“Saturday” is not a light reading. In fact, I felt sort of relieved when I finally closed the book. Admittedly, I’ve never heard of Ian McEwan. My impression of British literature was from Shakespeare drama, Victorian writings such as from Jane Austin and George Elliot, or stuff like Twin Cities, Jude and so forth, but not many modern novels. Surprisingly, “Saturday” shared many elements with these traditional works: theatrical, mind probing, and dryly humorous.

“Saturday” is indeed a marvelous novel. Ian McEwan deftly directed readers through the seemingly trivial activities of a neurosurgeon, Henry Perowne, in February 15, 2003. The journey was accompanied by serious thoughts and viewpoints about politics, family, and life itself.

There were several interwinded threads or themes throughout the book. The first thread was politics. The novel opened with Perowne’s keen observation during the earlier morning. A problematic plane was heading towards the Heathrow airport. The instinct link between plane and 9/11 made him feel unease. Fortunately, it was nothing but an emergency landing. Nevertheless, the seed of politics was planted at the very beginning.

February 15, 2003 was also a special day. It coincided with the largest protest in London against invading Iraq. However, Perowne was not moved by the demonstration. He even felt somewhat irritated when crossing the blocked street. He drove a silver Mercedes, had a meaningful life, and enjoyed a happy family. He loved peace and hated terrorism. When arguing with his daughter about the incoming war in Iraq, he made it clear that invading Iraq might be good for the Iraqis. Saddam had to be removed sooner rather than later. The conclusion on this topic must reflect the author’s opinion. That is, if the war seemed beneficial in the current situation, we should go for it. Future problems should be addressed later.

The second thread was the dullness of middle life and fear of aging. Despite the wealth and achievement Perowne enjoyed, he felt something terrible growing relentlessly on him. For instance, after the plane illusion was resolved, the sex with his wife was quick and unromantic, with no preamble and in missionary position.

Furthermore, although the squash game with his colleague during the morning was boring, both participants took it seriously. As a middle age person, the exhausting exercise provoked his fear for the incoming frailty with age. It was strengthened during the subsequent visit to his mentally destroyed mother. He mused profoundly about life during the whole day.

The thread of family was also weaved intricately throughout the whole plot. Perowne was a rarity in modern society for his prolonged love with his post-menopausal wife who was also a successful lawyer for a newspaper. His son, Theo, was a talented musician, and his daughter, Daisy, was a prominent poet. She already had a poem book ready to be published. To Perowne, family was not an abstract concept.

His fulfillment of family obligations was excellent if not impeccable. He made sex with his wife and called her during the day. He attended his son’s rehearsal and appreciated his son’s new song. Even though he didn’t like literature, he read many books his daughter assigned to him. He visited his old mother despite that she could not recognize him. He hid his dislike to his father-in-law and showed respect to him. In addition, he prepared a hearty dinner enthusiastically for the family reunion.He was indeed a family man.

Another interesting theme was Perowne’s view about literature. As a surgeon, he never had time sit down and read novels. He found that even those masterpieces Daisy assigned to him wasted his time and slowed his mental process. He did read her poems but failed to recognize the poem she was reading. However, during the life-threatening moment when the street guy, Baxter, was about to destroy his family, the power of literature, illustrated by his daughter’s poem, saved his family. It also changed Perowne’s view about literature.

The central theme in “Saturday” was about a man whose personalities were sure the most interesting. Perowne was a calm, intelligent and resolute man. In handling a car accident during the detour to his squash game, he escaped a physical threat using his medical knowledge.However, his authoritative manner humiliated the unfortunate street guy Baxter.

Baxter had Huntington disease which made his emotion in a constantly shifting mode. He traced his car to his home and kidnapped Perowne’s wife. At this critical time, Perowne stayed in calm. His eye contacts towards his wife, his son, his daughter, and his father-in-law assured them that he had a plan in his mind. The climax of the novel unraveled when Baxter forced Daisy to undress herself and read a poem to him. Miraculously, Baxter was completely transformed by the touching poem. He requested Perowne to show him the paper about a new trial on Huntington’s disease. Perowne, with the help from Theo, grasped the opportunity to defeat Baxter. However, Perowne felt that it was his responsibility to save Baxter who had severe brain injury during the fight. In his heart, he inclined more to forgiveness rather than to revenge.

A busy Saturday ended with another quick sex and more thoughts. Perowne’s view of life and world was strengthened. The future would be just fine. The only thing we needed to do was to adapt ourselves to this changing environment.

Is that true?