Now a Major Motion Picture starring Emma Thompson, Stanley Tucci, and Fionn Whitehead. One of the Best Books of the Year: The Washington Post, NPR, Vogue, BookRiotFiona Maye is a leading High Court judge who presides over cases in the family division. She is renowned for her fierce intelligence, exactitude, and sensitivity. But her professional success belies private sorrow and domestic strife. … success belies private sorrow and domestic strife. There is the lingering regret of her childlessness, and now her marriage of thirty years is in crisis.
At the same time, she is called on to try an urgent case: Adam, a beautiful seventeen-year-old boy, is refusing for religious reasons the medical treatment that could save his life, and his devout parents echo his wishes. Time is running out. Should the secular court overrule sincerely expressed faith? In the course of reaching a decision, Fiona visits Adam in the hospital—an encounter that stirs long-buried feelings in her and powerful new emotions in the boy. Her judgment has momentous consequences for them both.
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I am a big fan of Ian McEwan! I am particularly fond of the style of his writing (his prose), and the way he gets under his character’s skin. Many of the previous reviews have already described the plot, and I’m not one to reiterate. What I found most interesting about The Children Act were the descriptions of a long-lasting marriage, where what was once a consuming love affair, has become an old book covered in a layer of dust. Can the marriage be dusted off and saved? That is the underlying theme of the book.
The legal angle of the book was a bonus. There is never a clear cut answer, is there? Sometimes, the best intentions cause the greatest harm.
In tackling the big questions, McEwan scores again!
I will read anything Ian McEwan writes. This one captivates with his important theme, character development, and the belief that there are some very fine people who inspire hope.
I enjoyed the structure that allowed for development of the subject idea as it strode along with the main character and the psychology of her life. How the past defines us, how we all have missed opportunities, and most importantly how
we become moved, maybe inconveniently, even at times against the standards of society–but that is what makes the story compelling and allows it to speak to the culture. One voice that says so much more than can be said by the noise of many.
As an emergency physician who once cared for two Jehovah’s witness children injured in an automobile crash who needed blood due to the injuries they suffered, the ethical dilemma at the heart of Ian McEwan’s The Children Act resonated with me. I even remember my conversation with the judge who was on call for difficult decisions like this one, and the questions she asked me about the children, and the wishes of the family.
In The Children Act, the judge becomes emotionally involved with the teen-aged child at the heart of the story, and that involvement affects the decision about blood administration and other decisions about future contacts with the child.
The book raises questions about the boundaries of such relationships and what can happen when those boundaries blur or are violated.
While the characters in the book were not as fascinating as the unborn child narrator in McEwan’s Nutshell, which is one of my all -time favorites, they still held my attention and I cared about them to the end. I recommend the book as a well-drawn mix of ethics, identity and personal choice that become entangled in unexpected intimacies.
Fiona Maye is a high-power judge in the High Family Courts in London. She is experienced and excellent at what she does. She has had to make some serious and sensitive decisions in her days. Sadly, her personal life has been affected by her total immersion in her work. She has some regrets. She has never found time to have children. In addition, she and her husband are drifting apart. As the story opens, her marriage is falling apart. At the same time, she has been asked to make a difficult decision whether to save a 17-year-old boy with leukemia, or allow him to choose death, as his religion dictates.
I love Ian McEwen’s books. They usually deal more with the feelings and the psychology of the characters than about heavy plots. As with all of his other books, I could not put down this book! It is beautifully written and is populated with strong and realistic characters. This one is unforgettable.
It’s rare to find fault in the narrator and yet be pleased by her growth. the startling ending is a wake-up call for all of us. The book raises philosophical questions that are vital to consider. My vocabulary and literary appreciation grew with the reading of it! What more can we ask of an author? I wish you all the same enjoyment of it all.
McEwan never disappoints. Haunting and powerful.