This is the second book by Ian McEwan that I've started. I finished the first one, but I didn't like it at all. I stopped reading this one after a third of the way (150 pages); it was simply too boring, bloated, rambling, and tedious. I just can't find the right word to express how much this book bored me.
It could have been a good book in principle. But the author simply fails to engage the reader. The writing style is incredibly stiff, the whole approach utterly bland and outdated. The protagonist's life isn't just boring; you want to shake him. The eternal victim—what have others always done to me…
And this is supposed to be his masterpiece?
This will definitely be my last book by Ian McEwan. No matter what anyone else tells me, I won't touch another one. There are so many good books and outstanding writers out there.
Book Description:
"When the world is still counting the cost of the Second World War and the Iron Curtain has closed, eleven-year-old Roland Baines's life is turned upside down. 2,000 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.
From the Suez Crisis to the Cuban Missile Crisis, the fall of the Berlin Wall to the current 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 - 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 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?
Epic, mesmerising and deeply humane, Lessons is a chronicle for our times - a powerful meditation on history and humanity through the prism of one man's lifetime."
I can't blame you for not finishing this book. I read my first Ian McEwan book back in the late 1990s for a book club I was moderating. The book club members had voted to read 'Enduring Love' by Ian McEwan. I'd never read anything written by Ian McEwan before and 'Enduring Love' sounded promising based on the publisher's summary.... 'Enduring Love' was horrible! I tried another novel by Ian McEwan and disliked it too. I think it was 'Atonement'.
ReplyDeleteThat sound promising, Lisa. So, I am not the only one who doesn't like him. I always have the feeling everyone else does. Both the book club with whom I read it and my present one read Atonement. And, except for one other member, everyone was in awe. He is just not my kind of wirter.
DeleteI found Atonement very predictable but that is the only book of his I found readable. Then I read that he had copied some of it from an author called Lucilla Andrews.
ReplyDeleteThat is interesting, Constance. Will have to explore. Yes, I finished Atonement but only because it was a book club book.
DeleteI have not read anything by him, but have his book Atonement. Famous enough. I started it, but could only read a few pages before I stopped. I found it not so exciting to read. I will try to read it again and see if it improves with a few more pages.
ReplyDeleteNot so exciting is a good understatement, Lisbeth. After reading what the bloggers before you wrote, you might rethink that re-read. ;)
DeleteI did not put it in my blog because I didn't want to advertise it but since so many of you refer to Atonement, here is the link to my review:
ReplyDeletehttps://momobookblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/mcewan-ian-atonement.html
Safe to say I don't think I will be picking up this one!
ReplyDeleteHaha, Sarah. Yes, I don't think it would be yours.
Delete