The Cement Garden

The first novel by the Booker Prize-winning author of Amsterdam.

In the relentless summer heat, four abruptly orphaned children retreat into a shadowy, isolated world, and find their own strange and unsettling ways of fending for themselves.

In this tour de force of psychological unease--now a major motion picture starring Charlotte Gainsbourg and Sinead Cusack--McEwan excavates the ruins of childhood and uncovers things that most adults have spent a lifetime forgetting--or denying. "Possesses the suspense and chilling impact of Lord of the Flies."--Washington Post Book World.

In this tour de force of psychological unease—now a major motion picture starring Charlotte Gainsbourg and Sinead Cusack—McEwan excavates the ruins of childhood and uncovers things that most adults have spent a lifetime forgetting—or denying. "Possesses the suspense and chilling impact of Lord of the Flies."—Washington Post Book World.

Publishers Weekly

A novel and a collection of short stories by English writer McEwan offer chilling portraits of sexual obsession. (Jan.)

Ian McEwan, one of the most acclaimed literary novelists working today, is also one of the most adventurous. His books are as unsettling for their insights into the human condition as they are for their at times macabre situations and plotlines. But however unexpected the story, McEwan always delivers a work of wonderfully fluid writing and distinct, memorable characters.