AMSTERDAM

On a chilly February day two old friends meet in the throng outside acrematorium to pay their last respects to Molly Lane. Both Clive Linleyand Vernon Halliday had been Molly's lovers in the days before theyreached their current eminence, Clive as Britain's most successfulmodern composer, Vernon as editor of the quality broadsheet, The Judge.Gorgeous, feisty Molly had had other lovers too, notably Julian Garmony, Foreign Secretary, a notorious right-winger tipped to be thenext prime minister. In the days that follow Molly's funeral Clive andVernon will make a pact that will have consequences neither hasforeseen. Each will make a disastrous moral decision, their friendshipwill be tested to its limits and Julian Garmony will be fighting forhis political life. A contemporary morality tale that is as profound asit is witty, this short novel is perhaps the most purely enjoyablefiction Ian McEwan has ever written. And why Amsterdam? What happensthere to Clive and Vernon is the most delicious shock in a novelbrimming with surprises.