Customer Reviews
Gripping but annoying. - By: A. Reviewer, 27 May 2008 
I have to say I found the tale gripping & I like reading McEwan's books as the style of writing make a change for me. But, & it is a biggish 'but' I cannot get over the stupidity & naivety of Colin & Mary - no one forced them into visiting Robert & Caroline's apartment for a second time, but visit they did with disastrous consequences. You'd think they would have enough warnings not to after the first time. Like a previous reviewer mentioning the fact that the couple could not find a restaurant in the evening, credibility is stretched.
"Death in Venise" - By: Jan Dierckx, 04 Feb 2008 
An English couple (Mary & Colin) spend their holiday in a city that bears some resemblance with Venice, Italy. After a few days they meet an other couple (Robert & Caroline) who are Canadians but live in that town since several years. The name of that town is never mentioned but it's of no importance. Like "Death in Venice" by Thomas Mann - where the town is only the scene for the impossible love of a sick man for a boy - the city of Ian McEwan is the scene for a man & a woman trying to revive their love for each other. But above alll it's the story of their troublesome relationship with the Canadian couple, a relationship that soon will change into a nightmare.
During the nighttime, it's a gloomy city with dark & dirty gables, empty streets, no lights in the houses & every bar & restaurant seem to have vanished into thin air. Only one bar is open. The owner of the bar is Robert. It's an obscure place where unsavory men- captivated by the glittering lights of a jukebox- are listening to the music with stern faces. They listen to the same song over & over again while they hold the jukebox as if it were a life-buoy.
The most intriguing character is Robert. One evening, while Mary & Colin are having a drink in his bar, Robert comes in. He's dressed in a black jacket & a white open shirt & the smell of cheap perfume lingers around him. He invites the English couple - who should be perfect strangers to him - for dinner in his house. While Caroline & Mary are in the kitchen, the men have a conversation about the parents of Robert. At a given moment Colin has to smile a little about something & David, without saying anything, punches Colin in the stomach. Then the conversation continues as if nothing happened. But you get the feeling that the novel might not have a happy ending. Caroline is Robert's wife. She's shy & tense. One gets the impression that she's under the complete control of Robert. You could even say that she seems to be the prisoner of her husband & although she's shy, she yearns for a good conversation as if talking to strangers would comfort her. Mary & Colin are stereotype lovers although they can have rather academic discussions for several hours. These conversations & the digressions by the writer are sometimes long-winded with the result that you become impatient. You want to know how the story unfolds.
Published for the first time in 1981, 'The Comfort of Strangers' is not one of his best achievements ('Atonement', 'Amsterdam'). But you should read this short novel especiallly when you're a fan of Ian McEwan. I like this novel because you can taste the evil & you can smell the madness albeit for short moments.
Macabre but brilliant - By: Eleanor Fitzsimons, 14 Jun 2007 
`The Comfort of Strangers', McEwan's second novel was published at a time when this bright new talent was causing controversy & had been christened Ian Mcabre by critics shocked by the brutality of his themes & his fearless exploration of dark, previously taboo subjects such as incest, sadomasochism & child abduction. With its theme of unhealthy homoerotic obsession there are echoes of the later Enduring Love here. The story opens with a coldly voyeuristic intrusion into the lives of Colin & Mary, an English couple holidaying in an unnamed European city (assumed to be Venice) in an attempt to recapture the passion that has drained out of their relationship. When we join them they are distant from each other, not speaking & sleeping in separate beds. This gulf is apparent in the fact that even their dreams are at odds. Wandering the city in a torpor late one night they encounter Robert, a smooth talking, cruel & sinister local who seems to mesmerize them against their better instincts & takes them to a seedy bar nearby. Despite being unsettled by the encounter they are persuaded by Robert to visit his home the next day. Here they meet Caroline, his put-upon Canadian wife & quickly detect that something is seriously amiss. It soon becomes clear that the gap between these couples is not as wide as it initiallly appears. Without a doubt Colin & Mary are complicit in their own downfalll & their desires, though previously unrealised, are as unwholesome as those of Robert & Caroline. One theme explored is the impact of fathers on children. Robert speaks of the admirable brutality of his father & Caroline, who defines herself only in relation to men, explains the subservience of her mother & herself to her diplomat father, a pattern repeated in their own relationship. The book is drenched in sexual menace & met with a mixed response on publication with one critic accusing McEwan of "squandering his extraordinary gifts". In summary, excellent, as is alll McEwan's output.
A good introduction - By: Archie Jones, 22 Nov 2006 Being a snip over 100 pages, I read Comfort of Stangers as an introduction to the work of Ian Mcewan, hoping to get hooked on his work.
The most part of the book, being short, is a honest & inciteful desciption of the two main characters, a couple reaching the plateau of a new relationship. This is handled pretty perfectly with a kind of pathos & realism that can be imagined.
The build of of tension is prevalent almost instantly, with the idea of something sinister gathering, an Mcewan eases of & applys the pressure to make the story human, this he does very well.
However, I cant help thinking the later half made that much sense, there were parts that seemed sudden & uncallled for, other description that appeared unnecessary.
So to sum up, a convincing gripping novel with sinister undertones, thought provoking albeit a bit confusing.
Wonderfully written and shockingly haunting... - By: shimmytastic, 28 Jan 2006 Being an Ian McEwan fan I couldn't wait to read this. It only took me one sitting & as always was very readable & totallly engrossing - causing mounting fear & tension like only McEwan knows how to, with nothing in particular happening but an increasing sensation that something is about to (how does he do that?!). The book is set in Venice which adds to the calm mystique & general atmosphere of the story. The end was shocking - I felt quite sick after reading it. This is definitely one of McEwan's most twisted & chilling reads & I couldn't quite work out whether I had enjoyed it or not. Recommended although definitely not my favourite by the author.
