The Melbourne Athenaeum Library

Lessons /

McEwan, Ian,

Lessons / Ian McEwan. - London, UK : Jonathan Cape, 2022. - 486 pages ; 23 cm.

When the world is still counting the cost of the Second World War and the Iron Curtain has closed, 11-year-old Roland Baines's life is turned upside down. 2000 miles from his mother's protective love, stranded at an unusual boarding school, his vulnerability attracts piano teacher Miss Miriam Cornell, leaving scars as well as a memory of love that will never fade. Now, when his wife vanishes, leaving him alone with his tiny son, Roland is forced to confront the reality of his restless existence. As the radiation from Chernobyl spreads across Europe, he begins a search for answers that looks deep into his family history and will last for the rest of his life. Haunted by lost opportunities, Roland seeks solace through every possible means - music, literature, friends, sex, politics and, finally, love cut tragically short, then love ultimately redeemed. His journey raises important questions for us all. Can we take full charge of the course of our lives without causing damage to others? How do global events beyond our control shape our lives and our memories? And what can we really learn from the traumas of the past?

9781787333987 1787333981 9781787333970 1787333973


Pianists--Fiction.
Piano teachers--Fiction.
Men--Fiction.
Life change events--Fiction.

UK & IRL fiction


Historical fiction.
Bildungsromans.
Epic fiction.

823/.914
Melbourne Athenaeum Library
Level 1, 188 Collins St, Melbourne 3000
library@melbourneathenaeum.org.au
Tel:(03) 9650 3100
Powered by Koha   Hosted by