In this passage of Saturday, McEwan employs techniques which are the hallmarks of his prose. Closer examination of this short passage allows for greater understanding of his writing style.

In the parts of the narration focusing on immediate actions and events, McEwan’s use of very specific detail hint at various contemporary issues, and these specific details seem to collectively form a veiled criticism of the modern world, particularly of excessive lifestyles and consumerism. Where Perowne “reverses into a tight space between two four-wheel-drive jeeps” may seem like a banal, even useless piece of information, but could also show McEwan making a criticism of the high number of cars which consume fuel very inefficiently in an area where they are not needed; the layout of fishes at the fishmongers induces the comment “Such abundance from the emptying seas”: this may be yet another jab from McEwan at the nature of excess which humans have become normalised to. This criticism coupled with Perowne’s clear contempt for the rally (“people are gathering to express their preference for peace and torture”) could show McEwan subtly alluding to causes for which he thinks people should be campaigning for. If this is the case, then McEwan is hiding his thoughts in small details which are almost overlooked. These details and the oblique criticism they entail show a conspicuous attempt by McEwan to create a modern novel tempered by the post-9/11 world, featuring excess and waste.

In providing these details, McEwan also occasionally deconstructs Perowne’s character, breaking free of the subjectivity which usually constricts the narrative. Perowne “locking (his car) with the remote without looking back” contradicts the fear and obsessive security presented in Section One. This lack of consistency in Perowne’s character, this humanness, this randomness, would appeal to Perowne himself, as can be seen at the end of the section. The small detail, against the context of McEwan’s extended criticism of modern living, also forms a separate argument: on one hand, this technology has clear benefits, enabling peace of mind; on the other hand, it is symbolic of the growing dependence of humans on technology. This debate follows the convention set by the narration, with the superficial (clear) being balanced by the intangible (symbolic). Within this small detail, then, McEwan both deconstructs the main character of the novel and makes the reader aware of an entire debate, while temporarily widening the usually narrow divergence between objectivity and subjectivity in the narration. Even the last word of the section has its own relevance, this time to the development of Perowne’s character rather than McEwan’s own messages. The lack of capitalisation of the word ‘god’ is indicative of Perowne’s derision for religion, which is at the forefront of this section. Although we already know of Perowne’s preference for Schrödinger’s Cat to God, finishing on such a note brings a neat close to a dense assortment of thoughts and abstractions.

McEwan’s prose in this section, then, employs two primary techniques: firstly, the separation of the seemingly unimportant plot and the mental wanderings it inspires, which allows Perowne’s sprawling thoughts to be projected parallel to the comparatively scanty plotline; secondly, the use of detail in presenting McEwan’s cloaked views, which add a different dimension to the narrative, introducing contradictions and contemporary debates which the reader must address independently. By using these techniques, McEwan evokes a sense of zeitgeist.