"Solar" is "fine"

My friend C. is the person who persuaded me several years ago to start reading Ian McEwan's novels, and I am grateful to her for that; since then I have read and very much enjoyed several of his novels, most notably "Atonement" and "Saturday." A few days ago, in an email about something else, C. mentioned that she was reading McEwan's current novel, "Solar" (Random House, 2010), and that it was "fine." I had to smile, as the phrase "damning with faint praise" came to mind. I haven't discussed the novel with her since, so I don't know how she feels about it as she has read more or perhaps finished the novel. But in the meantime I too have been reading "Solar," which I finished last night. I have to agree with C's assessment that it is "fine." I mildly enjoyed it, but it didn't grip me the way some of his other novels have. Perhaps it was because of the pages and pages of prose about physics and solar energy. Of course I admire the idea of solar power, but that doesn't mean I enjoy reading about the scientific details. This probably says more about my limitations than it does about the book, and I am sure some readers truly savor the very parts that I skim over. Or perhaps my lack of involvement was because the main character, Michael Beard, is -- intentionally, as I heard the author say in a radio interview -- a rather unlikable, completely self-centered character who doesn't connect to other human beings very well, even his five ex-wives, his small daughter, his dozens of lovers, and his scientific and business colleagues. Of course main characters do not have to be likable in order for a book to be good or even great, but such choices on the part of the author do make it harder for the reader to get emotionally involved with the story. I do note though that the power of seeing a story through a certain character's perspective is very strong: I found myself rooting for Beard even when he was covering up a crime, and then being appalled at myself for doing so!