Mindsets in the Classroom: Building a Culture of Success and Student Achievement in Schools

by Mary Cay Ricci
Mindsets in the Classroom: Building a Culture of Success and Student Achievement in Schools cover
Good Books rating 3.83
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  • ID: 4081
  • Added: 2025-10-21
  • Updated: 2025-10-21
  • Reviews: 3
Reviews
betterworldbooks.com · Unknown · 2025-10-21
brilliant 4.50

The reviewers praise Ian McEwan's Amsterdam for its scathing wit, intricate satire, and masterful narrative design. They highlight McEwan's precise prose and his ability to blend dark morality with comic elements, making the novel both lethal and entertaining.

Reviewers unanimously laud Ian McEwan's Amsterdam for its sharp wit and intricate satire. Ron Charles from The Christian Science Monitor appreciates the novel's scathing retorts and witty repartee, comparing it to Evelyn Waugh's best work. Gabriele Annan of The New York Review of Books finds the novel to be a thrilling farce with a convoluted plot that sends up the thriller genre. Charles Wyrick from BookPage highlights McEwan's lucid prose and clever narrative plan, which transforms a tale of friendship into a dark psychological portrait. Overall, the reviewers agree that McEwan's precise and revelatory prose, combined with his ability to handle complex characters and dialogue, makes Amsterdam a standout novel.

Quick quotes

    The boiling wit of Amsterdam won't be everyone's cup of tea, but those thirsty for satire will gulp down this little book

    an intricate satirical jeu d’esprit and topical to the point of Tom Wolfeishness. It is also funnier than anything McEwan has written before, though just as lethal

    Ian McEwan writes like no one else. As his newest novel Amsterdam shows, McEwan holds few peers

bookshop.org · Unknown · 2025-10-21
entertaining 3.50

The reviewer enjoyed Ian McEwan's Amsterdam, finding it entertaining and well-executed, though not necessarily deserving of its Booker Prize. The novel portrays 1990s England as a society in decay, with characters who are selfish and hypocritical, ultimately highlighting the consequences of their actions.

The reviewer has read several of Ian McEwan's books and found Amsterdam to be another entertaining work. Set in the mid-1990s, the novel follows two men, Clive and Vernon, who are both involved in a scandal that leads to the downfall of a prominent politician. The story explores themes of selfishness, hypocrisy, and the consequences of one's actions. The reviewer enjoyed the novel and found it well-executed, but they are not entirely convinced it deserves its Booker Prize status. They note that the novel's portrayal of 1990s England as a society in decay is particularly relevant today, with the UK once again in a political and social nadir. The moral of the story is a timeless one: it's important to be nice, not just important.

Quick quotes

    He looked around at his fellow mourners now, many of them his own age, Molly’s age, to within a year or two. How prosperous, how influential, how they had flourished under a government they had despised for almost seventeen years.

    Isn’t this the kind of sexual expression you’re so keen to defend? What exactly is Garmony’s crime that needs to be exposed?

    In his corner of west London, and in his self-preoccupied daily round, it was easy for Clive to think of civilisation as the sum of all the arts, along with design, cuisine, good wine and the like. But now it appeared that this was what it really was — square miles of meagre modern houses whose principal purpose was the support of TV aerials and dishes; factories producing worthless junk to be advertised on the televisions and, in dismal lots, lorries queueing to distribute it; and everywhere else, roads and the tyranny of traffic. It looked like a raucous dinner party the morning after.

guides.library.stanford.edu · Unknown · 2025-09-15
mixed 3.50

Readers have mixed opinions on Ian McEwan's 'Amsterdam,' with some enjoying its farcical elements and clever ending, while others find it improbable and disappointing. The book's humor and structure are highlighted, with some appreciating its lightheartedness and others feeling it lacks depth.

Opinions on 'Amsterdam' by Ian McEwan are divided among readers. Some find the book to be a great fun and enjoyable read, especially when approached as a farce. They appreciate the humor and clever ending, even if the plot is improbable. Others, however, feel that the book's structure and cleverness overshadow the story, making it feel more like an exercise than a compelling narrative. The book's reception seems to depend on the reader's expectations and background, with some enjoying the lightheartedness and others finding it lacking in depth and substance. The book's humor and cleverness are highlighted, with some appreciating its unique take on journalism and the publishing world.

Quick quotes

    I thought it was great fun — and if you approach it as a farce then it’s a hugely enjoyable read, but if you’re expecting something highbrow and literary (as the Booker was regarded at that time) then perhaps you’d be disappointed.

    I get the feeling, when I read his books, that he is constantly trying to be too clever for my own good and that his books are more of an exercise in structure, rather than a good story.

    It’s completely improbable, ridiculously so, but I didn’t mind the slide into out-and-out farce because I’d gotten so many laughs out of all that went before, but I could understand why some people might actually want to throw the book against the wall.

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