“[Ian McEwan] is one of England’s consistently interesting fiction writers.”

—Daphne Merkin, The New Yorker

“You won’t find a more enjoyable novel…. Masterfully wrought, sure to delight a reader with even half a sense of humor.”

— The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“One wonders how the ruthlessly witty Mr. McEwan might scavenge the rich trove of material available to an observer of political life on this side of the Atlantic.”

— Washington Times

“McEwan writes the sort of witty repartee and scathing retort we wished we’d thought of in the heat of battle. On a broader scale, McEwan’s portrayal of the mutually parasitic relationship between politicians and journalists is as damning as it is comic.”

— The Christian Science Monitor

“A good thing in a small package: pungent, philosophical, and beautifully written.”

— Time Out New York

“McEwan, a careful observer of contemporary moral bankruptcy and hypocrisy, sketches a number of clever character studies…. His sharp wit will make readers squirm between smirks.”

— Hartford Courant

“ Amsterdam , with its tabloid frenzy and poisoned champagne glasses, honors a venerable British tradition that numbers Stevenson, Saki, Hitchcock, among others. Sardonic, polished, and deadpan hilarious.”

— Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“Both insightful and elegiac … McEwan’s millennial novel, although brief, packs a wallop.”

— New Orleans Times-Picayune

“Both wickedly clever and cleverly wicked.”

— Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“McEwan writes elegantly, with an admirable deadpan wit…. Part thriller, part high comedy, part novel of ideas, and [ Amsterdam ] manages to be all these things in a very neat, lean package.”

— Palm Beach Post

“A multilayered tableau of love and revenge with all the power of Sophocles, right down to the sudden ferocity of the ending. McEwan is an amazing artist, and Amsterdam is an amazing book.”

— Dayton Ohio News

“Thoughtful, urbane, and plot-driven…. One of the liveliest and most provocative novels of the last year.”

— Arizona Daily Star

“ Amsterdam is an ingenious construction, sly and sophisticated. Like all of the author’s clever fictions, it is an easily digested divertissement that wittily conspires to entertain and fascinate and succeeds wholly.”

— Memphis Commercial Appeal