
Read by Karen (Retired Bookseller); A novel of Roland Baines life, from his childhood spend in Libya, postwar boarding school in England to his elderly years as father and grandfather and everything in between.
It is quite a journey, a study of character, fate, choice and motivation.
A fascinating look at major world events from struggles post WWII to the Cuban Missile Crisis to the present day world pandemic, Covid, and the influencing effects of such events on life & choices.
I found myself totally absorbed in this epic brilliantly written novel.
Epic, mesmerising and deeply humane, Lessons is a chronicle for our times - a powerful meditation on history and humanity through the prism of one ordinary man The mesmerising new novel from Ian McEwan, the bestselling author of Atonement.
The world is forever changing. But for so many of us, old wounds run deep. Lessons is an intimate yet universal story of love, regret and a restless search for answers. 'The supreme novelist of his generation' Sunday Times 'McEwan is one of the most accomplished craftsmen of plot and prose' New York Times 'A true master' Daily Telegraph While the world is still counting the cost of the Second World War and the Iron Curtain has descended, young Roland Baines's life is turned upside down. Stranded at boarding school, his vulnerability attracts his piano teacher, Miriam Cornell, leaving scars as well as a memory of love that will never fade.
Twenty-five years later, as the radiation from the Chernobyl disaster spreads across Europe, Roland's wife mysteriously vanishes and he is forced to confront the reality of his rootless existence and look for answers in his family history. From the fall of the Berlin Wall to the Covid pandemic and climate change, Roland sometimes rides with the tide of history but more often struggles against it. Haunted by lost opportunities, he seeks solace through every possible means -- literature, travel, friendship, drugs, politics, sex and love. His journey raises important questions.
Can we take full charge of the course of our lives without damage to others? How do global events beyond our control shape us and our memories? What role do chance and contingency play in our existence? And what can we learn from the traumas of the past? contingency play in our existence? And what can we learn from the traumas of the past?
Paperback
Ian McEwan
496 pages
H: 234mm W: 153mm Spine: 35mm
Weight: 596 grams