He begins to hang around outside Joe's apartment, convinced that Joe reciprocates his passion. Jed then telephones Joe at home, telling him he loves him and wants to bring God into his life.

When Joe refuses, Jed pleads with him: 'You might see the point in it, the strength it can give you. To the corpse of the fallen man, he is approached by another of the men who let go, Jed Parry, who asks Joe to kneel and pray. Hanging a few feet above the Chilterns escarpment, our crew enacted morality's ancient dilemma: us, or me.'Īlthough the boy in the basket manages to land unhurt, an inquest is to be held, at which, one is certain, the moral dilemma posed by the accident will be subtly explored.īut instead the story veers into the sort of dark psychological obsessiveness typical of McEwan's fiction, novels like 'The Cement Garden,' 'The Innocent' and 'Black Dogs,' among others. Treading that line, keeping the others in check and being kept in check by them, is what we call morality. 'This is our mammalian conflict,' Joe reflects, 'what to give to the others and what to keep for

Not only is this incident beautifully described, but also the moral issue at the center is neatly posed. I've never seen such a terrible thing as that falling man.' He fell as he had hung, a stiff little black stick. Perhaps from him, perhaps from some indifferent crow, a thin squawk cut through the stilled air. No forgiveness, no special dispensation for flesh, or bravery, or kindness. As Joe describes what happens: 'We watched him drop. But then a stronger gust of wind sweeps the balloon over the edge.Īll but one of the men let go of the rope, leaving the last to be lifted high into the air. All together they grab the balloon by a trailing rope and seem to get it under control at the edge of a steep slope. Joe runs to offer help and is joined by four other men. As Joe is about to open a bottle of wine, he hears a man shout and sees him struggling to hold onto a large gas balloon with a boy in its basket being tossed around by the wind. A couple, Joe and Clarissa Rose, are picnicking in the countryside outside London on a windy springĭay. The opening of Ian McEwan's new novel, 'Enduring Love,' is one of the most compelling this reviewer has come across in years. The Divine, With Suspense and Passion By CHRISTOPHER LEHMANN-HAUPT The Divine, With Suspense and PassionĢ62 pages.

Enduring love book review