Lessons

The story of a life. The story of the summer.

'Lessons shows [McEwan] at the very peak of his powers. He has written his masterpiece' Daily Telegraph

When 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 Roland's wife mysteriously vanishes, and he is left alone with their baby son. Her disappearance sparks of journey of discovery that will continue for decades, as Roland confronts the reality of his rootless existence and attempts to embrace the uncertainty - and freedom - of his future.

'Ian McEwan is a masterful storyteller' Elif Shafak

'A beautiful book about love, loss and regret' Observer

'Luminous, beautifully written... about lives imperfectly lived' Vogue

'A whole, unruly life between the covers of a single book: a literary feat' Spectator

'A tour de force... A single life is silhouetted against global happenings' Sunday Times

* A Book of the Year for The Times, Sunday Times, Financial Times, Spectator, New Statesman, Washington Post, Vogue and New Yorker *



Lessons is easily McEwan's most accomplished novel since Atonement... he offers intelligent reflection on his novel's evergreen themes. ― The Times

I loved Lessons... Deep, life-affirming and A-grade storytelling. ― The Times

Thoughtful, tender and both universal and timeless in its depiction of the follies of the human heart... Ian McEwan is a masterful storyteller who weaves destiny and self-determination, the past and the future, youth and age, and above all, the loss and memory of love. -- Elif Shafak

Captures youthful lust and late-age regret with equal power. ― Financial Times

Superb... another mesmerising, memorable novel. ― Independent