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The Cement Garden
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780679750185
Edition: 1st Vintage International ed
ISBN: 0679750185
Label: Anchor
Manufacturer: Anchor
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 160
Publication Date: January 13, 1994
Publisher: Anchor
Release Date: January 13, 1994
Studio: Anchor
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Editorial Review:
In this tour de force of psychological unease--now a major motion picture starring Charlotte Gainsbourg and Sinead Cusack--McEwan excavates the ruins of childhood and uncovers things that most adults have spent a lifetime forgetting--or denying. "Possesses the suspense and chilling impact of Lord of the Flies."--Washington Post Book World.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Eerie and gripping but also dull at times
This is one of McEwan's early novels. As usual, there is something about the story that hooks the reader. The narrator is a 15 year old boy who has experienced the recent death of both his parents. He is now living with his 2 sisters and younger brother. The relationship among the siblings is - lets just say different as I do not want to reveal any surprises in the book.
McEwan writing is fine, as usual, but at times choppy. For example, there are major scene changes without an appropriate ... Read More
Rating: - a rather grey novel
I haven't had the best of relationships with the books of Ian McEwan. I found Amsterdam dull and pointless, Enduring Love neither enduring nor lovely, and it wasn't until Atonement that I actually enjoyed any of his writing. A good friend very wisely said I should stop there, be grateful that I had at least found one worth reading and spend my time with other writers.
She was quite right, of course, but I took The Cement Garden on holiday with me because, well because it was short. I wanted ... Read More
Rating: - Appalled or Titillated?
The premise of Ian McEwan's The Cement Garden is simple and haunting: four children are left alone in their empty neighborhood when both parents die. Convinced that if they reveal their secret they will be separated, they drag their mother's body to the cellar and entomb her in a cement-filled trunk. Each of the children deal with their secret independence differently: the youngest boy experiments with cross-dressing and acting like a baby, Sue retreats into reading and writing, Julie primps and preens and ... Read More
Rating: - Disturbing tale of working-class Britain...
Ian McEwan is one of my favorite writers. He seems to focus either on the very educated, upper-crust of British society or the tough lower classes. This is definitely a story of the latter. The story, in a nutshell, is: The parents of a working class family die, leaving the children to fend for themselves. This is no Party of Five, however. They keep the death of their mother a secret so that they do not become wards of the state. Things deteriorate quickly. They were already bad while the parents were ... Read More
Rating:  - Not something I would recommend, but couldn't hurt to read.
I initially chose to read McEwan because I had an assignment in my english class. I then chose The Cement Garden because it seemed like a quick read and the reviews were positive. I'm not going to dam the book, but it was boring. Plain and simple. The whole incest thing was disgusting, and I don't care about exploring anything. If a writer is going to talk about it, at least make it sophisticated.
Sorry to those who enjoyed it.
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