Black Dogs

BLACK DOGS

by Ian McEwan

 

Nomination: Booker Finalist 1992

 

Date Read: February 1, 2023

 

The gist of this novella is that a honeymoon couple travels through rural France and when they encounter residues of Nazi sentiment, question their own beliefs about Communism they held during WWII. Essentially, this novel is about ideas as they apply to individuals and society. While not so much occurs plot-wise, the philosophical arc is what ultimately drives this novel.

 

Underlying all of the events and ideas McEwan presents here is the tacit belief that cruelty resides in all humankind and it is up to the individual to overcome it. No society or political ideology will rid the world of cruelty unless each individual finds it within themselves to overcome this latent human tendency. This cruelty is what propelled the Nazi machine, the tragic fallout of the war, the failed Communist experiment and continues trickles down into personal relationships.

 

I would have to agree with Michiko Kakutani, the preeminent New York Times reviewer who claimed that she was, “intrigued and provoked but also vaguely undernourished.” I will state again for the record that I think McEwan is a brilliant author and I have the utmost respect for what he was trying to accomplish here. The relationship between Bernard and June seemed doomed from the start and just as McEwan’s philosophizing reaches its zenith, so does June’s terror at encountering the black dogs. Great symbolism there, McEwan. <wink> 

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