Ian McEwan’s devastating novel about ways in which the entire course of a life can be changed by a gesture not made or a word not spoken

The Comfort of Strangers
Written by Ian McEwan
- Shortlisted
- The Booker Prize 1981
- Published by Jonathan Cape
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An English couple on holiday encounter an unsettling stranger in Ian McEwan’s chilling psychological thriller about love, violence and obsession
Colin and Mary, holidaying in a city very much like Venice, are not having a good time. Then they meet Robert, a seedy and somewhat sinister bar owner, and his wife - and find that the bizarre encounter energises their deteriorating marriage. A twisted relationship develops among these four characters in a situation of mounting horror, until the final, shocking dénouement.
Ian McEwan
Ian McEwan, born in Aldershot, England, is a critically acclaimed author and winner of the Booker Prize 1998
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