Cement Garden
Ian McEwan
In the relentless summer heat, four abruptly orphaned children retreat into a shadowy, isolated world, and find their own strange and unsettling ways of fending for themselves.
Posted by ggggareth@abctales.com (49 weeks ago ) I didn't know the BBC did a version. Wasn't it FilmFour? Anyway - yes - one of the best novels ever, in my lowly opinion. It's a suburban Lord of the Flies, which explores how our natural animal-ness is hidden just beneath the surface of our sterile, cultural exteriors. The tension between these two states is everywhere in this book: Cement vs Garden; in the way the natural smell of the dead mother finds its way out of the hermetically sealed concrete; in the way the dead body leaves a nasty brown stain on the pristine white sheet. I shouldn't go on - I can tell I'm putting people off reading it - the novel actually has some very funny bits in it!
Posted by Rachel1 (1 year ago ) Has anyone read this? I saw the BBC adaption a few years ago and really enjoyed it, I hadn't realised it was by McEwan. It's quite a beautiful yet slightly disturbing story, reminded me a little of flowers in the attic...
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Very difficult to connect with. None of... said JonnyBananas