How does McEwan tell the story in the first chapter?

Ian McEwan begins this novel with a very eventful chapter. Chapter 1 sets the scene for the rest of this book. The novel begins with the narrator and his girlfriend (Clarrisa) in a field. Then danger emerges out of nowhere and the narrator finds himself trying to secure and bring down a balloon that has a child entrapped in it. We also learn in the first chapter that the narrator has high respect for his girlfriend, we understand this from the description McEwan goes into when describing the whereabouts of his and Clarrisa`s meal in London. The narrator also presents Clarrisa with a book; the book is the third most expensive thing that he has bought after his house and car. From this we understand the love the narrator has for Clarrisa. We know they have been together for seven years now, this date is mentioned to make the reader think, seven years is short enough to break up however long enough to be married so we get the impression that maybe there relationship has passed the marriage stage (Hence the really expensive book). The narrator takes a lot of interest into the book and as its not science, a huge part of the narrators life, then we get the impression again that Clarrisa is important to him .

The book instantly hooks readers; McEwans first sentence instantly makes you think, “ The beginning is simple to mark” What beginning? As you read deeper into the first chapter you begin to realise that the