First Love, Last Rites By Ian McEwan

First Love, Last Rites was Ian McEwan's first published work and for those readers who may be familiar with McEwan's later (and more famous) works, such as Atonement or Amsterdam, this is a very different Ian McEwan to the polished commercially successful writer he eventually became.

I don't know if it was McEwan's intention to shock at the time he wrote these stories in the early 1970's, but well over thirty years later, some of the subject matter will undoubtedly offend and even upset some readers. The themes used include murder, rape and child abuse - bold topics for any era, but in some of these stories you can see the spark of "greatness" that enables McEwan to transcend mere unpleasantness...but he doesn't succeed with all these stories.

Two of the stories stand out from the others for negative reasons.

Homemade is a very nasty tale about a very nasty boy. It's a tale of selfish wickedness and neither the story or it's main character has any redeeming qualities. It's an unsatisfying tale in as much as the reader can't help but feel repulsed by the actions of the main character and naturally looks for some kind of retribution that does not come. The story just left me feeling uneasy and that's not a good feeling to evoke in a reader...

Cocker At The Theatre - I've read some rubbish in my time and this tale is right up there near the top of the list of "Things I Wish I'd Never Read". To say this story is weak, is putting it mildly. It's an absurd story and how it got included in this collection is a mystery to me. Dreadful.

The story that stands out in this collection is Last Day Of Summer. An elegant, bittersweet, beautifully written and evocative tale of affection, as intricate and fragile as a spider's web. Touching, poignant and sad, it's one that will stick in your memory.

The other tales are a mixed bag ranging from "not too bad" (Butterflies, Disguises and Conversation With A Cupboard Man) to "not too good" (Solid Geometry and First Love, Last Rites).

All of the stories are briefly summarised below.

Would I say this collection is worth reading? On the whole, yes, although as I said, the themes used are bold and will clearly not be to everyone's taste. The young McEwan certainly knew how to provoke a reaction, but whether he provokes the "right" reaction in many readers is down to the perception of the individual. He went on to have an exceptionally successful career as a writer, so this collection certainly didn't do him any harm...