The comparisons to Joyce's Ulysses are inevitable, but beyond the fact that the entire narrative takes place within the confines of one day, there is little else that I see stylistically to link there. The main character, Perowne, is presented as a man of integrity whose place of stability and centeredness is challenged by characters and events beyond his immediate control. These challenges are juxtaposed with the events of the buildup to the Iraq War in Britain. I think McEwan's handling of this narrative is masterful, and we come to admire Perowne not by the trajectory of his thoughts, but through his actions. We also come to see how we are simultaneously both victims and masters of the cultural contexts we are embedded within.