Saturday by Ian McEwan
"Saturday" by Ian McEwan is a novel set on a singular day, February 15, 2003, exploring the life of Henry Perowne, a successful neurosurgeon in London. The story begins with a potentially disastrous event as Perowne witnesses a plane crash, which suggests impending chaos. His day unfolds with ordinary activities, such as playing squash and preparing for a family gathering to celebrate his daughter Daisy’s poetry publication. However, the day takes a dark turn when Perowne becomes involved in a violent encounter with Baxter, a man with Huntington's disease, leading to an invasion of his home by Baxter and his accomplices.
The tension escalates as Baxter threatens Daisy and her mother, prompting a desperate response from Perowne. In a twist, Daisy's recitation of Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach" serves as a moment of emotional connection amid the turmoil. The climax involves physical confrontation and medical intervention, ultimately restoring a semblance of normalcy but leaving the Perowne family grappling with the psychological aftermath of their violated sanctuary. The novel delves into themes of family, violence, and the fragility of security in a modern, chaotic world.
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Saturday by Ian McEwan
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of World Literature, Revised Edition
First published: 2005
Type of work: Novel
The Work
Saturday takes place on a single day—Saturday, February 15, 2003. Before dawn, Henry Perowne, a prominent neurosurgeon, watches a plane crashing toward London, possibly a terrorist attack. The plane foreshadows how Perowne’s day of playing squash with a colleague, shopping for a family dinner, and visiting his widowed mother will be interrupted by an automobile collision with Baxter, who is driving with two other young thugs. Perowne escapes being beaten to death by quickly diagnosing Baxter as having Huntington’s disease and offering help.
Later, Baxter and his buddy, Nigel, invade the Perowne home, where the family has gathered to celebrate the publication of daughter Daisy’s first volume of poems and to reconcile Daisy with her maternal grandfather, also a poet. Baxter forces Daisy to strip naked and read one of her poems, while he holds a knife at her attorney mother’s throat. When Daisy complies, the plot offers an epiphany by revealing that Daisy is pregnant. The stakes are now raised because violence to her body could precipitate a miscarriage and the destruction of a genuinely innocent life. Instead of desecrating one of her own poems, Daisy recites Matthew Arnold’s “Dover Beach.” Luckily, Baxter is even less familiar with poetry than Daisy’s father and seems moved by the sentimental, Victorian poem.
Baxter makes good on threats of violence by breaking the jaw of Daisy’s grandfather. Sensing the need to do something, Perowne lures Baxter upstairs to his study, where he tells him he has information about Baxter’s medical condition. After Perowne and his son’s effort to subdue Baxter leads to the invader’s tumbling down the stairs and Nigel flees, Perowne reveals himself as a dedicated professional by performing emergency surgery on Baxter before this Saturday ends. The semblance of domestic tranquillity is restored. However, like other families who have experienced burglaries or other home invasions, the Perownes are unlikely to recover their earlier sense that their space is inviolable.
Review Sources
The Atlantic Monthly 295, no. 3 (April, 2005): 107-110.
Booklist 101, no. 12 (February 15, 2005): 1036.
Harper’s Magazine 310 (May, 2005): 87-92.
The Nation 280, no. 14 (April 11, 2005): 33-38.
The New York Review of Books 52, no. 9 (May 26, 2005): 12-14.
The New York Times 154 (March 18, 2005): E37-E44.
The New York Times Book Review 154 (March 20, 2005): 1-11.
Newsweek 145, no. 12 (March 21, 2005): 60-61.
Review of Contemporary Fiction 25, no. 2 (Summer, 2005): 132-445.
The Spectator 297 (January 29, 2005): 38.
Time 166, no. 26 (December 26, 2005): 172.