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. 'Lessons is deep and wide
ambitious and humble wise and substantial... McEwan's best novel in 20 years' New Statesman
'Superb... A wonderful author has delivered another mesmerising memorable novel' Independent
'Lessons triumphantly achieves its primary aim of conveying the commonplace and wondrous
intertwining of global history and everyday life' 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?
