When the world is still counting the cost of the Second World War and the Iron Curtain has closed, eleven-year-old Roland Baines’s life is turned upside down. Two thousand miles from his mother’s protective love, stranded at an unusual boarding school, his vulnerability attracts his piano teacher, Miss Miriam Cornell, leaving scars as well as a memory of love that will never fade.
Now, when his wife vanishes, leaving him alone with his tiny son, Roland is forced to confront the reality of his restless existence. As the radiation from Chornobyl spreads across Europe, he begins a search for answers that look deep into his family history and will last for the rest of his life.
Haunted by lost opportunities, Roland seeks solace through every possible means—music, literature, friends, sex, politics, and, finally, love cut tragically short, then love ultimately redeemed. His journey raises important questions for us all. Can we take full charge of the course of our lives without causing damage to others? How do global events beyond our control shape our lives and our memories? And what can we really learn from the traumas of the past?
Epic, mesmerizing, and deeply humane, Lessons is a chronicle for our times—a powerful meditation on history and humanity through the prism of one man’s lifetime. 1
I’m only on Chapter 3, but I’m enjoying it so far.
Has anyone else read this book or any of Ian McEwan’s work? Let me know what you think in the Comments.
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I've only read Atonement and Saturday but even though his work is beautifully and brilliantly written — and sure to be the “literature” of tomorrow — I haven't kept up with his work. Thanks for sharing! I didn't know this book was out. 🫶🏻