Books: Ian McEwan´s The Cement Garden

 (Drivebycuriosity) - The novel "The Cement Garden" by Ian McEwan has been on my radar for many years. In the year 1978, when the book got published, the novel made a splash because of the provoking plot. Finally I read the small book and enjoyed the weird but gripping story (just 138 pages amazon).

The novella is a dark family story. Maybe the novel´s message is: "Family first", even though the protagonists went way to far. The story is about the sibblings Julie, who is 17, Jack (15), Sue (13) & Tom ( around 6). 

The book is written in first person and narrated by the pubescent Jack. The kids live isolated in a house in an abandoned area far from the civilization. Early in the book their live changes dramatically which starts a chain of events which get more & more disturbing (this is a spoiler free blog).

McEwan created a strange and unique - almost exotic -  atmosphere that reminds me a bit of Daniel Defoe`s Robin Crusoe even that the plots are very different. It is a psychological thriller about adolescents in an extreme situation and touches topics like adolescence, puberty, family bindings, exploring sexuality, dilapidation, grief, curiosity and more.

I enjoy McEwan`s economic but eloquent style. His precise & analytical observations and his almost forensic descriptions remind me also of Nabokov´s Lolita. I could see strong influences from Sigmund Freud, especially the scientist´s insights into the maturation of sexuality. The frequent descriptions of the sexual aspects are intense & honest and belong to the most erotic and poetic I have ever read.

"The Cement Garden" is still an exciting read after all these years. The book is a disturbing masterpiece and belongs to the canon of world literature.

P.S. For illustration I used a still from the 1993 same named film with Charlotte Gainsbourg.