Saturday by Ian McEwan (2006, Paperback, Reprint)

You have to get up pretty early in the morning to pack as much into one day as Ian McEwan's Dr. Henry Perowne manages to in this book- at times exciting and thrilling, at times frustratingly slow. McEwan is not the only author who likes to show off his technical knowledge, but those not keen on the finer points of cranial surgery (or squash) may be tempted to skip ahead.

I won't be spoiling it to tell you that Perowne HAS gotten up early in the morning and happens to see in the London night sky an apparent plane crash. As he starts on a busy, but comfortable enough day, the unsettling image haunts him. A more immediate collision disrupts his routine, and like the plane crash, won't quite go away.

McEwan's style is erudite, but eminently readable. He gives us plenty of reasons to like the well-to-do Dr. Perowne and, when the time comes, to root for him when he is down and to rejoice in his success.

McEwan's work is said to vary widely in subject and tone. He has written nine novels, several of which have been made into movies, though not succesful enough ones to make him a household name in America. An earlier work, AMSTERDAM, won the Booker prize in 1998.