Very much a McEwan story with stalker?, bits of arcane knowledge of the law, marital agonies and all but I was absorbed throughout, particularly with his main character, the woman judge, and the way he got inside her head. ( )

I think this is only the second [a:Ian McEwan|2408|Ian McEwan|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1404240951p2/2408.jpg] that I've read, the other being [b:Atonement|1083352|Atonement|Ian McEwan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1419704786l/1083352._SX50_.jpg|2307233]. That must have been more than a decade ago I think. I suspect these are his two best, based on what others have said. [b:The Children Act|21965107|The Children Act|Ian McEwan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1405290619l/21965107._SX50_.jpg|40842571] is brilliant. The writing is understated but McEwan has a forensic eye for human frailty. I found it really difficult to put the book down, not because it was pacy, but because the writing was just so good. I read it in two days. Still haven't done the vacuuming. Meh. ( )

If family disputes and family law interest you, this is a book for you.

The central character is Fiona Maye, a High Court Judge. She presides over the usual, routine disputes between divorcing spouses, who gets what, what happens to the kids. But she also gets to decide what happens to Siamese twins when the hospital wants to sacrifice one to save the other, and the parents disagree. And when the hospital wants to save the life of an almost adult who agrees with his parents, devout followers of Jehovah's Witnesses, that transfusion is not an option. McEwan throws a twist when My Lady's, as they call her, husband announces they are at a low point and he wants to have an affair. Her reaction is quick. The time to ask for an open marriage is before marriage, not after more than twenty years. She asks him to leave immediately and changes the locks. Decisions are what she does.

The stage is set. Will she intervene and override the wishes of both the patient and his parents and save his life? How will the young patient react, and if she rules for the hospital, what will the young man do with his life? What will the parents do? Will her own new situation make her see her role any differently? Will she and her husband have second thoughts and find a way back to each other? Or will they become yet another case before the court?

Normally I like to give the entire plot away in my reviews. In this case, it would probably ruin it for you. You'll have to find out for yourself. ( )

Family Drama

Great story and great writing style. ( )