Saturday By Ian McEwan In the course of one day, whole lives are turned topsy-turvy in this dazzling novel by Ian McEwan.
Henry Perowne, a successful
neurosurgeon in London , has a confrontation with Baxter , an aggressive and violent young man, in a minor car accident .Perowne’s professional instinct recognizes that Baxter is suffering from a serious neurological disorder .By talking about it , Perowne escapes from impending
violence. But Baxter follows Perowne to his home where a happy family reunion is taking place, with his accomplices. At knife point, he makes Perowne’s pregnant daughter Daisy undress and recite a poem , hits Perowne’s father-in-law , and is thrown down the stairs by Perowne and his son. Later Perowne himself operates on an injured Baxter in the hospital. McEwan has set the time of the novel at crucial point in history , on the eve of the American war on Iraq. He brings out brilliantly , the constant threat of violence underlying peace . Like his earlier book, ‘Comfort of strangers’, Saturday also deals with the dark side of human nature. An unputdownable book with a contemporary theme.