- Fiction, Violence, British, Mystery
Colin and Mary are lovers on holiday in Italy, their relationship becoming increasingly problematic as they become increasingly alienated from one and other. They move from place to place in this foreign land but seemingly without aim or purpose and more, seemingly bored and without attachment.
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Character
Grave, bleak, intimate and contemporary.
- gravecomic
- warmbleak
- intimateepic
- contemporarynostalgic
- earnestironic
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About the book
- Author
- Ian McEwan
- First published
- 1981
- Pages
- 127
- Publisher
- VINTAGE (RAND), Chivers Press, RosettaBooks
- Editions
- 28
- Language
- German, French, Spanish, English
- ISBN
- 9780224044073
Where to read
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On Open Library, 7 have read it and 24 want to.
“EACH AFTERNOON, when the whole city beyond the dark green shutters of their hotel windows began to stir, Colin and Mary were woken by the methodical chipping of steel tools against the iron barges which moored by the hotel cafe potoon.”
Ian Russell McEwan (born 21 June 1948) is a British novelist and screenwriter. He began his career writing sparse, Gothic short stories. His first two novels, *The Cement Garden* (1978) and The *Comfort of Strangers* (1981), earned him the nickname "Ian Macabre". These were followed by three novels of some success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. His 1997 novel *Enduring Love* was adapted into a film of the same name. He won the Booker Prize with *Amsterdam* (1998). He was awarded the 1999 Shakespeare Prize. His next novel, *Atonement* (2001), garnered acclaim and was adapted into an Oscar-winning film. He received the 2011 Jerusalem Prize. His later novels have included *The Children Act,
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