Laura  

Evaluation

 

Sweet Tooth was an exciting and intriguing read. It had action, romance, and some subtle comedy. Ian McEwan has written many fantastic novels and this novel easily found a place among its predecessors. McEwan has a unique writing style compared to most authors. He uses subtly and foreshadowing to his advantage and his use of a distinctive plot structure sets his novels apart from the competition. Like Atonement and Saturday, Sweet Tooth has an irregular plot structure.

 

The entire book is a documentation of the protagonist’s memories; however, there is a twist. At the end of the novel it is revealed that the novel was written by another character. Atonement and Saturday share this same style because they also contain flashbacks about the protagonists, which were documented or written into a book. McEwan loves to use a story within a story as one of his key devices in his writing style. However, Atonement and Sweet Tooth share another key feature; they are both flashback stories written about the protagonist by another major character. It is ironic though because McEwan drops little crumbs leading up to these huge plot twists at the end of each novel. Nevertheless, the reader (me) never truly comprehends these tiny hints until McEwan’s characters come out and say it themselves. Yet, his special techniques he uses always hook the reader and as a result the reader never gets away until they finish the book. He constantly leaves the audience with a bewildered expression as to what will happen next. Thus, Sweet Tooth's spy-like and covert plot line makes it for a much more interesting read, especially if you love a good witty romance.