Clive Linley and Vernon Halliday meet each other when they pay their last respects to Molly Lane at a crematorium. Clive is a successful composer, and Vernon is one of London's newspapers editor. Both are Molly's ex-lovers. But Molly had another lover too, and he is none other than Julian Garmony, whose designation is a Foreign Secretary and also a candidate for the Prime Minister role. To make things more complicated, Molly also had a husband by the name of George although their relationship is nothing but bland.

Then, things began to heat up when George finds some photographs of Julian with Molly in a compromising position and he makes them available to Vernon, hoping this scandalous episode would bring Julian down. Clive, on the other hand, thinks this deed is a betrayal and humiliation to the deceased Molly. So the misunderstanding between Vernon and Clive deepens, and one thing leads to another and that is when the story reaches its climax. The ending took me a little aback, which is a good thing because I like a little surprise here and there.

I have expected something more from Amsterdam after reading Atonement. I really enjoyed reading the latter, but frankly speaking I am not really into this story despite this book is the winner of the 1998 Booker Prize and that it has received lots of good reviews. I like Ian McEwan's writing style, but this story just didn't suck me in. I am not a great fan of political issues, so this must have explained how I felt about this book.

On a side note, the movie version of Atonement has finally released today. I have made plans with my husband to watch it next week. I can't wait. I wonder what everyone thinks of this movie?

1. From The Stacks Reading Challenge
   
   The rules: Read 5 books that you have already purchased, have been meaning to get to, have been sitting on the nightstand and haven't read before (No buying of new books, and no getting sidetracked by the lure of the holiday bookstore displays).
   
   Time Frame: November 1, 2007 through January 30, 2008
   
   (Please click here for more details.)
   


2. "What's In A Name?" Reading Challenge
   
   The rules: Choose one book from each of the following categories.
   
   

   1. A book with a color in its title. Examples might include: The Amber Spyglass, The Red Pony, Blue Blood
   
   2. A book with an animal in its title. Examples might include: The Hound of the Baskervilles, To Kill a Mockingbird, Julie of the Wolves
   
   3. A book with a first name in its title. Examples might include: Jane Eyre, the Harry Potter books, Anne of Green Gables
   
   4. A book with a place in its title. Examples might include: From Russia with Love, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Out of Africa
   
   5. A book with a weather event in its title. Examples might include: The Snows of Kilimanjaro, Red Storm Rising, Tornado Alley
   
   6. A book with a plant in its title. Examples might include: Where the Red Fern Grows, The Name of the Rose, Flowers for Algernon

   You may overlap books with other challenges, but please don't use the same book for more than one category. (For example, you can use The Red Pony for either a "color" book or an "animal" book, but not for both.)
   
   Time Frame: January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008
   
   (Please click here for more details.)