I’ve never read a book by Ian McEwan before, and therefore had no idea what to expect.

What a journey he took me on, following the life of Roland Baines from boarding school to old age and interlinking it with historical events of the time.

Love, abuse, opportunities taken and missed - a book about life that we can all relate to.

Although long, it held my interest throughout and I’d like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is both like and unlike any previous Ian McEwan I have read.
The wonderful prose is there. The arc of the story. But this time the novel spans a century and is poignant, sad but very knowing about a life lived over a long time and the varied and various friendships, relations and lovers that make up a life. This is a long novel; nearly 500 pages.

We get to know this through the viewpoint of the central character, Roland. The parts about his boyhood are particularly well written and affective. There is one event in his youth, when he has lessons on piano, that has effects throughout his life. Yet, really, the whole novel is about lessons through life and how we are shaped by what happens to us, what we think about events, and how we respond.

There is a cast of interesting characters and much to recognise though I came away thinking I have lead a dull life! We learn of pre- Roland up to Roland in the pandemic years. Historical events, WWII , Bay of Pigs, Cold War, Thatcher years, Berlin pre and post the Wall, Blair, cold- hearted Conservatives post 2010; these are the scaffolding as Roland lives his own life. Just as we all do.

I recommend this book. I read a proof copy provided by Netgalley and the publishers, Jonathan Cape.

This sensitively-written novel, spanning many decades, is dense and (for me) better enjoyed at a leisurely pace. It tells the story of Roland, from his early-childhood expat life in Libya, to time at an English boarding school and his later struggles with career and relationships. Brimming with historical context, the zeitgeist of each period is evoked really well, and I felt myself being seamlessly transported from, say, the 1960s Cold War era to 1980s Thatcher Britain. Though I felt at times that the novel could have been shorter, it was nonetheless a profound and thought-provoking read which will stay with me.

This novel is indeed about Lessons.

Roland cannot get over his wife abandoning him and their baby. Why have one if you aren’t going to look after it or want it? Shouldn’t have a baby because you think you are supposed to or to fall in a clique.

Roland goes back and forth in life in his thoughts. One second he’s 14 playing the piano with his creepy teacher and the next he is in the daily life of the current.

His journey through his life is punctuated with attempts at escape, but ultimately always reflecting on how one’s personal reactions to events affects all around us. Are our personal feelings of rejection, remorse, anger, sadness, elation ever truly our OWN? How do we navigate our own private emotions without those emotions effecting those around us?

It was more so a life lesson and how our thoughts can go back and forth. However for a novel I wish it was more consistent.

Thanks to the publishers for sending me this novel in exchange for my honest review.

This sweeping epic novel is well worth putting in the hours for (it is HUGE). And while it stutters a little in its opening third as it tries to lay the many foundations for its wide-ranging themes and settings, these are more than made up for as the novel unspools. And while there's an obvious balance in the happy-but-professionally-unfulfilled protagonist versus the lonely final days of his enormously successful runaway wife, it wouldn't have hurt to have given such a strong female character something other than legacy, surely? Altogether a highly recommended read. 4.5 stars.

A fascinating history of the last 100 years from the perspective of one man. The descriptions of boarding school and then looking after his baby son after his wife has left give the book a really strong opening. Parts did seem to ramble a little afterwards but this is a masterful and compassionate view of humanity and how events much bigger than an individual shape a life.

a sensitvely written portrayal of the grooming and abuse of a child by a woman in an authority role- spanning his whole life from that moment at school to adulthood and examining the continuing effect it has on him in all aspects of his life. Dotting back and forth through time to add details to each encounter I found that parts of the book were confusing in terms of anchoring Roland to a specificage or stage of life or in his relationships outside the abusive couplling but this slight annoyance/confusion is far outweighed by the relentless sadness and emotional turbulence experienced by Roland and therefore by the reader.

Ian McEwan is Ian McEwan and this is written in his beautiful, sometimes shocking, but incomparable style. I find it hard to explain why he is such a special author. As you may have guessed I am a massive fan. I am almost the age of Roland in this novel and have read quite a lot of novels in that time. The ones which leave the most vivid images in my mind are always by Ian McEwan. Enduring Love, Atonement, On Chesil Beach are titles I will never forget as my memory dims because each have left indelible imprints on me. Lessons has done the same. The novel takes us through the life of Roland Baines - the lessons he learns as he lives but also how things we have no control over shape us. It is an amazing record of a life . As mentioned I am a just over a decade younger than Roland so I remember living through the global events portrayed and the depiction of them are spot on .Ian McEwan is the same age as his central character and so his descriptions of Roland and his feelings at various ages feel incredibly accurate. This book contains sublime writing. There are moments that will shock you and take your breath away, make you cry, make you laugh, make you ponder. If you are my sort of age or older it will make you think long and hard about your own life, what lies ahead for us and those we will inevitably leave behind. This is definitely going to be an award winner. Read it as soon as you can.

Epic in scope, this is a beautifully written, masterful novel. Against a backdrop of myriad political, cultural and historical events spanning several decades, McEwan microscopically hones in on Roland Baines’ life from turbulent youth to senior years when he’s more at peace with himself, to reveal the ordinary marvel that it is.

From the age of eleven he gets an unforgettable lesson at the hands of his controlling piano teacher, Miriam Cornell. She slowly offers him a tantalising taste of a sexual relationship enshrined in secrecy. As he turns sixteen, his eyes are opened and he eschews the prospect of being trapped in an unwanted marriage with her.

Having relinquished higher education, and despite his obvious musical talent, Roland drifts into menial pursuits throughout early adulthood. His marriage to Alissa crashes when she suddenly leaves without a trace, abandoning him and their baby, Lawrence, to pursue her burning ambition to be a writer.

While he struggles to bring up their son alone, Alissa shines at the career she always wanted to have. Roland accepts his fate, tries to be a good parent and educates himself even as he fails to fulfil his own ambitions. He finally gets a sense of closure with Miriam but his desire for true love eludes him until he and a long-term friend become a couple.

This book takes us on a circuitous journey through the deeply personal, historically impactful and mundane. Its gift is to show how much a singular life counts, one shaped by history yet able to leave its own significant mark on it. Grateful thanks to Random House UK, Vintage and NetGalley for the ARC.

A typically powerful book from McEwan which cleverly links the abuse of the main character as a teenaged boy by his piano teacher in the early 1960s with the sudden disappearance of his wife during the closing stages of the Cold War, 25 years later. Perhaps not McEwan's best novel but nevertheless an engaging and compelling read.

Am sorry to write that I gave up on this book! Something I hate doing as I do appreciate all the work that goes into writing a story.. However, I found I wasn’t getting anywhere and my frustration was constantly growing. Roland Baines is a man left literally holding the baby! Wife Alissa has disappeared and although he has received various postcards from abroad, doesn’t know quite where she is or exactly why she left! ,I desperately wanted him to get on with telling his story and for him to solve the mystery but unfortunately the interruptions were constant and it was never easy to regain momentum! I was forever being taken to either his past life or that of his in-laws when all I wanted was for him to find himself and regain his own story! It didn’t happen! Loved the writing, loved the character but not enough to hold me I’m afraid!

4.5 rounded down

Roland Baines, sleep deprived, his restless baby son Lawrence at his side, reflects on the lessons at boarding school specifically those of music. His mind runs feverishly on mistakes or otherwise with Miriam Cornell his piano teacher and on his relationship with his German born wife Alissa who has fled the marriage and motherhood leaving him under a cloud of unjustified suspicion. This epic novel is a journey through Roland‘s life and takes us from his early years in Libya through to his 70s and Covid restrictions. As the title implies it’s about life lessons and it’s very insightful on how external world events over which we have no control impact us and how more personal experiences shape our life and determine its course.

It is without doubt beautifully written as you would expect from an author of this calibre. Parts are absolutely fascinating such as the early years in Libya and he’s very illuminating on his soldier father who is without doubt a bully. The early 1960s years at boarding school in Suffolk and the dysfunction there with his piano teacher are viewed as if through a gauze, I’m sure deliberately so. These years are vastly formative and the impact lingers and looms large over his later life as it creates a restlessness and unfulfilled potential and ambition. His relationship and what follows with Alissa, who becomes a highly successful novelist, affects him too in a multitude of ways and damage piles on damage.

The historical context is absolutely outstanding with everything from the Cuban missile crisis (this seriously effects his decision-making) to the Cold War through to the Thatcher years , 911 and finally to Covid.

I love the sections in Germany especially the White Rose organisation via his mother in law Jane and the situation and dangers in east/west Berlin and the coming down of the Berlin Wall. With the latter you almost feel as if you are there with Roland experiencing the excitement, concerns and some fears for the future.

The novel makes you feel something, it makes you reflect upon yourself and your own life lessons. There are some moments of acute sadness, there are lies and buried secrets and some confrontations, one of which is especially vivid which all adds up to the sum of a life.

It’s brilliantly done but it does ramble a bit in places hence the four stars not the full five. This is possibly the author‘s most ambitious novel to date. Has he pulled it off? A resounding yes.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Random House U.K./Vintage for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Lessons follows the life of Roland Baines from infancy to old age. Through Roland's life he is affected in particular by relationships with two women, his piano teacher, Miriam, and Alissa, the wife who goes missing.

The pace of this long novel is uneven at times, especially towards the end but it is, in the main,gripping and populated by wonderful, idiosyncratic characters. I was particularly fascinated by the character of Alissa and the novel's refusal to condemn her for her actions. As the novel progresses and the life of the protagonist intersects with historical events and figures, it reminded me very strongly of William Boyd's Any Human Heart, which is one of my favourite novels. A wonderful read

Wonderful. Epic without being sprawling. An unusual set of circumstances which never feels unconvincing. Brilliant characterisation. Possibly too broad a cast of character to keep close tabs on - for me at least!

I received an advance copy of this from Random House via Net Galley and was very pleased I did.
It tells the story of Roland Baines, starting from when his wife abandons him and their baby in 1985, via a series of disturbing flashbacks to his childhood and adolescence and moving forward to the effects of the pandemic in 2020, covering significant political events and their impact, on the way.
McEwan effectively explores how events, not just in our own life, but also in those of people who play significant roles therein can cast very long shadows. Whilst I wouldn’t say Baines was a likeable character, I am able to empathise as to why he behaved in the way he did. I was also very relieved by McEwan’s disclaimer about Miriam, as that particular relationship was very disturbing.
Another powerfully written novel, worthy of its place alongside Atonement and On Chesil Beach.

I found this such an interesting, realistic and compelling novel. I loved following Roland from boarding school to his later years, taking in the political and historical events of the time. It’s a clever, insightful book and one that will stay with me. It made me reflect on my own life - the way that life unfolds, the opportunities taken and missed. Fascinating! By the last third of the novel, I was completely gripped and had to finish the book that afternoon, ignoring the work I’d planned to do. A beautiful and memorable epic novel.

The life of Roland Baines and 21st century world events, all in one epic novel. Thought provoking and well written, at times uncomfortable but never dull.

NO SPOILERS

Through the many characters, Lessons spans nearly a hundred years, bringing people together, moving them in different directions, as families and friendships form and fall apart. It covers all of the human conditions, all of them! Guilt, obligation, regret, friendship, betrayal, secrets, disappointment, redemption, resolve…all so effortlessly woven into this wonderful book. It is, for me, one of the best, most accessible accounts of modern European history and the lives of those living it.

It is a wonderful story; an intricate yet simple plot with many threads which pull together well. It is presented in an easy but, thank goodness, not “lite” style. The writing is skilled, thoughtful and provoking.

There is much about resolution, choice and power transfer, mirroring world events on a small, intimate scale. It certainly made me realise just how much has happened, how much hope there once was and how easy it is to lose. How history repeats itself, because no-one truly listens and lessons are never learnt.

Lessons should win prizes. Booker judges…do you hear me?!

Lessons is my first Ian McEwan, though Atonement has been on my shelf, unread, for a couple of years. I shall get to it sooner rather later.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK and Vintage for the Advanced Reader Copy of the book, which I have voluntarily reviewed.

Ian McEwan’s latest novel is a sprawling contemplation on humanity told through the story of one man’s life amid the major events of post war 20th Century right up to the present day.
Roland Baines, whose father is serving in Libya, is sent to boarding school in England where he meets piano teacher Miriam Cornell. Their relationship and later his wife’s abandonment of him and their baby son shapes the rest of his life.
Unable to commit, he drifts through life without purpose, prone to self deception, failing to take advantage of opportunities, emotionally supported by, sometimes exasperated, friends and lovers before eventually finding bittersweet happiness.
Music plays an important part all through Roland’s life, but at the heart of it, and his proudest achievement, is the close relationship he has with his son Lawrence.
It was interesting to see an autobiographical connection between the author and Roland regarding their siblings, (the book is dedicated to McEwan’s three), including the discovery much later in life of an older brother given away as a baby.
Ultimately the novel asks important questions, how much of our lives can we really control and how do major events shape our thoughts and actions and do we really ever learn from the lessons of the past?
At times I thought the book overlong but the characters hold the attention and there is so much of interest in it culturally, historically and and not just the better known events. For instance I hadn’t heard of the White Rose movement and was intrigued to find out more.
Some of the prose is exquisite (from a description of a bathroom to an encounter with a barn owl one evening in the Lake District).
All in all I think this novel is a major accomplishment and one that I’ll keep going back to read again.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Vintage for an ARC

A fascinating look at one man’s life with the backdrop of historical events during the last century. The material included could have made a fascinating series better allowing the reader to concentrate on the life changing events depicted along the way. There is a great deal going on and we barely touch on many events before moving forward. The protagonist is almost detached from his own life and accepts the ups and downs in equal measure. Certainly an interesting read.