Modern Plays: The Cement Garden (Paperback)

from eightambliss

The Cement Garden is a tale of four siblings who must deal with life after their parents die. The oldest two start developing lives and personalities independent from the parents while they try to make sense of their dysfunctional lives, the younger daughter retreats into a world of reading and w...

from oldblack

Certainly an unusual story - bizarre in parts. On the other hand, much of it was an entirely believable description about how family members interact and what might happen in an isolated family which is suddenly deprived of its adults. It's only a short book and is comparatively easy reading so, ...

from TheTwoDs

Idle hands are the devil's workshop indeed. This little story starts off disturbing enough and devolves from there. It's as if the Swiss Family Robinson landed on the island from Lord of the Flies and set up shop in Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Decay pervades the goings o...

from siafl

McEwan's first novel. It shows glimpses of the art of McEwan that I have come to appreciate very much. This one is quick and well-written, and wicked, but a little disgusting. Not my favourite of the author's but I'm still glad I read it. It shows the kind of creativity that McEwan has and the fa...

from Jonez

2.75 While this was a well-written book, I can't say that the characters were well-rounded, or that much about the family's life before was probed to explain character actions. While I can say these are definitely realistic personalities, and that there are some realistic reactions, I don't know...