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

Perfect Book for your Literary Sweet Tooth

Sweet Tooth is a compelling, intriguing listen that grabs hold immediately; from first sentence to last satisfying twist. Like McEwan's excellent book "Atonement," the author's pitch perfect prose unveils a multi-layered story that explores universal human themes of secrecy, loyalty, betrayal and identity.

Set in 1970s London, "rather gorgeous" recent Cambridge grad Serena Frome tells her story with some self awareness and a wry sense of humor. She describes her teen-age self as "the first person to truly understand Orwell's 1984." Recovering from an abrupt break-up, Serena throws herself into a low level job with MI-5. Disenchanted with the mundane nature of the work, Serena quickly agrees to participate in a covert cultural program that funds young writers in an effort to win the "war of ideas" taking place in Cold War Europe. Of course the romantically vulnerable Serena falls for her target, author T.C. Healy, but luckily the ensuing story isn't formulaic or predictable.

As a slavish admirer of LeCarre (well, truth be told my passionate secret affair is really with George Smiley) I reveled in the scenes set at MI-5 headquarters. McEwan's MI-5 was so evocative of "The Circus" that I almost expected Connie Sachs to lumber around the corner, god bless her. Some of the darkness in the story reminded me of John Fowles, as did the novel's unconventional structure. Interesting cameos by real life literati added fun and rang true: Martin Amis buys dejected author Healy a whisky, and Ian Hamilton offers words of wisdom to an agitated Serena.

Experienced actress Juliet Stevenson does a stellar job narrating. I especially enjoyed the way she voiced an American ex-CIA agent. Cringe worthy only because I have a feeling we really do sound like that to the world. She was dead on and a treat to hear.

Finally, the idea of "a contract between a book's author and its reader" is explored in various interesting ways. Afraid of being manipulated or feeling tricked, I steeled myself for disappointing ending. Thankfully, this book's author seems to truly like and respect his reader. Apart from an almost (just a teensy bit) Poirot-like explanatory soliloquy, McEwan keeps his end of the bargain and then some. "Sweet Tooth" is wonderfully thought provoking; the kind of novel you just want to mull over for awhile before beginning anything else.

76 of 79 people found this review helpful

Structurally complicated with beautiful language

Structurally complicated with beautiful language McEwan's spy novel flows and ebbs on several levels. He is writing about a woman spying on a writer who is an obvious stand-in for himself. McEwan *almost* pulls this off, but the weight (or forced feint) of the structure almost sinks the novel in the middle.

Essentially, 'Sweet Tooth' is about love, deception, politics and art. It reminds me of earlier post modern novels by Carey (My Life as a Fake), Atwood (Blind Assassin) and Gaddis (Recognitions) where the authors seems to be playing with not just the story but the whole relationship between author, narrator and reader. A good novel, just not a great McEwan novel.

33 of 35 people found this review helpful

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.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

glad I listened to the end

What made the experience of listening to Sweet Tooth the most enjoyable?

I enjoyed the performances of the characters.

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

Loved the twist at the end , not expecting it.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

NO, it dragged a bit until the turn in the plot.

Any additional comments?

I almost gave up on the book until I read a review that wasn't a spoiler but mentioned the twist in the book. Glad I stuck with it!

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

FIne narration, ho-hum story

Juliet Stevenson is a real pro, and I always enjoy her narration. In this case she elevates a rather pedestrian story to the point where it was a tolerable listen.

Maybe there comes a point when one has read one too many modern British novels, but I often feel that I have heard the same story one too many times. (Oxbridge graduate smartens up and faces the real world, the real world consisting of spies and bureaucrats.) Yes, this one had a couple of twists and turns, but don't they all?

The stated protagonist of the novel is a woman, and it is nice to encounter one who is as selfish, misguided, and dull as any modern male:) As for the main male literary character, I found him just plain unconvincing, and the denouement of the story reeked of chick-lit (post modern version, of course.)

For me, the most enjoyable parts of the novel were the very witty takes on post-WWII literary figures, most of them named by name.

12 of 13 people found this review helpful

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!

11 of 12 people found this review helpful

Satisfying novel with a great narrator

This is a terrific book, relatively short and very well read. One of its pleasures is the view of 1970s England, which is very distinctly different from the modern financial capital that London has since become. I enjoyed revisiting that time as well as that place, despite being sadly reminded of what life was like for women in that time.

The story is very well read by Juliet Stevenson, one of my favorite narrators, and is another fascinating view of womanhood from the perspective of a male author who seems very much a character in this novel.

One of my favorite books is ATONEMENT by Ian McEwan, also a story about a strong female writer and this book shares many of the things I loved about that book as well. The story weaves in upon itself in a most satisfying way like ATONEMENT did. It also has many levels but despite this complexity is never hard to follow. It doesn't scream 'LITERATURE' but it is literary in a substantive way, reflecting on the nature of writing and truth and questioning the reliability of the narrator but without losing the power of the narrative.

I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it both as a listening experience and a thoughtful story.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

wonderful story and characters

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

yes. The characters wend their way into your heart, the story is engrossing, and worthwhile insights come along steadily.

What other book might you compare Sweet Tooth to and why?

Saturday by Ian McEwan. The rhythm and pacing are similar, and the characters reveal themselves as events unfold.

What does Juliet Stevenson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The main characters voice and tone are quite vivid. I'm not certain I would hear this as clearly in my head while reading the written word.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

A Lie Made True

Any additional comments?

Ultimately, this is a novel about love, deceit, and truth.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Fabulous: Stories within a story, within a story

Where does Sweet Tooth rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Marvelous layers of detail, each one interesting on its own, work together for a fantastic read. I highly recommend it.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

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.

7 of 8 people found this review helpful