Ian McEwan on The Cement Garden, sexual gothic and being in the 'toddlerhood of old age'
The writer's first novel brought him fame and a reputation for the macabre. As a new production of the book is about to be staged in London, he talks about whether he has lost his biteIan McEwan was in Iowa in late 1977, teaching on a writers' workshop, when he got a call out of the blue. An American editor was on the line. She was a fan of his short stories, she said. There were rumours he had just completed his fir…