Lessons

While the world continues to count the wounds of the Second World War and the Iron Curtain is already dividing Europe in two, the life of little Roland Baines is turned upside down. Two thousand miles away from his mother's protective love, inside a strange boarding school, vulnerable and lonely, he attracts the attention of his piano teacher, Miriam Cornell. Their meeting will leave an unhealed wound but also the memory of a love that will never fade. Twenty-five years later, Roland's German wife disappears, leaving him alone with their seven-month-old son. As radiation from the Chernobyl explosion spreads across Europe, Roland begins a frantic search for answers that will take him deep into his family history.

"In this book, from cover to cover, McGewan shows his heroes in a heartbreaking way confronting critical moments in history, while at the same time facing the storms of their personal lives. And this is what deeply moves the reader." Publishers Weekly
"The Lessons masterfully achieve their primary goal, to capture the interweaving of the 'commonplace and fantastic' side of world history and everyday life." Daily Telegraph
"McEwan's heroes are taught, like himself, a different lesson, the lesson of time passing. And the distance that separates Roland from Ian McEwan is no greater than a sheet of paper." Die Zeit
"McEwan, recording the story of a life full of disappointments, makes an introspection. It captures with equal force the lust of youth and the sadness of old age. As with all great novels, any "lessons" are neither didactic nor absolute." Financial Times
"Spanning yet intimate, full of tenderness, McEwan's latest novel is a contemporary epic set against the backdrop of the landmark events of the last century's history and examines the scars we leave on each other." The Bookseller
"Perhaps MacEwan's best novel of the last twenty years."

Translated by Katerina Schina

Pages: 688
Height (cm) & Width (cm): 21 X 14