘s not to like?

#Babies #AyUpAugust

@squirrelbrain @Cinfhen

McEwan‘s prose is as beautiful as ever, and I had trouble sustaining a willing disbelief of his narrator‘s situation. There were brilliant moments and deft plays on Hamlet (and other Shakespeare plays) and some insight into issues of modern man, but the story was unoriginal in any way and left me wondering why I bothered. Going backwards on posting finished books no.50

Just finished listening to this retelling of Shakespeare‘s Hamlet by Ian McEwan and I thought it was really clever. The story is told by a very well spoken child in utero!!
I thought it was funny and I loved the descriptive writing. I would now like to read another Shakespearean retelling ❤️ #retelling #hamlet #literature

A surprising novel, a unique thriller of its kind told by the new Hamlet that a murderous mother carries in her lap. A standing ovation novel.

#book #readingchallenge2019 #litsy #toread #bookly #bookworm #ianmcewan #goodreads #nutshell #thriller

“The rest is chaos.” Interesting perspective of a mother-son relationship, while in-utero. Overall good read with artful use of language. Now I‘m sitting in the car with my boys, listening to Fiona Apple‘s “The Child is Gone”.

Quite literally, #WeveOnlyJustBegun, this story is told from the perspective of an unborn child. A retelling of Shakespeare‘s Hamlet, it is one quirky read!

#MayMovieMagic

I'm undecided.
Very clever, full of wit and obviously a completely different perspective of the world and relationships.
But didn't appeal to me.
I've read a few others and adored them so this won't put me off!

Book club for March.
So far I'm appreciating the concept but finding it's not gripping me.

#nelguscio #ianmcewan #quotes

In this Hamlet-inspired novel, McEwan takes on the task of writing from the perspective of a fetus, who narrates everything he hears from inside the womb... #TBR
#Pregnant #SeptemberDanes @Kalalalatja @Cinfhen

Between a thriller and a horror story. A murder seen through the ears of a not-yet-born baby. The pregnant mother plans to kill his father with the help of her lover who is also his uncle. The castle in Denmark is substituted by a Georgian building. The shadow of the Shakespearean Hamlet develops himself through the crime and the main character's stream of dubitative consciousness. Mainly well written, the end could have been better exploited.

Couldn't get past the first few minutes of this audiobook with the unborn son (I guess) talking/thinking while he's still inside his mother. Uh, yeah.

Yay! I did it. #12inTwo
Total: 12 hours 39 minuets

John Cairncross is unhappy. His wife is cheating on him. She has kicked him out of their home. She has plans ... devious plans ... deadly plans — all of it observed and narrated by her fetus. Yep. You heard me right! An amazingly brilliant mystery.

That was a very different book - POV the fetus. An interesting take on Hamlet. It was weird, but I liked it. I‘m oddly a little jealous of the baby‘s knowledge of wine and his extensive vocabulary. That mother, uncle, father though...ugh!

Book two of #24in48 completed. What a strange novel this was for me. I read it for a book club. I don't think I would have chosen it on my own. Only book I have ever read from a fetuses point of view! Written well enough to finish it...but not one I would recommend.

Morning...getting started on my first read of #24in48! We are having thunderstorms...my favorite reading weather.

Can a fetus be pompous? Yes. And he is here, but damn, this is a neat premise and despite the slow start I was rooting for this little unborn savant. His vocabulary is excellent, keep your dictionary (or dictionary app) close with this one.

I've been feeling like I need a break from Sing, Unburied, Sing so I decided to get an early start on this month's book club read. I've never read any books by this author. Thoughts?

#emojimadness #🥜 Automatically I‘ll think of Peanuts Snoopy and Charlie Brown 😁. This is another book that comes to mind, closest I can get to any nuts. 😆

Taken out of context, this is hilarious! 😂

How beautiful fragrant my package is! I have to admit, that I was expecting something in connection with Nutella and my breakfast today was real treat 😋 I was so eagerly anticipating this day, and officially I can confirm that I have a new favorite mug😍 I wanted to order it, but I always convinced myself that I don‘t need it ... the same goes for the book. When it was published I was so intrigued, but then I kinda forgot about it. Thank you...👇

I heard about this book on "The Librarian Is In," a podcast I love more and more each day. It's not the kind of book I would normally be drawn to but I am strangely compelled by the premise...

#hamlet #thelibrarianisin #bookpodcast #podcast #nutshell #bookrec

This is my first McEwan: a clever and funny retelling of Hamlet from the perspective of an unborn fetus. The precise writing turns an absurd premise into a legitimate story. The audiobook narrator credibly portrays the erudite fetus a la Stevie Griffin from Family Guy. I really enjoyed this.

A book club pick I‘m very glad I read! I didn‘t particularly liked Sweet Tooth so I was a bit worried about another Ian McEwan book but I couldn‘t put it down. Loved the very particular angle of it!

Such a unique concept. I loved the narrator for the audiobook.