Enduring Love
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| Author | Ian McEwan |
|---|---|
| Country | England |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
| Released | 1997 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 247 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0224050311 (first edition) |
Enduring Love (1997) is a novel by British writer Ian McEwan. It is regarded by many as one of McEwan's best works, though was not shortlisted for the Booker Prize for fiction, an award that he would later win with Amsterdam.
It has been adapted for film and was released under the same name.
[edit] Plot summary
On a beautiful cloudless day, a young couple celebrate their reunion with a picnic. Joe Rose and his girlfriend Clarissa are about to open a bottle of champagne when a cry interrupts them. A hot air balloon with a 10 year old boy in the basket and his grandfather being dragged behind it has been ripped from its moorings. Joe immediately joins in with an effort to bring the balloon to safety, but in the ensuing rescue attempt a man, John Logan, is killed.
Witness to this tragic accident is bystander Jed Parry. Joe and Jed exchange a passing glance, a glance which carries devastating consequences and which indelibly burns an obsession into Jed's soul, for Jed suffers from de Clerambault's syndrome, a disorder which makes the sufferer believe that another person (Joe) is in love with them. Delusional and dangerous, Jed's fixation gradually uproots Joe's life; testing the limits of his beloved rationalism, threatening the love of Clarissa and driving him to the brink of murder and madness.
During a lunch out with Clarissa and her godfather, Joe witnesses the attempted shooting of another man. However, he realises that the bullet was meant for him and that the similar composition of characters on the other table misled the killers into thinking the other man was the target. Before the hitman can deliver the fatal shot, Jed, orchestrator of the event and until then, a witness, intervenes to save the innocent man's life before fleeing from the scene of the incident. In the subsequent interrogation, Joe insists that it was Jed who was behind this but the detective does not believe him, possibly because he appears to get many of the facts of the incident incorrect, and therefore does not take measures against Jed. He leaves dissatisfied, knowing that Jed is still out there and looking for him.
Fearing for his safety, he purchases a gun through a long-time acquaintance. On the journey home, he receives a call from Jed - he is at his place sitting with Clarissa. Upon arriving at his apartment, Joe sees Jed sitting on the sofa with Clarissa. Jed then asks for Joe's forgiveness, before take out a knife and pointing it to his own neck. Joe eventually shoots him and escapes without charges.
[edit] External links
- Reading Group Guides page
- Salon article - "Ian McEwan fools British shrinks"
- Interview with Bold Type
Novels: The Cement Garden (1978) • The Comfort of Strangers (1981) • The Child in Time (1987) • The Innocent (1989) • Black Dogs (1992) • Enduring Love (1997) • Amsterdam (1998) • Atonement (2001) • Saturday (2005) • On Chesil Beach (2007)
Short Stories: First Love, Last Rites (1975) • In Between the Sheets (1978)
Childrens' novels: Rose Blanche (1985) • The Daydreamer (1994)
Plays and Screenplays: The Imitation Game (1981) • The Ploughman's Lunch (1985) • Sour Sweet (1989) • The Good Son (1993)
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