The Cement Garden

Well-written intro to McEwan's work, although some of the imagery is disturbing...

McEwan is an author I force myself to try because 1, some people I like and whose opinion I respect really enjoy him, 2, there was Atonement.
However, I see myself physically shying away from him. Don't like the characters, think the setting is unlikely and the people unrealistic. This is a good example. there was nice tension at the end, but three good pages ddin't helpme overcome the feeling everything else was oh so phony.

I wasn't as alarmed by this as I think I should have been, on reflection - other than that thrillingly disturbing scene at the end (the sledgehammer). Everything these kids do makes sense to them, and there's nobody around to teach them otherwise - and somehow that seems to justify their behaviour.