Why did I love this book?
This book is a saga, in that it covers a wide swath of historical time – a time span exactly in relation to the life of one human being. Perhaps part of the reason I was drawn to it is that the time frame is similar to my own. I understood the politics and knew of the players.
But what I really loved was the way that the central character, Roland, doesn’t see things. He lives his life without understanding his life or the choices he is making. He can’t see beyond the immediacy of his moment. But as he ages, you watch things start to fit together. Perhaps this is the hope we all have – that our lives will start to make sense when we view them backwards.
The book is a brilliant view into politics and the pressures that social movements exert upon a person.
5 authors picked Lessons as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
Discover the Sunday Times bestselling new novel from Ian McEwan.
Lessons is an intimate yet universal story of love, regret and a restless search for answers.
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…