Is it odd to write a review for just one single short story? Perhaps, or at least it feels a bit odd to me. Why does this story "deserve" to be published on its own? Is it truly a "jewel of a short story" or is it just an interesting story from one of Britain's most famous contemporary authors? Let's unravel that together. Thanks to Knopf Doubleday and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

At its core, which is admittedly right at the surface since My Purple-Scented Novel rings in at just over 30 pages apparently, this story is one of a literary heist. And I really can't say more than that since otherwise I'm basically retelling you the story. I think everyone who enjoys books also enjoys literary drama to a certain extent. Authors are fascinating people to us, capable of stupendous acts of creation, but the pedestal on which we place them is a very unstable one. Tracking the way their careers unfold, the way some emerge as heroes from chaos and the way others see their reputation slowly unravel, largely due to their own actions, is something of a hobby to most of Book Twitter. So that this story, My Purple-Scented Novel, is interesting because it plays with all of that is no surprise, really. But I also wouldn't say it qualifies to be called a "jewel"

What else can I say about this story? The writing is confident and smooth as always and the way the characters interact brings together the right combination of wry comedy and tragedy. But in and of itself this is not a story that majorly excites me. So perhaps I went into My Purple-Scented Novel with too many expectations, with too high a hope that this story was indeed so brilliant that it made sense to publish it separately. I have read short stories before that knocked the socks off me, that really made me sit back and reconsider something about myself or about the world. This is not that. It is fun, it is exciting, it has the right amount of drama to propel you through the pages. But is it life-altering? Or worth the hype I built up for it? For me, no. For others, it may be exactly what they're looking for. I'd recommend looking it up in the New Yorker, however, if you want to see if it is the thing for you.

The story is pleasant, the plot is interesting, My Purple-Scented Novel ticks all the boxes. But I was perhaps too expectant for it to be something truly special, which means I was left merely whelmed.

My first taste of Ian McEwan, and I definitely want more! Given the right toolset, an author can do a lot with a short story, and in the short 16 minutes it took to read this, I traversed a friendship that had begun in college and spanned a lifetime, two writing careers and two lives that went in different directions, and saw firsthand how easily a person can be infected by a desire for success, how quickly that desire can translate into betrayal.

McEwan clearly knows how to tell a story, and as it's a short one, there is no reason at all not to read it.

My introduction to this author was in reading his Booker Prize winning novel Amsterdam last year. So when I saw that he had a new book available on Netgalley, I clicked and requested it immediately without knowing the synopsis or length. The title of his latest publication is My Purple Scented Novel, however, despite the name. it's not a novel but rather a short story narrated by an author about the relationship between him and another, arguably more successful author, and the case of a novel they both share. Saying more would give the plot away and despite its brevity, McEwan's fiction is definitely worth the read as the experience of his story is more than my description of it.
I have seen other (longer) short stories published as books but this one is very short, and was previously published in The New Yorker magazine so I could understand the hesitation to purchase this as a standalone print. According to Goodreads, however, My Purple Scented Novel was published to celebrate the author's 70th birthday, and perhaps to introduce him to a new generation of book-buyers who might have wanted to but never tried out his particular brand of tongue-in-cheek fiction. True to form, this story has the qualities that characterize other great works - well crafted, complex characters who evoke ambiguous reactions from the reader, situations that provoke commentary on social and political order, and I personally enjoy the confession style narrative in which the story is told, a impersonal man unveiling himself, only to reveal the darkness that begs the question, "Is he wrong to commit the crime or to confess it?"

'My Purple Scented Novel' by Ian McEwan is pretty great short story of a crime that goes undetected.

A not so famous novelist is invited to take care of his more famous friend's home. While their, he learns of an unfinished novel, and devises a plan of literary deception that will change the fortunes of each man.

I really liked this tightly plotted story. It comes off a bit like a heist story in the execution. I liked that the story mentioned the literary crimes of Lee Israel, as I just saw the movie based on what she did.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Vintage, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

No one does male pride and envy quite like McEwan and this short story about two friends, both authors, and their 'success' is a ripper. Perhaps it's a familiar story, but that's what makes it gripping.

4/5 When he's good, he's very, very good.

I received my copy of My Purple Scented Novel from the publisher, Vintage, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I know McEwan is far from unknown and yet I always feel like he isn't talked about enough! This story is clever and perfect.

Thank you Knopf Doubleday Publishing and Netgalley for an ARC of this short story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this short story and wished that the beautiful writing would last longer than it did. It has been too long since I read a book by Ian McEwen, thank you for reinviting him into my reading room and putting some of his new to me books at the top of my TBR list.

For a short story, My Purple Scented Novel packs a lot of drama and my jaw dropped when the foreshadowed betrayal was revealed and stayed that way to the end!

This was a very amusing short story by one of my favorite authors. In typical McEwan fashion, I didn’t know where this was going until about halfway through the story. I found myself rooting for the “bad guy” at the end which was a strange feeling to have. Very clever and amusing with a hint of sinister. Just what I expect from Ian McEwan!

Not usually a fan of any type of short stories, but this one is a real winner!

The narrator is so buddy, buddy in his telling of the story that it didn't even bother me, until rethinking it, that I shouldn't like this guy!

As typical of Ian McEwan, a story well-told, with beautiful, smooth writing. Also typical of McEwan, a focus one of the seven deadly sins. They do make for good reading, after all!

You can read this in an hour or less, highly recommended. If you are having a reading slump, this would be a great way to restart. Many thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for sharing with me in exchange for an honest review.

This is a flawless story in which seemingly every detail in the beginning matters in the endgame, and as it evolves the reader discovers every little trick planted in the prior narrative. It is an essential summer evening read, and might very well be the type of masterclass any young writer should continue to come back to, learning something new about craft each time. I can't recommend it enough!

Quick jaunt through McEwan's world. Just read his newly released short story in the New York Review of Books too. He seems to be critically efficient at telling a story of this length but still maintaining all the aspects of a well concocted tale. Brief but engaging.

As a HUGE fan of "Atonement" (first the book, then the film), I was excited to read another book by Mr. McEwan. "On Chesil Beach" was also a favorite. However, this book of his just did not hold my attention as previous novels had. I found it too slow and difficult to finish. Not the book I would recommend for a reader just discovering this author.

Ian McEwan never disappoints. My Purple Scented Novel is a crisp, delightful little story of friendship, jealousy, and betrayal. Perfectly drawn characters and atmosphere in so few pages. Not a word extra, or out of place. I can’t say much more without spoiling it, but it’s well worth your time.

I really liked this. I’ve only read a couple of Ian McEwan novels and this short story makes me interested in reading more of his writing.
It’s an interesting story about professional writers and unprofessional behaviour and pettiness that’s kind of funny and kind of sad at the same time.

What a refreshing treat! I just discovered this series and will absolutely be looking for more! This is flash fiction at its best. I read this in about twenty minutes and appreciated every single one,

To describe the plot is to do it a disservice. Suffice to say that it examines authorship. And the competeive drive that exists within all of us, even if it isn’t acknowledged.

Highly recommended. I will be checking out the other books in this “Vintage Short” series.

My first introduction to Ian McEwan's writing is through a book I could not finish, "On Chesil Beach" (which I have been told does not hold a light to other works). So I went into reading this short story, that was originally published in the New Yorker in 2016, with an open mind and it did not disappoint.

With a short story, the author does not have much space to grab the reader, and McEwan wastes no times setting up this story about two writer who went to school together. One writer goes off to have critical and commercial success while the other continues to quietly write with less fanfare. An event driven by seemingly innocent curiosity becomes fueled by jealousy and ambition, and changes the course of these two characters' lives. Filled with rich imagery and analogies, this short story is filled with suspense and is a real page turner. It makes me wonder what McEwan could do with a full fledged novel or screenplay. This story makes me want to continue to read more of McEwan's works.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

What a fascinating short (and I mean short) story by a wonderful author! The dynamic between the two friends, one a successful writer and the other a largely ignored writer, plays out interestingly, if not too surprisingly.

For a book that is less than fifty pages, My Purple Scented Novel transported me to places that a book ten times that length would have trouble with. Its characters, even those mentioned briefly, are vivid and alive, and the book’s darkly humorous examination of betrayal and plagiarism is a feat that need to be beheld.
Poor authors tend to hide behind overly flowery and arduously drawn-out writing but, My Purple Scented Novel is bare-bones - every word is picked precisely and not one of them is extra, unneeded or unnecessary for moving the plot forward. With nothing to hide behind, it is the truest display of Ian McEwan’s mammoth talent and one that, not despite but because of its short-length, shows one of the greatest literary figures of the modern day in all of his glory.

Ian McEwan does not disappoint in My Purple Scented Novel. Enjoyed the opportunity to get lost in the pages of friendship, twists of self centered aspirations & return of friendship. Ian McEwan takes the simple and turns it into a thought provoking journey.