Sunday 4 February 2018

Black Dogs by Ian McEwan


“On seeing me, each tried to fish, to wheedle information by drawing me out, usually by offering contestable propositions thinly disguised as questions.”

Another quick read from the 1001 novels list, which is always a welcome occurrence. The aspect that impressed me the most was the unreliable narrative of a relationship told through the depictions of the same events by June and Bernard. The idea that you could be so wedded to someone so opposite, whose view of the world is so incomprehensible to you, is an intriguing one.

The black dogs of the title are the key protagonists of a violent occurrence which solidifies June's view of the world, moving her away from her Communist aligned husband and directing her to a more religious viewpoint.

The narrator is the couple's son in law, who has an unusual relationship with both June and Bernard. His attempts at biography acting as a strange conduit between the estranged couple even after June' s demise. It is an interesting tale with moments of brilliant observation and yet there was something just a little unwieldy in its execution. 

4 out of 5 - somebody call the RSPCA.

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