Amsterdam (novel)

infobox Book |
name = Amsterdam
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translator =


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author = Ian McEwan
illustrator =
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country = United Kingdom
language = English
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genre = Novel
publisher = Anchor Press
release_date = December 1, 1998
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages = 208 pp
isbn = ISBN 0-385-49424-6
preceded_by = Enduring Love
followed_by = Atonement

"Amsterdam" is a 1998 novel by British writer Ian McEwan. It is a morality tale revolving around a newspaper editor and a composer.

McEwan was awarded the Booker Prize for the novel.

Plot summary

The book begins with the funeral of Molly Lane. Guests at the funeral include: Julian Garmony, Foreign Secretary; Vernon Halliday, a newspaper editor; and eminent composer Clive Linley. These three share certain attributes; each has a very high opinion of himself, each was at some time Molly's lover, and each regards the dead woman's husband George, with a mixture of amusement and contempt. Clive and Vernon muse upon Molly's death. It seems she had some kind of rapid-onset brain disease (not specified) that left her helpless and mad. Neither man can understand her attraction to Julian Garmony, the right-wing Foreign Secretary who is about to challenge the Leadership.

Clive returns home to continue work on his symphony. He has been commissioned to write a piece for the forthcoming Millennium and much of the work is complete, all save the crucial signature melody. He resolves to go walking in the Lake District, as this tends to inspire him. Vernon is the editor of a newspaper whose readership is falling. He is trying to change the content of the paper to be more sensationalist. George, Molly's husband, gives him a golden opportunity, but he and Clive argue furiously about the moral responsibility of the act.

However, in the Lake District, Clive faces a difficult moral decision himself. He chooses to walk away from a potentially dangerous situation he could have helped with, because his elusive melody, the crucial notes, have arisen and he has to get them down. Instead of helping, he crouches unseen besides a rock and writes his music. This has repercussions that will change his life.

During the course of the book Clive and Vernon become mortal enemies bent on exacting revenge. The consequences of their decisions, and a pact made between them, lead them both to Amsterdam where the novel's dénouement plays out.

Resources

*Ian McEwan, "Amsterdam", Anchor Books, November 1999. ISBN 978-0-385-49424-3.