I am a lover of Ian McEwan as a general rule and was really pleased to get an ARC of this book. This novel is a narration of the life of Roland Baines and the world Politico-social events that surround it. The text reads like Roland's reflections over time and Gosh does he have a lot to reflect on. We are "treated" to the minutiae of his life if treated is the right word. For me any attempt at storyline got lost in the mountain of that minutiae and I as the reader was left searching for the meaning underneath it all.

I failed to be drawn into the characterisation in more than a desultory way in fact I wanted to give most of the characters a good shake. I think the first 50 % could be reduced down to a few paragraphs at most a more reasonably paced couple of chapters. The middle section at least had some interest and pace but that did not last long enough to get me to the end.

I am really disappointed by what i had expected to be a great read, but instead proved to be as "plodding, earnest and lifeless" as an article he describes writing in the latter pages of the book.

I hope the author reverts to form in time for his next book

As the son of an army captain stationed in North Africa, Roland has had an unusual childhood - which suddenly changed when he was sent to boarding school in England, and met the woman who would be so important in his life.
Disjointed , rambling and occasionally confusing, this wasn’t a particularly easy book to get into, its meandering style making it hard to keep up with the happenings, past and present.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this book for review.

This is a very densely written novel which rewards time spent reading it rather than reading it quickly. It tells the story of one man's life, set against a backdrop of important moments in history from the last century. Roland is sent to an English boarding school having spent his early years in Libya where his father is in the armed forces. He soon encounters the abusive attentions of a female piano teacher, in some really unsettling scenes. We are also told that the adult Roland's wife has abandoned him and their baby. The novel has a somewhat cinematic feel, in the way in which it covers a lot of personal and political ground while also containing very small-scale, highly detailed scenes which stay with you.

When Roland’s German wife, Alissa, leaves him, and their son, to pursue her own creativity his life changes irrevocably. He's a great protagonist because, like all of us, he's not perfect and this makes him human and deserving of our empathy. The novel's timeline is set set against Europe's turbulent history, which includes the fall of the Berlin Wall. I absolutely loved this book and it reminded me what a brilliant writer Ian McKewan is.

Although a very long read and there were a few inaccuracies, a 21 gear bicycle in 1962 was one I found hard to believe, but it was an enjoyable read. A bit long winded and meandered on a little, An interesting read nevertheless.

Really enjoyed this. Perhaps not classic McEwan but mature and character driven. From the 11 year old boy to the seventh age of man, shaped by the women in his life against a twenty century historical backdrop

This is a beautifully crafted novel, with well-developed, interesting characters, some more likeable than others. The plot takes the reader from 1948 (coincidentally the year in which I was born!) to the COVID years through the experiences of one man. Along with accurate historical detail, used to illustrate how various individuals react differently to change, and as in his novel “Atonement”, McEwan considers an author’s process of writing, their craft. I am sure that with a re-read or two, I shall find that there are other themes within this fascinating postmodern novel.

I was really looking forward to reading a new Ian McEwan novel, and I’m very pleased to say that I haven’t been disappointed.

Lessons is the story of Roland Baines’ life. His successes, loves, losses - all set against an historical background of the 20th and 21st centuries: World War 2, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Chernobyl and Covid 19 (and others besides, but there are too many to mention them all!).

I was completely engrossed, and it’s a book that you don’t want to race through. I love McEwans writing - so much is said in each sentence.

I’ll admit it now, a lot of what really kept my attention were the details about Germany: WW2 and it’s aftermath, Roland’s trips beyond the Berlin Wall and it’s fall.

The future is set for Alissa (Roland’s wife) when her English mother presents her with her journals, written when she travelled to Germany after the war. She had wanted to write articles about German Resistance during the war, and specifically the Scholls White Rose movement. These journals remained unpublished and unread 40 years later. And so when Alissa walks away from Roland and their baby to ensure her own dreams of literary success, it’s unsurprising even if it’ll ears callous.

The book is told from Roland’s point of view, first person, so we hear his inner voice throughout. What stood out most for me, was that his voice doesn’t change through the years. Yes, I know this is obvious - it’s the same book. What I mean is that what younger people often forget, is that the 72 year old man at the end of the book is the same as the 11 year old boy - just with 61 years experience. His experiences as an 11-14 year old with his piano teacher have a lasting and life-changing impact.

I loved this book and would highly recommend it. It’s a book to be savoured.

After the war, and onwards, 1940s to the present

Whilst reading this thoroughly absorbing book which covers a sweep of history from the post war years to the present day, through the lens of one man’s life, I was deeply within some kind of more ordinary man’s William Boyd journey

Boyd has several times made a journey through the 20th century via the lens of an invented creative artist.

McEwan creates a more tangible protagonist, not someone who has been a mover and shaker on the world’s stage. Roland Baines is a schoolboy in his early teens, on the fervid threshold of sexual innocence pretending sophisticated experience.

It is 1962, and the world believes it may be on the edge of nuclear war. Sex and death, a cataclysmic combination, as might be the fear of either, or both.

There are aspects of the book’s beginnings which do seem somewhat like a schoolboy, or perhaps, even, a grown man’s fantasy’s but certainly Baines is, what..blighted? blessed? by events which will shape his life. He, like most, will be forever learning lessons throughout his life, though the book’s title has a more loaded meaning,

Roland is someone to whom events happen, not someone who much shapes his own life. In some ways, then, more of an everyman than one who gives any kind of illusion that one can forge or control or even steer one’s own destiny.

Through the drifting of this personal life, and the endless self-questioning melancholy Roland experiences, McEwan can also explore a sense of helplessness all individuals experience as world events unfold. This is one boomer’s story, and also has an interesting reversal of another trope – the ‘selfish’ artist, sacrifices his family, his children, his long suffering wife, to feed his muse and his genius.

Having long considered Ian McEwan one of England’s greatest living novelists, I was delighted to be given the chance to read and review his latest novel, Lessons (Jonathan Cape, September 2022).

Lessons is the tale of Roland Baines, a rather ordinary Englishman who, like most of us, has to deal with his fair share of ups, downs and trauma. So versatile a writer is McEwan that you never know quite what kind of dish he’s going to serve up. What is perhaps different here compared to McEwan’s previous work is that, rather than focusing on the protagonist simply as a key player in a particular plot, the novel spans the entirety of Baines’s life, from infancy through to old age.

I won’t say much about the specific events that punctuate Baines’s life lest I spoil the story for you. Instead I’ll point out two specific aspects that stood out to me and which, taken together, elevate Lessons above the average life-and-times novel.

First, Lessons is a candid exploration of the lifelong impact of childhood trauma: Baines is a victim of abuse at a formative age, and we see the consequences of this abuse ripple out across his life in manifold ways, some obvious and predictable, others more subtle and insidious. With a bold yet sensitive touch and a deft use of humour, McEwan manages to probe this potentially tricky subject matter while avoiding the twin pitfalls of cliché and sentimentality.

Second, Lessons is a novel that roots its characters firmly in their historical context: the Cold War and the pervading threat of nuclear annihilation; the Thatcher era and its profound effects on society; Chernobyl; the Berlin wall and its fall; and, reaching back into the past, the Second World War and how it affected Baines’s parents and in-laws in ways that continue to reverberate throughout his own life, sometimes with surprising consequences.

If I have one slight criticism of Lessons, it is that there are a few places where I felt the momentum begin to flag and the sense of direction to waver. These tended to be digressions where McEwan takes time to explore and unpack some aspect of Baine’s worldview or thoughts but, in my opinion, loses a bit too much focus as he does so, devoting two or three pages to what might better have been treated in two or three paragraphs. But McEwan’s prose is so reliably energetic and fluent that, even at these relative low points, I remained fully engaged and could easily forgive him for momentarily taking his eye off the ball.

Overall, I found Lessons to be an insightful and thought-provoking reflection on how events both historical and relatively trivial shape our lives – and how, through our response to those events and our willingness or otherwise to learn the lessons life offers us, we in turn affect the lives of others and the world around us.

I’ve read other books by the author that I enjoyed more but I appreciate the opportunity to read it, thank you so much!

This was absolutely magnificent, engrossing story of a whole life skilfully weaving real life events with fiction.

I enjoyed reading this book a lot. It does need a bit of focus and patience to be read since it takes its reader to many different places and into many different directions. Its main protagonist is a drifter to whom decisive action doesn’t come easily – therefore his story is of the meandering kind, inviting the reader to explore the many different streams that branch off its main flow.

It is the story of Roland Baines, who we meet when he – coinciding with the Chernobyl disaster – has literally been left holding his baby, with his wife having vanished overnight and to make matters worse, he is now subject of a police investigation. His personal musings and outlook are anchored in and linked to current affairs and events, which he is acutely aware of, but in a very passive, complacent manner. He does not give shape to his life, life shapes him.

He takes us back to his years at boarding school where his encounter with his piano teacher left deep traces on his psyche looming large in his adult life. He fails to reconcile this experience, which is symptomatic for his entire life of avoidance and complacency. On the other hand, the women in his life are genuinely strong characters, which further mark his grey and gormless existence.

McEwan however is gentle and kind to the character he created and treats him with respect - at the end of the day it is the portrayal of a fairly ordinary life, possibly quite characteristic for many of the baby-boom generation. What a good read – thought provoking and indulging.

I am grateful to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ambitious, sprawling, epic, beautifully crafted and written....

And yet, I felt it somehow soulless. I just couldn't connect with the character of Roland Baines in a way that made me truly care about him. McEwan is one of our greatest writers, there is no doubt, but I didn't really enjoy 'Machines Like Me' and now this, so perhaps I should pass on his next one.

Others clearly appreciate this more than me, but an underwhelming 3 stars only.

(With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this title.)

I am in two minds about this book.
I have always admired Ian McEwan's style of writing and have enjoyed the previous novels of his.
Lessons was a keenly anticipated read, I liked the cover which drew me in, reading it on my Kindle did not give me any idea of its length, I found it overly long. It began well, describing Roland's school life and his relationship at eleven with his music teacher then went on to describe his situation as a single parent to a seven month old son.
The novel then went backwards and forwards describing the contributing factors to his present life.
There are some revealing insights into his past , one of those being his presence at the fall of the Berlin wall, which was atmospheric and exciting. His accusation of the murder of his wife is amusing and his initial friendship with the detective. The background to his affair with his former teacher and her madness are disturbing.
Roland's son Lawrence seems to be the most normal and honest character, his unusual upbringing and his deep love for his Father were heartfelt.
This was not a happy story and at times too detailed and maudlin.

I have read most of Ian McEwan's books and I was over the moon when I was approved to read his latest one.

In Lessons we read about the life of Roland, a not particularly interesting piano player. The book starts with a police investigation on his wife's disappearance, as the police believe he might have killed her rather than she just up and left him and their baby son.

I said above that Roland is not particularly interesting, and at times (and particularly the first third or so of the book for me) the book feels way too long and the plot drags. What makes the book interesting is how his life is connected to the historical events that were happening at the time.

It took me a while to get through this book and I seriously considered not finishing. I felt completely disconnected from the characters and I am not a history nerd. It also took me a while to realise when time jumps were happening and had to go back and re-read parts. But I am very happy that I kept going. Overall this is a solid book which requires slow reading.

TW: child abuse, grooming.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

I'm a huge Ian McEwan fan but his books are all so different in content, theme and style, so I knew there was no guarantee that I would like this one and unfortunately it wasn't for me.

I found it quite difficult to get through – some parts felt laborious and with the themes being quite a bleak topic, it did need a bigger mix of light and dark moments. The writing is obviously really impressive, as always, but unfortunately couldn't connect with the character particularly.

I will absolutely read the next Ian McEwan too as some of his books are my favourites and I just hope that the next one will be more for me.

This is a book of two halves, except that the halves are jumbled up and the reader has to dig around to decipher the half that appeals. It's a simple and rather plotless story of a mediocre man's life, from his early childhood as a serviceman's child, to the septuagenarian set against world history. The connections between the history and his individual events are drawn as symbolic or catalyst, the best example being the Cuban Missile Crisis serving as a warning that the teenager may die without any carnal knowledge.

It is this first sexual experience and its consequences that run through the book. A female piano teacher is physically, mentally and sexually abusive and the boy believes that this is a thing of love. It is a fantasy for him but I did wonder how different it would have been if the teacher were a man. As the years pass the police inform him that times have changed and a crime has been committed. The story opens with his memory of a piano lesson, the detail of the teacher's perfume, the pattern of the tiles in intense and intoxicating detail, before switching to the police asking him about his missing wife, many years later. She left him and their very young baby, so she could write novels in Germany.

There is a non-linear approach to his life and the world history, as if he looks back on it all. He is aimless and unambitious and the bigger events encourage him to react in some way, sometimes a tenuous link but as he feels powerless he attaches significance. Perhaps typical of his generation he “lolled on history’s aproned lap, nestling into a little fold of time, eating all the cream” he drifts from one thing to another, never finding a career or purpose. There are references to 'lessons' throughout but the best one is that the lessons learned are 'the years'. Or perhaps that a good story shouldn't spoiled by lessons learned.

There is far too much exposition surrounding parts of his life, and the events are too often listed like a newspaper summary text, most of which fails to hold my attention. It took me a month to read this book and I read three other books between starting and finishing this one. At almost five hundred pages it can afford to lose a few.

However, the parts that are immediate are intense and all-consuming. McEwan knows the human condition and the English language and uses these skills to absorb the reader: this is the half I looked forward to reading. The women in the story are the characters who stand out, some very unlikeable but interesting nonetheless, who perhaps serve all of the lessons. The most important being one of the youngest.

​A story about reflection and regret, and how much power an individual has. This is a complex and yet simple tale, relevant to us all.

poster
In Lessons, Ian McEwan unravels the life of one man and, with it, a whole host of connected characters and personalities. The writer’s 18th novel spans seven decades, from the years following the Second World War all the way to the pandemic. In recounting the story of dissatisfied protagonist Roland, McEwan takes a sweeping look at the events that shape him.

These influences range from the micro to the macro. There are the piano lessons from a young female teenager when he is just a boy that turn into something entirely different and darker; a formative, scarring and seemingly thrilling experience that he feels complicit in, unable to recognise its abusive nature. Then there are the huge world events: the Cold War threat of nuclear annihilation that drove him into the arms of his piano teacher; the Berlin Wall and its eventual fall; the Thatcher years and the way they changed the ideals and morals of Roland and his contemporaries; and the way the Second World War influenced the lives of his parents and in-laws.

The book’s scope is wide and so much comes back to the central examination of the kind of lessons we learn and teach ourselves in deciding how to exist in this world. Roland believes that he has drifted through a life he hasn’t chosen, reacting to events rather than setting out his own path. And yet the decisions are all his own, no matter how they have been influenced by experience: ‘He supposed he had put together a sort of education for himself, but that was messily done in a spirit of embarrassment or shame.’

It’s an epic tale with domesticity at its centre, encompassing a swathe of history, designed to make you think of the impact events have on you and, in turn, the impact you make on the world.

https://list.co.uk/news/42714/ian-mc-ewan-lessons

This is going to be very brief because what McEwan brilliantly conveys in this novel is that great writing is something very few rise to and I am acutely conscious therefore that my review falls a long way short of being great and so should have but one simple goal, and that is to encourage as many people out there to read this book, as it is truly exceptional.
The story follows the life of Ronald Baines through 70 plus years of an impulse led life. He survives abuse at school, tempestuous relationships, assorted careers [ eg. tennis coach, poet, pianist], a complicated marriage and yet somehow emerges from this novel as someone we can all learn something from.
It may take a hundred or so pages to really draw you in but once you get to know Ronald Baines you'll be hooked. Wonderful writing by McEwan in which he somehow manages to seamlessly weave comments on all the events of the last 70 years into the storyline. Absolutely mesmerising.