Thank you for mentioning Ian McEwan! He's proof that major prize winners can go on for too long just as the rest of us can.

I haven't read "Atonement," but he did something similar in "On Chesil Beach," a historical novel for which he must have done part of his research by memorizing restaurant menus of yesteryear.

That "picked at a salad" is a great example of a cliche you often see in novels. Have you ever thought of doing an entire post on these? I'd love to read it if so.