The Children Act

A captivating read. could not wait to see what happened to both the kid and the Judge. He paints a very real picture and the courtroom/legal detail was perfect and realistic. My only complaint was that the opening ‘chapter' was much too long and way too much backstory before the real story begins in part two.

Fascinating discussions about law, religion, how the two intercept and the inevitable consequences.

A tough call. Many disagree with reducing the effect of a piece of literature to a simple star rating, but truth be told I do it more for myself and less for others. It's a way of keeping track and a shorthand for the books I enjoyed, or hated, or books that were just middling. A near five-star read for me, this book is written in a register which just works, or does so at least for me. The story of a British High Court judge — specializing in family law? (I can't be sure) — middle age and feeling it, forced to deal with a marriage in strife while she would rather put herself fully into her work, for which she seems to have considerable talent. Novels of manners, novels of the quiet intricacies of family life can go so wrong, so easily, that I'm caught off guard when someone gets it exactly right. Not that this is wholly either, but it is a novel of human intricacies, and this is what seems to trip up so many writers. McEwan seems to remember to make the stories interesting, that in fact the greatest writer of them all would poison, or stab, or rape, or to chase by bear if it came to that, and the greatest sin would be to bore, to have people sitting endless in salons chatting in mutual navel-gazing. My favorite novels are when the writer balances the equation, getting both sides right. Here is the story of these people and they are real, or seem so to us — and here is why this story is interesting absent all of that faffing about. I've read two or three or four other McEwan novels (I've lost track) but at this point I've decided to line them all up in row, everything the man has written, and read them every one, over time. I can offer no higher recommendation than that.

  It's weird.  I have nothing bad to say about this book.  In fact, I have a ton of good things to say about it.  It's a well-written story about interesting characters doing intriguing things.  McEwan is obviously a brilliant writer and his general knowledge of how to compose a tale is fully on display here.  The three main characters of Fiona, Jack and Adam all feel fleshed-out and you want to know what will happen to them throughout the book.  The basic premise is gripping and McEwan totally delivers on it.  You can write plenty of interesting papers about Fiona's journey throughout the book or debate whether Adam and his parents are in the right.     In every way a novel can be good, The Children Act is good.  But it's almost so good that it's boring?  It's like the perfect example of how to write a story.  If English professors around the world haven't picked this one for their syllabi I'd be absolutely floored.  This is not a bad thing at all, it's just... too textbook for me to really love it and feel enchanted by it. 

Finally found it in myself to read this book to completion. Nicely written prose with a strong aftertaste of technical exercise. The man gave himself a brief and worked it.

beautifully and evocatively written.

This is your usual Ian McEwan book: a hard, cold look at a regular human being, slowly crushed by guilt. The Children Act is told just like McEwan's other books: clinically. If you like his style, you might be a bit surprised by the rather slow beginning, but it picks up after a while and holds you for the rest of the book.

The details of legal cases very nearly overwhelm the plot of this novel; on the other hand, they are critical to the breakdown of the main character's marriage.

Full review here: The Children Act by Ian McEwan

Un roman magnifique par la qualité de son récit et magnifiquement écrit. Du style et une histoire délicate, émouvante, passionnante, qui fait réfléchir. Que demander de plus à un roman ?

Short Review: A family law judge both has to deal with difficult cases and a husband that has decided that he needs to grab at the end of his youth by trying to have an affair. He asks for permission and seems to be disappointed when she won't give it.

The marriage parts were decent, but I was more interested in her as a judge. The cases were difficult and wisdom and law sometimes were not on the same side.

My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/children-actd/

3.5 Stars. Very touching story. Very descriptive imagery.

Ian McEwan can write some of the most gorgeous prose, but sometimes it seems like the emotion behind those words is somehow missing. I felt like this novel specifically was building to some sort of climax that was never quite realized - we had the big, emotional moment, and then the book was just done. There were events that should have made me feel all sorts of things, but I felt held apart from them, and couldn't ever quite engage completely. Of course, as always, the writing itself is beautiful, and the story was interesting, although I would have liked to feel more connection.

Short but beautifully crafted and, as always, a kick in the guts when you are least expecting it.