Sweet Tooth

By: Ian McEwan

Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson

Length: 12 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

Winner of such prestigious honors as the Booker Prize and Whitbread Award, Ian McEwan is justifiably regarded as a modern master. Set in 1972, Sweet Tooth follows Cambridge student Serena Frome, whose intelligence and beauty land her a job with England's intelligence agency, MI5. In an attempt to monitor writers' politics, MI5 tasks Serena with infiltrating the literary circle of author Tom Healy. But soon matters of trust and identity subvert the operation.

©2012 Ian McEwan (P)2012 Random House Audiobooks

I really enjoyed this book.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this book immensely. It was very well written, had an interesting ending and was wonderfully narrated. It was the whole package.

Love, lies and literature

This novel is so tasty. I read it once years ago, but hearing it on Audible I was really able to relish this entirely believable, utterly inventive story. The young, beautiful Serena is so sympathetic even as she wanders into a life of deception and dubious moral direction. One feels for each of the seriously flawed characters, almost as if they were children. As in many of his novels, Ian McEwan draws the reader in and forward through his compelling story; ultimately the writer wins and the experience for the reader is delicious.

Well crafted story

Enjoyed the characters, fleshed out and genuine. Enough twists to the plot to keep me engaged. Surprising end!

Interesting for a while

The performance was really well done.
The story was good, and interesting for a while. All of the extremely detailed description was a lot to take in, but turns out was necessary.

Very good, though not my usual read

I liked the stories within the story; I liked the main character’s viewpoint. I liked the ease and clarity of the narrator’s recorded voice. I liked the ending.

I like Ian macewan but . . .

I did not find his main character, Serena Frome, very believable or sympathetic. It is not clear why the main male character is so smitten with her, nor she with him. By the end u learn that the whole story has been a rather elaborate conceit, which makes for a clever twist on the part of the author--but doesn't make me care any more about the characters.

The setting in MI-5 sounds more intriguing than it turns out to be. I would consider that perhaps MacEwan is resting on his laurels, altho I read that this and ATONEMENT are his personal favorites among his novels thus far. I also read that it is being made into a movie--this may be one of those stories that can come to life on the screen in a way that it did not in print.

This audio version also suffered from an uninspired performance by the narrator.
The NPR reviewer, Maureen Corrigan, did a short review on the program Fresh Air that aptly articulated for me my problems with this novel and I recommend it to anyone considering this book.

Thoroughly enjoyabe

Would you listen to Sweet Tooth again? Why?

Ian McEwan is always worth reading, and Juliet Stevenson is perfect - gets the tone just right. While not quite the same calibre as Atonement or Amsterdam, Sweet Tooth is full of wonderful prose.

What did you like best about this story?

The way the story comes full circle at the end, back to the imagination of the writer.

What about Juliet Stevenson’s performance did you like?

I really liked the note of innocence that her reading brings to Serena's story.

Who was the most memorable character of Sweet Tooth and why?

While Serena Frome is the pivotal character, she is propped up by others, especially Shirley and Tom. Max was the least successful character, and his not quite convincing role is the one weakness in an otherwise tight story.

Pleasantly surprised

This book has a soft tone, it made me unsure it would grab me, but eventually, it did. There were times i thought "where's this going?", but get there it does... and quite well. Not for those who need a ton of action, but recommended.

A Misleading Summary makes for disappointment

When the summary mentions MI5 in the early 70's, I think of the generation that lived in fear of repeating Burgess and the Cambridge spy ring. The generation that came after Peter Wright, after George Smiley.
McEwan makes references to this generation of brinksmanship, but it is just name dropping. This is not the spy novel I expected; this is part sappy love story and part a writer's description of his introversion.
The heroine is talented at describing her sexual needs and experiences, a talent which may in turn represent her generation. These depictions guarantee that readers will stay with the book through the slow sections.
I enjoyed the portrayal of daily life in England at a time of crisis. McEwan is a good writer, but Stevenson is a more talented narrator.
"Sweet Tooth" is a good book, but not the book I expected, so I was disappointed.

Unique and Satisfying (In the End!)

I didn't see it coming. And I am so glad. Ian McEwan has crafted an amazing story that is very, very unique. During the first hour or so, I wondered if the narrator (a slightly vain beauty) really had a story to tell. But I stayed tuned and of course, the story became irresistible.

Not much can be written here without giving it away, but DO listen all the way through and you will be pleased and surprised by the turn of events when the worlds of literature and covert operations intersect.