This may be one of my favorite Ian McEwan books of all time and the good news is that it's also his longest. It's a brilliant story of a man named Roland Barnes and the good and the bad that befalls him. It has politics, literature music, curent and passed social issues all rolled into one and how it affects a man and us as humans. The writing is supberb and it's one of those book that you savor as you read it. You read a few chapters at a time, reflect, pick it back up and your back into McEwan's world again. I love when books do this. This is McEwan at the top of his game and what's funny is that he said in an interview that this may be his last novel. Please say it ain't so!! Perfect for reading groups and book clubs Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf. Buying a physical copy because I loved it that much!

Ian McEwan can surely write and this complex book is a clear example of what he can do. It's the story of a man but it's a the story of an age.
it's a well written book that kept me hooked and I found it fascinating and thought provoking.
I wouldn't define it entertaining but it's surely intriguing even if it's very slow at times.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I have mixed feelings about the latest Ian McEwan.

‘Lessons’ is the life story of Roland Baines, from his youth in Libya in the 1950s to old age in the 2020s. The women in his life are at the heart of this novel and the parts describing these relationships are the strongest in my opinion. For instance, there is the (for the reader extremely uncomfortable) sexual relationship Roland has with his piano teacher when he is only 14, which has an enduring impact on Roland’s life (and reminded me of On Chesil Beach, Atonement and Enduring Love). And years later there is his wife that suddenly leaves Roland and their 7-month baby.

The human insights, into ageing, into life choices, are the novel’s strongest part and I wish he had limited himself to that. Unfortunately however, there is the constant need to connect the episodes in Roland’s life with the sweeping historical developments of the age, from the Cuban Missile Crisis to Chernobyl to Brexit to Covid. Not only did I not learn much from the rather banal observations on these events, they also make the novel long and the tone pedantic (although on this last point I may have been influenced here by the know-it-all tone of the narrator of the audio-version).

The reading experience reminded me a bit of William Boyd’s Any Human Heart: another endless novel the point of which is still largely unclear to me but which was somehow enjoyable enough to keep reading. Here, the writing is better and often enough there are beautiful nuggets and atmospheric scenes, a lot of them set in Germany, that made me nostalgic for my favourite McEwans…this is not one of those, but a good read nevertheless.

3,5 rounded up.

Unfortunately I couldn't get into this book. The writing style just wasn't for me, and I found it hard to differentiate between passages about the past, and what was happening in the present. Perhaps one I can try again at a later date, as I really wanted to enjoy it.

I was so intrigued by the sound of this book and it didn't disappoint! Also love the cover. At times slow but worth it, it's essentially the life of a man that covers well known world events and moments in his life. Seemingly easy concept but I imagine very difficult to execute.

I’ve always been a fan of big, epic novels and I liked this one. I thought it was interesting that so many real world events were in the story. Thanks for letting me check it out!

✨Book Review✨

Thank you to @netgalley and @recordedbooks and @aaknopf for the eARC and ALC.

I really enjoyed Atonement, so I was looking forward to Lessons!

This book includes the lifelong story of one man, Roland Baines. This book encompasses so much, including all the major world events along the line of Baines’ life. Not to mention all the unique experiences that make Roland Baines himself.

I’ll admit that it was a bit unsettling to read about Roland being taken advantage of, sexually, by his piano teacher…while I was waiting for my own son to complete his weekly piano lesson. 😬🎹

I loved the narrator and his accent were perfect for this book! I definitely preferred the audio of this book compared to reading it in print.

This is going to be one of those books that some people scream from the rooftops and others will probably hate because it is an epic tome of a book. I’m somewhere in between. I can appreciate the writing and that there was some major points made, but overall it was…fine. 🤷🏼‍♀️

If you like huge, epic novels that explore tons of ideas and topics, then I’d recommend this one. Otherwise, I might say wait and see what your other reader friends think of it. It’ll be hit or miss.

I was very excited to read Ian McEwan's latest novel, Lessons, and even more excited when I saw how long it was (around 500 pages - I love a thick book). Unfortunately, and I say this with a heavy heart, reading Lessons became almost a chore for me, one that I didn't like, and I decided to DNF it at 30% (this is the second book I don't finish in my LIFE, so I really tried).

Roland was sexually abused by a teacher when he was 11. Now adult (in 1986), his wife left him with a baby without an explanation. Pretty interesting so far. Then a sort of stream of consciousness starts, where Roland remembers different parts of his life, when he met his wife, his parents in law, all this mixed with European history... On paper this book seems exactly my cup of team, but in reality I never got to know who Roland was, he always seemed very far away and therefore I quickly lost interest. The writing is beautiful, but also quite heavy and didn't make me connect with the story, sadly. I'm sure this is not a case of bad book, it wasn't simply for me / for me right now. Maybe in the future I'll give Lessons a second chance and change my mind.

* I'd like to thank the author, Knopf Doubleday and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Lessons was a beautiful and touching story and love and life. I found myself really connected to the characters and emotionally invested in the story. This is the kind of book that will certainly pull at your heart strings every single page. I couldn't recommend it enough.

Lessons is both a personal story of a seemingly ordinary man and an epic tale of a rebuilt and ever-changing Europe and world. The story follows Roland Baines, whose life has some similarities to the author’s life, from his 1950s childhood in Libya where his father was a military officer, his years in boarding schools for boys in England, his various failed careers and relationships, marriage, fatherhood to the present.

I thought the way McEwan worked political and historical events into the plot was just as interesting as the personal marital and professional struggles of Roland. The Lessons of the title refer both to the tragic, difficult and beautiful lessons life gives you over a lifespan and the private piano lessons Roland takes at boarding school, where he is groomed, seduced and sexually abused by his much older piano teacher. The consequences of these events affect Roland in different ways during his entire life and weave through the story like a red thread.

It was a particularly moving experience to read this book in Germany, as there are several important events in the novel taking place in Munich (the devastating story about the young siblings Sophie and Hans Scholl in Weisse Rose, a nonviolent Nazi resistance group at Munich University) and in Berlin (the fall of the Berlin Wall). In a typical McEwan style, there’s a sense of menace and tension running through the book, highlighted by various political and environmental threats (Chernobyl, the nuclear threat of the Cold War, the pandemic, etc).

I found that the story was well told, but perhaps a bit too long and meandering in some parts, and a poignant reflection on memory, regret, lost chances and a life well lived. A must read for McEwan fans and those interested in a very personal (and part autobiographical) novel set against the backdrop of dramatic historical events. A great hefty book for the long and dark fall evenings!

Many thanks to NetGalley and A.A. Knopf for gifting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A long slow journey, but worth following through. A portrait of how long and sprawling the life of one man is, reflected through so many world events. Sometimes meandering, but sometimes sharp and incisive.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book. Unfortunately as I read through it I just found it really boring and our main character really bland, which is hard to manage because of the topics the book brings up at the very start.

In "Lessons" by Ian McEwan, the reader gets an up close and personal view of Roland's life. It is a kind of "Forrest Gump" but with a more serious character and exquisite writing, though less charm. Roland is influenced by the historical events he lives through, and struggles to overcome abuse he experienced as a young child at the hands of a teacher. This novel is very character driven-it is an intimate portrait of Roland's life.

This book was long and dense. It will definitely not be for everyone. Though I enjoyed it overall, I did find myself getting bogged down in some of the details. I had to go back and reread at times because I found myself skimming or zoning out. I think the last half of the book was better than the first. I don't think "Lessons" is Ian McEwan's best work, but readers who appreciate good writing over plot will enjoy this one.

Lessons by Ian McEwan is a highly recommended literary fiction following one man's life through many historical and personal events.

In 1986 Roland Baines, 37, has his wife Alissa leave him and their 7 month-old son Lawrence right before the Chernobyl sent a cloud of radiation. As Roland deals with his current circumstances, he ponders past events in his life. His father was an army captain in Tripoli which meant at age 11 he had to travel 2000 miles away to a boarding school in England. At the school a piano teacher takes advantage of him and this left scars that endured into adulthood. He rejects formal education, spends time traveling as he pursues introspective distractions through music, literature, friends, sex, politics, love, and, unexpectedly, fatherhood. Roland's life experiences are followed across generations of his dysfunctional family and many historical events.

The writing is lyrical, dense, and exquisite, with breath-taking descriptions and insight, as one would expect and anticipate from McEwan. On the other hand, giving a brief introduction to what Lessons is about is challenging. It is a compelling novel and I was engaged with the narrative, however, it also felt like just too much and became overwhelming at times.

There is a lot going on in this character driven novel. Roland himself isn't a particularly interesting character all on his own. The interest is found in the various experiences he lived through simple as an extension of his life experiences and these are all events I remembered. There are also numerous family secrets exposed and lessons shared from Roland's life. I did read Lessons over a period of time, which made it slow going and it felt like it could have been shortened or focused in tighter on a specific period of time.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Knopf Doubleday via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Google Books, and Amazon.

A great Ian McEwan book is very satisfying but unfortunately Lessons is not one of McEwan's best works although there are certain moments when McEwan's talent shines through. The narrative is more than a little plodding in places, the first few chapters are disjointed, and it seemed the book was way too long.

It was hard to warm to McEwan's latest protagonist Roland Baines - a character mostly (but not entirely) based on McEwan himself. He has certainly mined his own life and memories of historic events for much of this novel and. Baines is an emotionally distant character even whilst engaging with some of the most significant people in his life and this may often leave the reader feeling ambivalent about him.

Dysfunctional relationships with two women, decades apart, impact Baines's life. These relationships change the direction of his life and his subsequent relationships. It is the story a life with all its mistakes and missed opportunities but also its bonds and friendships against a backdrop of most of the major world events of the last 70 years.

Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had enjoyed Atonement (reading it on a trip to Ireland was fun if not really different than reading it anywhere else). I looked forward to this book too. I wasn't in love with it though. Sadly, I found it a bit boring, the characters almost universally unsympathetic and not very likable and the tale slow moving.

The book was interesting enough to complete and I did want to see how it all turned out but I wasn't in a "must turn the pages" like with the book.

Thanks to the publisher, the author and NetGalley for the ARC.

Beautiful story! WOW I loved this! I am embarrassed to say that this is the first book I've read by Ian McEwan.. I am now going back and will devour everything he has written!

Real Rating: 3.75* of five, rounded up

Sometimes gambling on a less-than-loved writer's work, when it's a story one really resonates with, pays off; other times, not so much. This experience, after my deep dislike of <I>Solar</i> and <I>Atonement</i> yet genuine appreciation for <I>The Children Act</i>, split the difference.

It's not news to regulars here that I was sexually abused by my ephebeophile mother when young. Quite recently I read <I>The Kingdoms</i>, an alternate history novel by Natasha Pulley, which contained a truly astonishing scene of unwanted intimacy between a man (the victim) and his wife (the violator) that, for the very first time ever in my experience of reading, contained the truth of coercive heterosex where the man's the coerced partner. It was...healing...for me to see that on the page. It gave me the inner resources to request this book back in June.

<I>Lessons</i> comes out tomorrow, and I recommend it to you as a good, solid novel of reckoning with emotional damage across a lifetime.

What about that equivocal waffle above? Well. Now. Author McEwan hasn't suddenly burst forth from a chrysalis and become a wildly passionate and gloriously sensuous prose stylist. He's still a man of his age and class. He's not built for flights of fancy or even particularly emotionally available prose stylings. It's one of the main reasons I haven't become a fanboy of his. But, and this is where I sound weird to my own inner ears, when there's a story to tell that *needs* to be kept buttoned up, he's the writer to do it. That was completely evident in <I>The Children Act</i>, another flat and affectless person's attempt to contextualize the wildly ungovernable emotions of others as they rampage through her (in that case) carefully designed lifestyle. It's the technique that was needed to tell this story and, blessedly, Author McEwan used it.

What happens to young Roland isn't all that unusual. I know we, as a culture, like to think men are perpetrators and women are victims, but this has never been true. It's time we faced up to it in the post-#MeToo moments. It isn't at all surprising to me that the pace of this story varies as much as it does. The youthful disasters are the ones that set the stage, often act as the pattern, for the hurts and buffets of the future. The manner of Author McEwan's telling of the different stories was quite clearly meant to reflect this. Where something happens for the first time, it is given narrative weight; when it comes around again, it gets less of it. I approve, if that needs saying, of this strategy.

No one is immune to the stresses and strains of The World as it runs amok and periodically threatens to kill us all. This life, Roland's years on this planet, contains all of my own years on it. I was at different stages of life than Roland, of course, being two decades younger; but the fact is I was formed by the same things Roland was. It felt to me as though Roland trudged and slogged a lot of his life away. Given the emotional damage he carries with him, that was perfectly logical to me. It wasn't, however, a chucklefest. When you're going to take me on a five hundred-plus page trip inside one man's skull, I as a reader would like some lightening of the shadows, say with humor. Author McEwan doesn't offer that to us; this is something to be aware of in deciding whether you'd like to read the book.

Many other early readers seem to have a problem with Alissa, the wife who abandons Roland with their infant son to become a writer. I'm entirely unsure what the heck the problem they have with that subplot is. It's not like it can't happen, since it's something Doris Lessing (eg) actually did. I myownself wasn't in the least surprised that Roland would marry someone who could calmly walk away from messy emotional realities in order to serve her own needs. Like calls to like, after all.

The one moment I felt Author McEwan really rather overplayed his emotionless hand had to do with the Chernobyl disaster...it felt, in its handling, like something was finally just off in the manner of his weaving the event into the story. But honestly, as said above, this book is telling a story about the reverberations of an emotional cripple's awkward flailings, and nobody I can think of could do it better than Ian McEwan has done.

From the opening of LESSONS, Ian McEwan once again offers his unique brand of storytelling: immediately relatable from the time the main character is a young boy learning how to play the piano through a lifetime of learning, winning and losing, but always himself. McEwan writes the ultimate in whole-bodied flung into a another world, the perspective of an ordinary and extraordinary person -- I deeply enjoyed relaxing into his masterfully written and well-drawn tale. I received a copy of this novel and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

This just wasn't for for me. The story starts when Roland is maybe 11 at boarding school and he is being abused by a female piano teacher. From there we hop to 1986 and his wife has left him with a seven-month old son. The story read more like a stream of consciousness and jumping around to different times in Roland's life. I found it hard to get invested in the character and with the use of the third person it made it more difficult.

Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf Doubleday for providing me a digital copy.