The novel "The Cement Garden" by Ian Mc Ewan is one of the most shocking books I've ever read, but because of this it is one of the most interesting books, too. The book is about a not very sociable family. Both parents die and the four children try to manage their lives without help of anybody else. The main characters in this book are: Jack, Julie, Sue, Tom and in some way Derek, who is Julie’s boyfriend . The book is written from Jack's point of view. Julie is the eldest and Tom the youngest child in the family. After their mother's death- the father has already died some time before- Julie, Jack and Sue decide to go on living their lives as normal as possible. Nobody should find out that the children live alone in the big house, so it is impossible to have a funeral for their mother. They have a 'better idea': They put the corpse of their mother into the cellar into a trunk and fill it with cement. There is enough cement in the cellar, because their father bought a lot of it for a path in the garden. Jack isn't really impressed by his mother's death. He feels free and independent without parents. The relationship to his sisters is not very good, he is very rude and impolite most of the time and doesn’t wash himself. The sisters think he is very repugnant. He masturbates very often and is in love with his own sister Julie! That’s why he doesn’t like Derek, Julie’s boyfriend. Derek is very interested in things which the children don't want to tell him (like the secret of the cellar). Julie is a kind of mother and father in one person. She gets the money and looks after everything. Sue writes a diary in which she addresses her mother and tells her everything that happens. That's her way to get over her mother's death. All three (Julie, Jack and Sue) are in charge of Tom, who seems to have got mental problems. First he wants to be a girl and later a baby. He is supported in his wishes by Julie and Sue. Then one day Jack changes his behaviour and appearance. From that day on Julie begins to fancy him, too. Everything seems to be alright, but in the end when Derek finds out about the corpse in the cellar, the harmony is destroyed again. When Derek surprises Jack and Julie in bed together and naked, he calls the police. What I found fascinating about the novel is that unrealistic and often macabre contents are told in a very realistic and matter-of-fact way. But there is one thing I don’t like: the ending. I hate books that have no real ending, so that I must think about it myself. But on the other hand I must be thankful that the book contributes to my creativity!