Saturday by Ian McEwan

 

Henry Perowne is a man at the top of his game.  In his fifties, he is a renowned neurosurgeon working in a London hospital.  He is married to Rosalind who is a lawyer and who he still loves after many years of marriage.  They have two children.  Daisy is living in Paris and has just had her first book of poetry published.  Theo is still at home and is a jazz musician.  Everything in his life is going well.

This is a routine Saturday.  He plans to go to his weekly squash game, followed by a visit to his mother who is in care.  Then he needs to shop for a large family dinner.  Both Daisy and Rosalind's father are coming home to visit and Henry plans to cook for everyone.  The streets are crowded as there is a large antiwar protest against the intended invasion of Iraq which will set off a war.  

Because of the protestors blocking the streets, Henry takes a different route than usual and it ends in a fender bender.  The car isn't that hurt but the other man, Baxter, is upset and tries to intimidate Henry.  Baxter has two friends with him and it could end badly but Henry has learned skills that allow him to defuse the situation and go about his day.  But as everyone gathers, he sees that he didn't defuse the situation when Baxter and his friends show up unexpectedly at the Perowne household.  

This is a lovely slice of life novel.  McEwan captures the actions and thoughts of a middle aged man starting to wonder what the rest of his life will hold.  Unlike his operating theatre where he controls everything, his life cannot be controlled.  Children grow up and head off to their own lives, parents age and need different relationships.  Physical strength starts to wane.  World events seem to spin out of control and there is little the average person can do about things that will have a huge effect on their lives.  Few authors can capture a life in prose better than McEwan and the reader will be entranced with their viewpoint into Henry's life.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.