Enduring Love By Ian McEwan

 

Enduring Love

By Ian McEwan

On a picnic with his common law wife, Clarissa, Joe Rose finds himself as one of several men who run to the aid of a man whose son is alone in a hot air balloon he is losing control of. In the process all of the men let go, except one man who is killed for his heroism. Afterward, Joe comes face to face with one of the other helpers, a younger man named Jed Parry.

That night Joe receives a phone call from Jed who tells him he loves him and they are meant to be together. The subsequent story unfolds with Jed persistently stalking Joe at his home and Joe being drawn into interaction with Jed where he learns Jed believes Joe loves him, initiated the "relationship," and is leading him on, wanting Jed to save Joe and bring him to Jesus. Joe tells his wife what is happening to him, and his cageyness around the whole thing throws a wedge into their relationship. Joe loses trust in Clarissa, who doesn't fully believe the situation is as dire as Joe thinks it is. Joe comes to the realization that Jed is suffering from a psychiatric diagnosis wherein he suddenly falls in love with someone in an obsessive, yet non-sexual, way that can ultimately lead to violence. Even the police dismiss Joe's concerns.

Then a shooting occurs at a restaurant right next to Joe and Clarissa, and Jed is present at the scene. Joe believes this was an attempt on his life, based on veiled threats made by Jed, but no one believes him. Joe decides it's up to him to defend himself and his wife. The actions he takes end up actually coming in handy when Jed shows up at their house and holds Clarissa.

This book was a page turner! It was tense and suspenseful, and Jed Parry was so creepy and weird, totally unsettling in his demeanor and his words. There is a discussion in Enduring Love of science versus faith, with Joe (a science enthusiast, student, and magazine writer) facing off against Jed, who has an intense love of Jesus, though he does not belong to a church or any organized religion. At the heart of the novel is Joe's moral dilemma: did he save himself in the balloon accident when he should have helped more? Was he right to let go? Along with the science versus faith debate is Joe's science versus Clarissa's idea that science is robbing the world of its sense of wonder. Joe believes in facts and he is thwarted in them by both Jed and Clarissa.

This is a five-star read for me, despite the fact that Clarissa's disbelief and reading of the whole situation was a little annoying. I loved the characters and the whole premise of the story. And Jed Parry was one of the strangest antagonists I've ever read about. I'm looking forward to more by McEwan. Do date I have only read Atonement by him. I have a lot yet to explore!