Book summary

Molly, the wife of a publisher, sinks swiftly and unexpectedly into madness and death. Two of her ex-lovers meet at her funeral. One is a famous composer working on his chef d'oeuvre, the other is an editor who has just realized he'll do anything to increase circulation at his newspaper. The two of them, horrified by what has happened, swear that they will help each other die if such a fate ever befalls them. Then each is faced with a moral crisis--a situation that involves yet another of Molly's old flames. In the course of the plot, their true natures are revealed, and the dénouement, set in Amsterdam, is both farcical and fitting. McEwan's seventh novel was the winner of the Booker Prize in 1998.

Media reviews

"[A] dark tour de force, a morality fable, disguised as a psychological thriller. A chilling little horror story, easily read in one enjoyable gulp....Though there's a faint satiric edge to McEwan's portraits, he uses his psychological insight, as he's done so often before, to create sympathy for some decidedly unsavory people. Indeed, we find ourselves rooting for Clive and Vernon, even as it becomes clear that both of them...are conniving opportunists, willing to use virtually any means necessary to achieve their ends."