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Amsterdam

The novel follows newspaper editor Vernon Halliday and composer Clive Linley. Both men attended the funeral of their former lover Molly Lane and question her attraction to the right-wing politician Julian Garmony. Clive struggles to complete a commissioned symphony until inspiration strikes during a walk in the Lake District. However, helping in a dangerous situation would mean missing his creative breakthrough. This decision has repercussions that lead Clive and Vernon to become enemies seeking revenge in Amsterdam, where the story concludes.

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Igor Komino
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137 views2 pages

Amsterdam

The novel follows newspaper editor Vernon Halliday and composer Clive Linley. Both men attended the funeral of their former lover Molly Lane and question her attraction to the right-wing politician Julian Garmony. Clive struggles to complete a commissioned symphony until inspiration strikes during a walk in the Lake District. However, helping in a dangerous situation would mean missing his creative breakthrough. This decision has repercussions that lead Clive and Vernon to become enemies seeking revenge in Amsterdam, where the story concludes.

Uploaded by

Igor Komino
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Amsterdam (novel)

Amsterdam is a 1998 novel by British writer Ian McEwan. It is a morality tale revolving
around a newspaper editor and a composer.

McEwan was awarded the Booker Prize for the novel.

Plot summary

The book begins with the funeral of Molly Lane. Guests at the funeral include: Julian
Garmony, Foreign Secretary; Vernon Halliday, a newspaper editor; and eminent
composer Clive Linley. These three share certain attributes; each has a very high opinion
of himself, each was at some time Molly's lover, and each regards the dead woman's
husband George, with a mixture of amusement and contempt. Clive and Vernon muse
upon Molly's death. It seems she had some kind of rapid-onset brain disease (not
specified) that left her helpless and mad. Neither man can understand her attraction to
Julian Garmony, the right-wing Foreign Secretary who is about to challenge the
Leadership.

Clive returns home to continue work on his symphony. He has been commissioned to
write a piece for the forthcoming Millennium and much of the work is complete, all save
the crucial signature melody. He resolves to go walking in the Lake District, as this tends
to inspire him. Vernon is the editor of a newspaper whose readership if falling. He is
trying to change the content of the paper to be more sensationalist. George, Molly's
husband, gives him a golden opportunity, but he and Clive argue furiously about the
moral responsibility of the act.

However, in the Lake District, Clive faces a difficult moral decision himself. He chooses
to walk away from a potentially dangerous situation he could have helped with, because
his elusive melody, the crucial notes, have arisen and he has to get them down. Instead of
helping, he crouches unseen besides a rock and writes his music. This has repercussions
that will change his life.

During the course of the book Clive and Vernon become mortal enemies bent on exacting
revenge. The consequences of their decisions, and a pact made between them, lead them
both to Amsterdam where the novel's dénouement plays out.
Plot
Tone of book? - depressed
Time/era of story - 1980's-1999
Internal struggle/realization? Yes
Struggle over - midlife crisis
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - journalist
Age: - 40's-50's
Ethnicity/Nationality - British
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - writer
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - throughout most of the
book.
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 6 (an above average amount)
Mountains/Cliffs Yes
Mountains: - climbing on trails
City? Yes
City: - London

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - explicit references to deaths
Unusual Style: - No single main character?
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog

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