Nutshell

This is a novel by Ian McEwan. It tells the pedestrian tale of Trudy, who has ejected John, her husband, from his ancestral home, and installed his brother, Claude. The ancestral home is a decrepit pile worth an absolute fortune on the London market; but it is still owned by John. Therefore, Trudy and Claude are planning his demise. It all sounds so tawdry. What makes the novel is the narrator: the resident of Trudy's womb. Nine months along, John's son hears all, and makes this novel a retelling of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Fascinating.