"Sweet Tooth", Ian McEwan

Rarely is a novel written about that doesn't have unqualified endorsement here.  McEwan's books generally attract and deserve critical acclaim with his writing talent in the forefront.  The subjects vary widely, often relationship driven with some type of recognizable precisely described current or historical backdrop.  This book fits that pattern.

It is set in 1972 at a time of economic crisis and social unrest in England, and with the cold war very cold, but also intensely active on the cultural and academic front.  A young college graduate, bright, well-educated, and attractive but without much direction finds herself being lured into the intelligence services, an interesting and secretive challenge even at a low level position.  My intent here is not to detail the story but only to provide that set-up.  It meets all McEwan criteria, with writing worth reading, relationships with imperfections, and bringing alive a historical period.

The one qualification is that this is a book that is best read in big gulps, at least that was the experience here.  What began as a chapter a night read did not grab my attention, and the book was put down.  Then due to a few days of not feeling up to par, I picked the book back up, reviewed the 50 or so pages that I had already read and partially forgotten, and then finished it off over parts of the next two days.  There was still at times a bit of wonder at where this novel was going and what its real intent was.  It all came together in the last 25 or so pages in a way that was completely rewarding.