Nutshell

novel by McEwan

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Last updated

July 21, 2026

Quick Summary

Nutshell is a 2016 novel by British author Ian McEwan. Inspired by Shakespeare's Hamlet, the novel is narrated by an unborn fetus. This fetus's mother is engaged in an adulterous affair, and she and her lover plot to murder the baby's father. The narrative explores themes of betrayal and the complexities of family relationships from a unique, internal perspective. McEwan is known for his refined prose that often highlights dark humor and perverse subject matter, though his later works have also delved into family dynamics and political intrigue.12

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Ian McEwan
Major novels
…from Hamlet, McEwan next wrote Nutshell (2016), which is narrated by a fetus whose adulterous mother plots with her lover to kill the baby’s father. In Machines Like Me (2019), a love triangle develops between a couple and a male robot. Inspired by Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, the novella The…
Read More
…from Hamlet, McEwan next wrote Nutshell (2016), which is narrated by a fetus whose adulterous mother plots with her lover to kill the baby’s father. In Machines Like Me (2019), a love triangle develops between a couple and a male robot. Inspired by Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, the novella The…
Read More