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Ian McEwan

Nutshell: A Novel Hardcover – Deckle Edge, September 13, 2016

by Ian McEwan (Author)

810 customer reviews

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New from the bestselling author of Atonement and The Children Act

Trudy has betrayed her husband, John. She's still in the marital home—a dilapidated, priceless London townhouse—but John's not there. Instead, she's with his brother, the profoundly banal Claude, and the two of them have a plan. But there is a witness to their plot: the inquisitive, nine-month-old resident of Trudy's womb.

Told from a perspective unlike any other, Nutshell is a classic tale of murder and deceit from one of the world’s master storytellers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“With Nutshell, Ian McEwan has performed an incongruous magic trick ... A smart, funny and utterly captivating novel ... A small tour de force that showcases all of Mr. McEwan’s narrative gifts of precision, authority and control, plus a new, Tom Stoppard-like delight in the sly gymnastics that words can perform.”
—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

“Compact, captivating ... The writing is lean and muscular, often relentlessly gorgeous ... McEwan is one of the most accomplished craftsmen of plot and prose.”
—Siddhartha Mukherjee, The New York Times Book Review

“Brilliant . . . Surprisingly suspenseful, dazzlingly clever and gravely profound.”
—Ron Charles, Washington Post

“McEwan pulls it off. I bought the premise and never looked back . . . The most talked-about novel of the season.”
—Mary Roach, O, The Oprah Magazine

"As an example of point of view, you can look no farther than these gorgeous pages, which not only prove that brevity is the soul of wit but also offer the reader a voice both distinctive and engaging ... The reader [will be] speeding through every page, each one rife with wordplay, social commentary, hilarity, and suspense ... Hats off to Ian McEwan."
—Mameve Medwed, Boston Globe

About the Author

Ian McEwan is the bestselling author of sixteen books, including the novels The Children Act; Sweet Tooth; Solar, winner of the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize; On Chesil Beach; Saturday; Atonement, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award and the W. H. Smith Literary Award; The Comfort of Strangers and Black Dogs, both short-listed for the Booker Prize; Amsterdam, winner of the Booker Prize; and The Child in Time, winner of the Whitbread Award; as well as the story collections First Love, Last Rites, winner of the Somerset Maugham Award, and In Between the Sheets.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product details

Hardcover: 208 pages
Publisher: Nan A. Talese; 1 edition (September 13, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0385542070
ISBN-13: 978-0385542074
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 8.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 810 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #361,979 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3995 in Satire (Books)
- #1357 in Self-Help & Psychology Humor
- #3346 in Literary Criticism & Theory

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John N. Forrester

Nutshell: Brilliant and Laugh-out-loud Funny

November 16, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This exceedingly clever novel is narrated by a fetus who, by virtue of his mother's vices, his father's poetry and numerous podcasts, has developed a sophisticated understanding of his world to be, keen insight into human relations and an appreciation of fine wine. The novel is at times hilarious and at times taught as the unborn child considers his life within the womb and what lies ahead. The child begins with "So here I am, upside down in a woman" and, in time, contemplates life and civilization at large: "A combination, poverty and war, with climate change held in reserve, driving millions from their homes, an ancient epic in new form, vast movements of people, like engorged rivers in spring, Danubes, Rhines and Rhones of angry or desolate or hopeful people, crammed at borders against the razor-wire gates, drowning in thousands to share in the fortunes of the West."

A tawdry murder plot and failed marriage provide the tension, a dim-witted uncle provides a foil and a highly astute fetus provides moving testimony and perspective. The novel is short, brilliant, and utterly captivating.

30 people found this helpful

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Cymbi

” This brilliant story of murder and deceit (basically a modern Hamlet)

June 8, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Just finished Ian McEwan’s novel “Nutshell.” This brilliant story of murder and deceit (basically a modern Hamlet), narrated by a near-term male baby, is mostly hilarious, sometimes horrific, but always mesmerizing. The writing is beautiful, the plot gripping, the social commentary incisive and the baby captivating. The unborn baby, whose world knowledge is derived mostly through listening to the podcast lectures and public radio transferred through his mother’s body to the womb, is one of the most engaging characters ever created. “Nutshell” is among the best handful of books I have ever read.
First paragraph:
“So here I am, upside down in a woman. Arms patiently crossed, waiting, waiting and wondering who I’m in, what I’m in for. My eyes close nostalgically when I remember how I once drifted in my translucent body bag, floated dreamily in the bubble of my thoughts through my private ocean in slow-motion somersaults, colliding gently against the transparent bounds of my confinement, the confiding membrane that vibrated with, even as it muffled, the voice of conspirators in a vile enterprise. That was in my careless youth. Now, fully inverted, not an inch of space to myself, knees crammed against belly, my thoughts as well as my head are fully engaged. I’ve no choice, my ear is pressed all day and night against the bloody walls. I listen, make mental notes, and I’m troubled. I’m hearing pillow talk of deadly intent and I’m terrified by what awaits me, by what might draw me in.”
Can you resist this child?

8 people found this helpful

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Iris

Absolutely not enjoyable

December 30, 2018

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Writing itself was good, just approach, and plot were so painful I couldn't finish this even though it was a short book. It was a book club pick which I would not have otherwise read after reading the jacket. The premise of an unborn baby having all sorts of opinions about things it has never experienced (e.g., opinions about vintages and flavor of wine), the mother being portrayed as a complete idiot...but who listed to all sorts of educational radio to provide the unborn child with encyclopedic knowledge. I enjoyed Atonement, but I do not understand why anyone would publish such awful drivel.

5 people found this helpful

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What happens in utero stays in utero

April 28, 2019

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I imagine that this is the type of book that people will either love or hate. I also suspect that this is a mood-dependent book; something you need to read at the right time. I was intrigued by the premise of a book narrated by a 9 month old fetus. How would the author portray the fetus? Would it think and speak like an almost born baby, a hyper toddler, an unearthly creature, or like an erudite adult? Grab a dictionary-the fetus is a genius!

Despite being virtually ignored by everyone around it, fetus is very observant of life inside and outside the womb. Fetus’ parents have split up and he is living with mom Trudy and her lover Claude. Trudy has kicked her husband John out of the expensive but rundown family home. John is a poet and tries to win Trudy back. Early on, fetus figures out that Claude is his uncle. He also figures out that Trudy and Claude, when they aren’t drinking or having sex, are plotting a murder. And fetus would much prefer the drinking to the sex and murder. Fetus, as most children, has some ambivalent feelings about his parents. But he hates Claude. He has a sophisticated understanding of history, philosophy, literature, and politics but not the best grasp on human emotions and motivations. This makes him a bit of an unreliable narrator. Other than kicking Trudy in the gut, poor fetus has little ability to control the unfolding events.

Due to fetus’ amazing vocabulary, I think this book is best enjoyed as an ebook. This is very different from Mr. McEwan’s other work (like Atonement and The Children Act) because of the quirky narrator and the humor. Fetus loves his wine, has a remarkable palate, and waxes poetic about different grapes and regions. His comments about Claude and about the sex act are a hoot. Fetus has a pretty dry wit for a guy living in amniotic fluid. I didn’t care for the ending. It seemed abrupt and I was expecting another twist. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and find I am still thinking about it.

One person found this helpful

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Jon Linden

Hamlet, In Utero

July 27, 2017

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

As suggested by the title and the Shakesperean quote on the flyleaf, McEwen has created a modern day classic based on Shakepseare's play, "Hamlet."!The characters mostly have names from the play and the social positions are imitative of the Royals in "Hamlet."

Yet it takes the enormous literary genius of McEwan to create an extended dialogue, a vast soliloquy if you will, that allows the unborn Hamlet to construct thoughts that if only a fetus could talk, would represents the pinnacle of uterine soliloquys.

As McEwan has done before, so he has done again in a method and manner that clearly illustrates his authorial genius. No Shakespearean reader can pass up the genius and the intesity of McEwan's continuing literary brilliance!

4 people found this helpful

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