He then returns to his hotel and abruptly leaves for home. Rather than intervene, Clive leaves the scene to finish composing the end melody of his symphony. While hiking he comes across a woman being attacked by a man. Seeking comfort he brings up the matter to Clive who vehemently disagrees with Vernon's decision to publish.Īfter their argument, Clive, who has been commissioned to write a symphony for the forthcoming millennium, takes a retreat to the Lake District which has inspired him before. He faces pushback from his editorial staff and the board members of his newspaper about publishing the clearly private pictures. Vernon decides to use the scandal to unseat Garmony, whose politics he disagrees with. Vernon, whose newspaper is in decline, is given a tip by George, a series of private photographs taken by Molly of Garmony cross-dressing. Vernon reluctantly agrees on the condition that Clive do the same for him. He reaches out to Vernon and asks him to perform euthanasia on him should he ever reach that point. Shortly after Molly's death, Clive, who is single, begins to ponder what would happen to him if he began to decline in health. Neither man can understand her attraction to Julian Garmony, the right-wing Foreign Secretary who is about to challenge his party's leadership. They include newspaper editor Vernon Halliday and composer Clive Linley who are old friends, and British Foreign Secretary Julian Garmony.Ĭlive and Vernon muse upon Molly's death from an unspecified rapid-onset brain disease that left her helpless and in the clutches of her husband, George Lane, whom they both despise. Summary Īmsterdam is the story of a euthanasia pact between two friends, a composer and a newspaper editor, whose relationship spins into disaster.Īt the funeral of photographer and writer Molly Lane, three of Molly's former lovers converge. Amsterdam is a 1998 novel by British writer Ian McEwan, for which he was awarded the 1998 Booker Prize.

Amsterdam book ian mcewan