Nutshell

By: Ian McEwan

Narrated by: Rory Kinnear

Length: 5 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

From the best-selling author of Atonement, Nutshell is a classic story of murder and deceit, told by a narrator with a perspective and voice unlike any in recent literature. A bravura performance, it is the finest recent work from a true master.

To be bound in a nutshell, see the world in two inches of ivory, in a grain of sand. Why not, when all of literature, all of art, of human endeavour is just a speck in the universe of possible things?

©2016 Ian McEwan (P)2016 Random House Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Short, fast-paced, expertly rendered by a voice it seems written for, this is flawless production, and pure entertainment." ( AudioFile)

McEwan Does It Again

McEwan's latest novel (more a novella, really) is a wickedly funny riff on Hamlet. "So here I am, upside down in a woman," the narrator--a fetus--begins. (He's "bound in a nutshell," so to speak.) If you're going to enjoy this book, you have to be willing to go with this premise; if you keep asking how a fetus could have such an extensive vocabulary and sophisticated thoughts, or how he could know so much about what is going on in the world outside the womb, you'll miss the fun.

Trudy is roughly nine months pregnant. Although she separated from her husband John, a not very successful poet and publisher, she still lives in the dilapidated family home in London that he inherited., while John has moved to a flat in Shoreditch. Trudy initially told him that they needed time apart to make the marriage work--but she is deep into an affair with his younger brother Claude, a real estate developer (who has about the same level of class as the current Republican presidential candidate). Despite her advanced pregnancy, Trudy and Claude engage in regular and vigorous sex, leaving our narrator to worry that he will have his fontanel poked in or will absorb some essence of the deplorable Claude into his being. He does, however, enjoy the finer wines that his mother imbibes and has developed quite the connoisseur's palate.

The trouble begins when John announces that he knows about and accepts Trudy and Claude's relationship, confesses that he has a new lover of his own, and states that he wants to move back into the family home. The plot thickens as Trudy and Claude decide that John must go--permanently. And our narrator is positioned to eavesdrop on their plans to murder his father and give him up for adoption. If Shakespeare's Hamlet was hampered by indecision, well, this protagonist is even more incapacitated by his unborn state. Literally and emotionally attached to his mother (he experiences every hormonal and adrenal shift), he is nonetheless horrified by the plot against his father's life and by the thought of Trudy giving him up to live with the detested Claude.

In addition to the obvious parallels to Hamlet, McEwan weaves well-known lines from the play into Nutshell, although the words are sometimes put into the mouths of unexpected characters and sometimes subtly changed, a word here or there. If you're familiar with the play, the effect is delightful--reminiscent of the way in which famous lines by the Bard keep popping up in Tom Stoppard's screenplay for "Shakespeare in Love." And McEwan brings it all to a climax that, in its own context, rivals the final scene of Hamlet. "The rest is chaos."

If you want to read a thriller that brings to mind an exquisite Bordeaux....

Then Ian McEwan's "Nutshell" is for you. Straying from the typical 3rd person voice - to "first" person with a twist (no spoilers here) Mr. McEwan uses words and prose like a gourmet chef uses premium ingredients and fine presentation in their cooking.
Masaharu Morimoto meet Ian McEwan- both masters of their domain! I devoured this novel as I would lobster with wasabi pepper sauce at Nobu in NYC. Enjoy every word - ps (spoiler alert!!!). Everyone gets their just desserts in the end. A satisfying ending.

Strange and beautiful

I don't want to color anyone's expectations for this book. I will say it is wonderful, lyrical, and yes, strange and that reading it has made me re-evaluate my taste in reading. It is far past the time that I surrender my juvenile likes and dislikes.
The narrator vanished into the story, which is how I feel it should be. For a different story I might prefer a more theatrically oriented reading but the narrator let the words speak.

Easy to suspend disbelief; terrific story

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

YES! The writing alone is just what I love McEwan for.

What other book might you compare Nutshell to and why?

Well, might compare it to a child's observation, but that's a stretch. This is unique for sure. Oddly, I'm a bit reminded of the film, Sixth Sense because of the removed point of view, I guess.

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

Straightforward, unsentimental voice. Could not have been an easy job, but it's handled with respect and urgency befitting the content. Quite a nice job.

Clever and brilliant

For fans of McEwan and that Elizabethan dramatist, the name escapes me, anyway ..., he also wrote The Tempest...this short book binds in a tiny space our concerns, embodies our neuroses, our morbid inaction, our sense of a world on which we depend, but which we find murderously undependable. Polished. Thought-provoking. Often brilliant

Ending left me empty

Original and creative story. Strong build up. Weak ending. Led to my disappointment. Strong let-down after all the previous buildup.

Fantastic performance- lots of fun

Would you listen to Nutshell again? Why?

Rory Kinnear is a fantastic actor, and puts it all to best use in the is very clever Ian McEwan tale. Part murder/suspense, part comedic rumination on the world, part updated Shakespeare story, written impeccably.

What did you like best about this story?

How cleverly it was written coupled with the brilliant performance. Very funny throughout.

Have you listened to any of Rory Kinnear’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have seen Rory Kinnear act many times, but this is the first audio performance I have heard. Excellent.

One of my favorite books

I’ve read this twice and this was first listen. The reader is spot on. I laughed out loud several times even though I knew the story. His delivery was droll that he perfectly captures the character. McEwan is a genius and this story is a delight.

Imaginative 'take' on the Hamlet tale

Ian McEwan always writes with style and this audiobook did not disappoint. Rory Kinnear's performance even improves the experience.

Superb, as expected...

If you've loved McEwan's work before, you will love this one as well. A masterful and sublime and poignant wordsmith. Enough said.