My Paper Lungs

Review: Nutshell by Ian McEwan

This book caught my eye SO MANY TIMES in my local Waterstones. Every time I would pick it up, flick through it, and then put it back. WHY?! I don’t know. I guess it’s because I’ve never read any Ian McEwan before. I guess it’s because I didn’t think it would be useful to read it for my degree. I guess it’s because I didn’t know what to expect. I wasn’t brave. I wasn’t brave UNTIL I found out my local, amazing Waterstones branch was shutting down in favour for a shittier, more modern one a few streets over. It CRUSHED ME. This Waterstones had been a literal two minute walk from my house. It had character, it had style. It had a history. Now, it’s a haberdashery. Who, in their right mind, wants a haberdashery over a Waterstones?! I’ll never understand. What this change did allow for however, was me to gain all my courage and FINALLY buy this most beautiful book. I forked out a good £17.00 for it. Was it worth it? Read on to find out.

FIRST THINGS FIRST, can we just take a moment to admire this cover? Just take it all in, just look at it. The bold and modern type-font. The dusky pink jacket that peels away to reveal the same coloured insides. The bright red inner lining, perhaps mimicking that of a womb? Who knows. But it is glorious. It looks amazing in photos, complimenting any Instagram feed. It is the peony of the book cover world. It is amazing. I think that’s why I kept picking it up, it was such a piece of eye-candy my greedy self just couldn’t resist. And the illustration! The single illustration of a foetus locked in the U. This has to be one of the best covers I have ever seen. Please, go find it in your local shop and admire it.

That has to be the first thing I did like about the book. I know you’re not meant to judge a book by its cover ya de ya de ya, BUT we all do it. It matters. I’m not going to pick up a shitty photo-covered book with tacky font. It’s just not my cup of tea. If the book looks like a work of art, it sets you up to believe what’s inside is a work of art too. And let me tell you, I was not disappointed. The unique cover mirrors perfectly the unique plot of the book. From the cover and the blurb you learn that the narrator is a foetus yet to be born, trapped inside its mother’s womb, listening to the murder plot to kill its father. Yes yes yes and a hundred times more yes. This is such a unique idea. By having a narrator that is party to the main action of the book, but completely powerless, mimics that of the reader. You have to trust this narrator in all that he tells you, even though he cannot see, hear or feel any more than you. You get a real sense of entrapment and space through this, perhaps, once again, mimicking the tight pressures of the womb? I loved this about the book. It’s so refreshing to read something familiar, but oh so different too.

Thing is though, even though the narrator/protagonist was amazing and unique and completely enthralling, I just didn’t like him. Is that a fair thing to say? I guess characters in books are just like real people, and so you aren’t going to like all of them. I just found him quite pompous, really. And sort of not what I would think of an unborn foetus to be like. But each to their own I guess. This really helped me to decide on what I didn’t want my narrator to sound like in my dissertation, so there’s that I guess.

If you can get pass the pomp, then this is a truly amazing narrator. Ian McEwan has done an amazing job in creating a narrator with some real body to him, even if he isn’t even born yet. I personally LOVE how unreliable the narrator is, even though we follow what he THINKS he sees almost unquestionably. He is a foetus, all he can do is interpret the bodily functions of his mother and the sounds he hears, he never actually sees anything. It’s like when he imagines how a meeting between his father and uncle went. He’s never there, but we believe his interpretation of how he thinks the meeting went, right up until we find out the truth. This jarring between the truth and the narrator is something I think more books could play upon because it is a really interesting concept. How far can we actually trust who is telling the story?

HOW the actual story is also something I feel is worthy on commenting on. The language is just so full, so robust. It’s soothing to the ear, and feels like a novel worth reading, like you’re actually learning some new vocabulary to show off to your friends. I loved this. At first I might have found it quite alienating, but in the end it almost made the world Ian McEwan had created 3-D, rather than just “here’s me telling a story”. It brought the characters truly to life. Saying that though, I’m not sure whether the language fits a foetus as it’s just so sophisticated? But I guess you’d say that he learnt it from all the podcasts his mother listens to? I’m not sure, I guess you’ll just have to read it and make-up your own mind as to whether the language is a bit TOO intellectual.

I would definitely recommend this book. If anything it was enjoyable and quick to read. It’s only 200 pages and the font size is massive. I know that’s not how you’re meant to judge a book but let’s just say it didn’t scare me to read it; I didn’t feel as if I was entering a serious, committed relationship with the book. More of a fling. Just a very verbose, Cambridge-educated fling. Nothing wrong with that. It’s a great book. It’s concise and enjoyable and it really changes your perception on life. I don’t know why it did that, it just did for me. I find myself enjoying the little moments now, and not worrying if my kitchen is messy.

I would recommend this book if you enjoyed:

• The Wind-up Bird Chronicle: Haruki Murakami
• The Girl on the Train: Paula Hawkins
• A Visit from the Goon Squad: Jennifer Egan

Overall, I would say great cover, great story and ultimately a gripping, unique read. I’d rate it a 4/5. To be honest, it’s a great summer read with a bit of a bite to it. Something that isn’t predictable or will bore you after a few pages. And I mean, JUST LOOK AT IT. Even if you ended up hating the book I bet it would be the one you display on the bookcase. I know I will when I FINALLY have a proper place to live. Get ready to see many sneaky photos of it adding that pop of pink eh eh.

What’s your favourite book cover?

Have a great weekend!

Natasha