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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
Some
A violent home invasion is the novel's terrifying climax; some physical confrontation
Language
Some
Adult language in McEwan's literary register
Sexual Content
Some
Adult sexuality in an established marriage handled with frankness
Substance Use
None
No substance use
Emotional Intensity
Some
The question of whether the ordered life Perowne has built can survive contact with chaos is the novel's sustained intellectual and emotional question
What this book is about
Ian McEwan's precise, demanding novel follows Henry Perowne through a single February Saturday in 2003 — the day of the London Iraq War protests. A chance encounter with a violent man sets off a chain of events that ends in a home invasion. McEwan uses the day to meditate on privilege, medicine, security, and what a good life looks like in an age of terror. Adult content; the home invasion is genuinely frightening.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Home invasion and physical threat
Set against the Iraq War and its anxieties
Reader Verification
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