Amsterdam

Ian McEwan’s Amsterdam, a satirical novel published in 1998, won the prestigious Booker Prize. McEwan is a highly regarded British author, known for acclaimed works such as Atonement, The Children Act, and Saturday. Set in London during the late 1990s, Amsterdam captures the cynical atmosphere of post-Thatcherite Britain, particularly the codependent relationship between politics and the press. The novel follows two successful middle-aged friends, a composer and a newspaper editor, who make a fateful euthanasia pact after the funeral of a former lover. However, their friendship collapses under vanity and ambition, setting them on a path of mutual destruction. The novel explores themes of The Corrosion of Personal and Professional Ethics, The Hypocrisy of the Public Versus the Private Self, and The Spiraling Nature of Vengeance and Betrayal.

This guide refers to the 1999 Anchor Books edition.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide contain discussions of illness, death, substance use, suicidal ideation, sexual violence, and rape.

Plot Summary

Two old friends, composer Clive Linley and newspaper editor Vernon Halliday, meet outside a London crematorium for the funeral of their former lover, Molly Lane. They reflect on Molly’s rapid decline from a neurological illness and the jealous vigilance of her husband, George Lane, a wealthy publisher, who refused to let Molly’s friends see her as she got sicker. George seems to dislike both men—as well as the right-wing foreign secretary, Julian Garmony, also present at the funeral—because they were all once Molly’s lovers. Later, back in his studio, Clive works on his commissioned Millennial Symphony but is overcome with anxiety about his own health, fearing he has symptoms similar to Molly’s.

At his office, Vernon, the editor of the Judge, feels a sense of nonexistence and professional pressure due to the newspaper’s declining circulation. He receives a call from George, who insists Vernon come see some “very hot” photographs that he found among Molly’s possessions. That evening, Vernon first visits Clive, who, shaken by his health scare, asks Vernon to make a pact: If Clive becomes incapacitated like Molly, Vernon will arrange for his death. Vernon is shaken, but he agrees to consider it.

Vernon then goes to George’s house, where George shows him three photographs that Molly took of Garmony dressed in women’s clothing. Vernon is convinced this is the major story that will save his newspaper. On his way home, he first returns to Clive’s home and leaves a note confirming their pact. However, he insists that their promise must be mutual: Clive, too, must arrange for Vernon to be euthanized in the event of an illness that incapacitates his physical or mental health.

A few days later, Vernon shows the photographs to Clive, seeking his support for their publication. Clive is appalled, viewing the images as a private matter of trust between Molly and Garmony. He argues that publishing them would be a profound betrayal of Molly’s memory. Vernon counters that it is a matter of public interest, given Garmony’s political hypocrisy. Their disagreement creates a deep rift in their friendship.

To find inspiration for his symphony’s finale, Clive travels to the Lake District. While hiking on Allen Crags, he experiences a creative breakthrough and finally conceives of the melody he needs. As he begins to write it down, he witnesses a man physically assaulting a woman nearby. Torn between his moral duty to intervene and the fear of losing his fragile creative momentum, Clive chooses to walk away and continue composing, rationalizing that his art takes precedence.

Meanwhile, Vernon proceeds with his plan to publish the photographs, creating a media frenzy. He speaks to Clive on the phone, hoping to reconcile with his old friend, and Clive mentions the assault he witnessed in the Lake District. Later that day, Vernon comes upon a news story about a rapist who attacked a woman in that same area. He angrily calls Clive, berating him for not going to the police earlier and insisting he do so immediately. Clive, stung by the attack, accuses his friend of hypocrisy, saying Vernon’s moral grandstanding is meaningless, given that he is insulting Molly’s memory by going forward with publishing the Garmony photographs.

Just before Vernon’s paper goes to press, Garmony’s wife, Rose, a respected surgeon, holds a press conference. She preemptively reveals the photos herself, framing her husband’s cross-dressing as a harmless, private quirk within their strong marriage. She publicly denounces Vernon as a “blackmailer” and a “flea.” Public opinion turns swiftly against the Judge, and the story backfires completely. Vernon is humiliated and forced to resign.

Clive, whose work on the symphony has stalled, had sent Vernon a postcard with an angry message days earlier, when they had their argument about the assault he witnessed in the Lake District. It arrives just after Vernon’s dismissal, and Vernon interprets it as a gloating message about his downfall. Enraged by what he sees as a vicious betrayal, Vernon contacts the police and reports what Clive witnessed in the Lake District. Clive is then summoned to Manchester, where he cooperates with the investigation and identifies the suspect in two lineups. He then travels to Amsterdam for the rehearsals of his symphony.

In Amsterdam, Clive attends the first rehearsal and is devastated to find that the symphony’s finale is flawed. He blames Vernon’s interference for shattering his concentration and preventing him from perfecting the piece. Believing Vernon has lost his reason and is morally bankrupt, Clive contacts a Dutch doctor to arrange for Vernon’s euthanasia under their pact. Simultaneously, Vernon, convinced that Clive’s failure to act in the Lake District and his cruel postcard are signs of a dangerous mental decline, also travels to Amsterdam to fulfill his side of the agreement. The two men meet at a hotel reception, feigning reconciliation, and they exchange the drugged glasses of champagne each prepared for the other. Later, in their separate hotel rooms, both Clive and Vernon succumb to the drug and are euthanized by the medical teams they had arranged for each other.

In the aftermath, Garmony and George travel to Amsterdam to retrieve the bodies. Garmony’s political career is effectively over, as the scandal has rendered him too vulnerable to lead his party. Clive’s symphony is declared a failure, and its premiere is canceled. George, having outlasted all of Molly’s other lovers, is left to control her legacy.