The book opens with a pair of reunited lovers embarking on a romantic picnic in the countryside. Their happiness is short lived, however, as Joe, the narrator of the story, becomes involved, along with others at the scene, in trying to prevent a hot air balloon breaking loose from its moorings, carrying away its child passenger.
Though the child is unharmed, the incident ends tragically and the rest of the book is concerned with the aftermath of the event and most notably with the, ultimately dangerous, obsession that one of the other rescuers develops for Joe. How Joe deals with this obsession and the effect it has on his relationship throws up many questions and dilemmas throughout the book.
There was much lively discussion within the group, opinions being divided, particularly as to whether the relationship between Joe and his partner Clarissa was convincing,one member regarding the book as having a male bias and lacking in warmth. It was generally agreed that the novel was beautifully written and a compelling read. Here are some comments from the members:
“An unforgettable beginning. A book I dreaded picking up again, but was glad I did.”
“...raises many issues in a dramatic way – if Ian McEwan is a writer's writer, he is a writer's writer –of–the-male–gender.”
“...reads as a velvet glove, engulfing the reader in the narrator's view of the consequences of this meeting between the men and how he reasons through his own feelings and thoughts, as well as those of the people around him.”
Review by: Ourique Book Club
