Having just gone on a two week Ian McEwan jag, reading "Saturday," "On Chesil Beach" and "Amsterdam" in rapid succession, I would warn any McEwan first-timers to read something else first. I thought "Saturday" was a terrific fast-paced novel of ideas. I thought "On Chesil Beach" was engaging and charming, if a little heavy handed. I just thought "Amsterdam" was boring. It's not humorous enough to be funny, not smart enough to be thought-provoking and not suspenseful enough to be gripping.It's a banal character study of two professionally-successful narcissists that ends with a strange but not quite believable twist.Amsterdam is a short, quick trip but doesn't really take you anywhere.