The Comfort Of Strangers

THE COMFORT OF STRANGERS
by Ian McEwan

Nomination: Booker 1981

Date Read: July 9, 2020

In it's beginning, Mary and Colin seemed like a couple at permanent odds, not speaking to each other yet stuck on holiday together. As the novel progresses, you realize that their beginning was simply recovery from a quarrel. I delighted in reading about their leisurely schedule, eating, napping and city wanderings. I suppose much of that was jealousy as we are still stuck at home amidst this damned virus.

Having traveled a great deal, I was surprised they so eagerly followed Robert to an unknown bar. At first, his gesture seemed generous, even saintly, to attend to two lost tourists who he must have been weary of, living in a tourist destination. Perhaps he was drumming up business for the bar and hoped they would return to spend their money in his company.

Where this novel took a turn for the unbelievable for me, was the night after, having slept on the streets, they "accidentally" run into Robert again. Not the meeting itself, since he was clearly stalking them, but that they chose to go with him to his home rather than return to their hotel which was only a 10 minute walk away where anonymity, clean clothes and a comfortable bed awaited them. Instead, tired and dirty, they chose to plunge ahead into the unknown. This doesn't make sense to me.

Finally, after their wonderful day at the beach, I simply do not understand their silent return to Robert and Caroline's house. So many warning signs had presented themselves at this point - the picture of Colin, getting punched in the stomach, Caroline's strange behavior - that going back there went beyond my suspension of disbelief.

Regardless, I enjoy McEwan's storytelling immensely and am looking forward to reading the rest of his work.

Looking Forward: Amsterdam, Atonement, Black Dogs, On Chesil Beach

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