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

Definitely in my top 5 all-time great audiobooks

Any additional comments?

This audiobook was compelling, riveting, beautifully written, and expertly narrated. It is an intriguing tour-de-force. I highly recommend it.

Boring

somehow Ian McEwan manages to make a spy thriller boring.
The prose is excellent and the descriptions of people and places are evocative. The characters are fully realises and complex.
the problem is the pacing overall arc. I was left bored and impatient for a climax that never fully arrives.
the reader was superb, the perfect voice to go with the narrator.

Slow, methodical, Stunning!

4.5 stars. This was my first McEwan novel. I hadn’t realized until I was half way through it that he also wrote Atonement. Which I have not yet read but heard much about since the movie won tons of accolades. When I finished this book I shouted Brilliant and wanted to applaud. It’s definitely not for everyone and I can understand the varying ratings and reviews. It’s a very slow and methodical yet stunning story. You have to be patient with it.

I’m bad at short synopsis but basically Serena begins working at Mi5 in part because of a relationship she had with a married professor. While there she gets assigned an operation with codename Sweet Tooth. This is Mi5’s attempt to fund writers whose political views align with governments. She is tasked with hiring a particular writer she ultimately falls in love with. There are common themes here, for example the oft used girl meets boy under false circumstances, ends up falling in love, boy finds out, girl loses boy and ultimately girl gets boy back. However not the case here. Things don’t play out the way you would think.

No spoilers here but I also thought the item found while she was undercover as a cleaning lady was going to be more substantial than it ultimately was. Though I guess if it did it would become more of a spy novel than what it was intended to be.

I thought the short story writing she reads by Haley was pretty fascinating as well. I know people don’t usually like these sub stories especially when they have no direct impact to the overall book but I love them. They make such an impact for the couple pages they take up. The mannequin?!

The ending chapter was just brilliant though. You finish the book making all kinds of assumptions and having revelations.

I would definitely recommend.

Slow- maybe audio is not the best way to read

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

no- it was too slow of a book to listen to but I might enjoy reading not listening to this.

If you’ve listened to books by Ian McEwan before, how does this one compare?

I have read other Ian McEwan books and enjoyed them. He writes beautiful stories but perhaps they should be read and not listened to.

What three words best describe Juliet Stevenson’s performance?

Average- I have come to realize that I have a hard time listening to narrators with a British accent.

Such an annoying protagonist

The narrator is pretty good but the story is so annoying - because the main character is so annoying. I'm assuming she must be gorgeous because I cannot imagine another reason why any of the men in the story want to spend time with her. There seem to be no women in her life which is perhaps not surprising; she's endlessly self-reflective and self-absorbed and thinks of no one but herself.

4.5 stars loved it

This is my intro to Ian McEwan’s work. A bit grey and slow at times but this isn’t a failing. I loved it

Stunningly fantastic!

Every moment of this book is an entirely pleasurable, satisfying and intelligent listen. It was such a quenching experience that it's hard to identify a comparison. From fascinating, complex characters to cold war spy intrigue to sexy swinging London, written in unrelenting gorgeous prose. This isn't a just good story, it's an AMAZING work of literature — and you, dear reader, are implicated in this tale!

Juliet Stevenson could read the phone book

. . . And keep me enthralled. Ms. Stevenson narration aside, Ian McEwen's writing is smooth, rich and evocative. The story is set in a time in history, 1970's London, that interests me as a baby boomer. Serena, our Sweet Tooth, is both smart and naive. I cheered her on from beginning to end. I was left wondering how a male author could capture a women's interior so well.

An uninteresting story, told boringly.

As usual, McEwan makes great use of language, however, this book is short on plot. He has about enough material for a novella, a story about half as long. The protagonist and narrator, Serena, is not stupid nor intellectually shallow, but she continually defines herself by whatever man she happens to have latched on to. The story goes through a succession of her lovers but focuses primarily on an author and poet. It is hard to understand why he loves her. I'm not saying there are not people like Serena, but I don't find their story or plight interesting. The story drags with long asides and excursions. I cannot say more without spoiling the plot, but I found the way in which the ending is handled really lame--a real cop-out by McEwan.

Good old dependable Ian!

Would you consider the audio edition of Sweet Tooth to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the print book but the audible version was fantastic! The lovely voice of Juliet Stevenson added to the beautiful prose of Ian McEwan... can't think of a better combination. Pure music.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Sweet Tooth?

The end. I was prepared to be sad by the ending but now I have hope. Wish he would write a sequel but that would probably be disappointing.

Which character – as performed by Juliet Stevenson – was your favorite?

Definitely the female lead. (Already I've lost her name). Sympathetic, empathetic and believable. I would have had a hard time with the decisions too.