Ian McEwan, Saturday

Robert Clark (The Literary Encyclopedia)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Kerry Myler (Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 2005

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

Ian McEwan’s novel represents Saturday February 15th 2003 as it is experienced by Henry Perowne, 48-year old consultant neurosurgeon at a central London hospital. The day begins with his waking strangely early and observing in the sky an aeroplane on fire as it crosses London. He thinks of the recent attack on New York’s World Trade Centre and an impending catastrophe, but the television news tells him nothing, and he takes an early breakfast with his son Theo, a young blues player of promise who has returned from a gig. A little later this mysterious plane will be explained as a Russian cargo-plane on fire, and a little later again as possibly an attempt at a terrorist atrocity that was aborted through mechanical failure.

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1487 words

Citation: Clark, Robert. "Saturday". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 April 2005 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16704, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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