Different sides of Clive Linley
Different sides of Clive Linley
Ian McEwan is a well-known writer who has made up many complexed characters and Clive Linley is nothing less than one of them. The story itself is very unpredictable, I could have not imagined how it would end up and had different opinions about the characters throughout the whole book. However he is the one that amused me the most. Clive Linley is a composer who takes his work seriously and as it came out maybe too seriously. When he saw a women being handled roughly he just decided to walk away and not to interfere the situation. ”The man had hold of her wrist and was trying to drag her round the tarn...”(McEwan 1998:88). But he did nothing. He did not want his inspiration that he had suddenly gotten for his symphony to go away and did not even truly consider helping the woman. ”He had decided at the very moment he was interrupted”(McEwan 1998:88). Which in this case makes him cold hearted and selfish human being who clearly does not have his priorities straight. This came as a big surprise to me after I had read how good of a friend he was. The book is mostly about two men who have been brought together again after their close friend dies. The way how Clive treats his friend differences a lot from how he reacted in the situation mentioned before. In fact he is there for his friend in every situation no matter how difficult it might be. ”When Vernon was laid up with a rare viral infection of the spine, Clive visited almost every day, bringing books, music, videos and champagne”(McEwan 1998:43). This is one of many examples what Clive had done for his friend, without asking anything in return. It shows that he still cares and knows how to treat people but maybe just close ones. On the other hand, he was still capable of arranging his best friend 's death and the other way around. The thing is, this part of the book came as a shock. He arranged the death of his best friend.
Ian McEwan is a well-known writer who has made up many complexed characters and Clive Linley is nothing less than one of them. The story itself is very unpredictable, I could have not imagined how it would end up and had different opinions about the characters throughout the whole book. However he is the one that amused me the most. Clive Linley is a composer who takes his work seriously and as it came out maybe too seriously. When he saw a women being handled roughly he just decided to walk away and not to interfere the situation. ”The man had hold of her wrist and was trying to drag her round the tarn...”(McEwan 1998:88). But he did nothing. He did not want his inspiration that he had suddenly gotten for his symphony to go away and did not even truly consider helping the woman. ”He had decided at the very moment he was interrupted”(McEwan 1998:88). Which in this case makes him cold hearted and selfish human being who clearly does not have his priorities straight. This came as a big surprise to me after I had read how good of a friend he was. The book is mostly about two men who have been brought together again after their close friend dies. The way how Clive treats his friend differences a lot from how he reacted in the situation mentioned before. In fact he is there for his friend in every situation no matter how difficult it might be. ”When Vernon was laid up with a rare viral infection of the spine, Clive visited almost every day, bringing books, music, videos and champagne”(McEwan 1998:43). This is one of many examples what Clive had done for his friend, without asking anything in return. It shows that he still cares and knows how to treat people but maybe just close ones. On the other hand, he was still capable of arranging his best friend 's death and the other way around. The thing is, this part of the book came as a shock. He arranged the death of his best friend.
References: McEwan, Ian. (1998). Amsterdam. Great Britain. Jonathan Cape