The Comfort of Strangers

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The major theme of the novel is sado-masochism in the context of sexual fantasy, so there is a lot of twisted stuff going on in the book. The writer McEwan explores the dark side of sexual imagination and the roles of gender in the sexual games of the predator and pray. The book has a gothic undertone and the chilling aspect of the story is gradually and subtly developed and eventually comes to th... read more

As their holiday unfolds, Colin and Maria are locked into their own intimacy. They groom themselves meticulously, as though someone is waiting for them who cares deeply about how they appear. When they meet a man with a disturbing story to tell, they become drawn into a fantasy of violence and obsession.