An English couple on holiday encounter an unsettling stranger in Ian McEwan’s chilling psychological thriller about love, violence and obsession.

Colin and Mary, holidaying in a city very much like Venice, are not having a good time. Then they meet Robert, a seedy and somewhat sinister bar owner, and his wife - and find that the bizarre encounter energises their deteriorating marriage. A twisted relationship develops among these four characters in a situation of mounting horror, until the final, shocking dénouement.

Shortlisted
The Booker Prize 1981
Published by
Jonathan Cape
Publication date
Ian McEwan

Ian McEwan

About the Author

Ian McEwan, born in Aldershot, England, is a critically acclaimed author and winner of the 1998 Booker Prize
More about Ian McEwan

Other nominated books by Ian McEwan

On Chesil Beach
Saturday
Atonement
Amsterdam
Prize winner
Black Dogs