Reviews - Lessons | The StoryGraph

1.02k reviews for:

Lessons

Ian McEwan

3.86 AVERAGE

book_2_book's review against another edition

4.25

emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A moving story of a life, more than ordinary, less than extraordinary. Full of sacrifices, regrets, and the far-reaching consequences of decisions. At times, I was frustrated by the protagonist, but at the end of the day, it’s hard to condemn someone for simply being human.

bibliobethreads's review

4.5

challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

scrollingbooks's review against another edition

4.0

Without a doubt a worthy book...just not for me.
This is my first Ian McEwan book so I wasn't sure what to expect.
'Lessons' tells us Roland's life story from start to finish, and how the people around him interact to influence his decisions and actions. The book ducks and dive, switching between times and places, with the common thread of Roland's memories, thoughts, and reflections - sometimes on personal events and often on political ones.

This is a clever, thought-provoking book, but this is part of its problem - it's a little too contrived, a little too clever. For me it is two books masquerading as one, with Roland's personal story, and then another book concerning world events. That the author weaves them together is, yes, hugely skillful, but at the same time intrusive.

There is undoubtedly some beautiful prose, but it feels as if it's there to be admired, rather than inherently part of the story. In short, for me, this book feels pretentious. The read started out as a 5 star, slipped to 4 star, and finished at 3.5 because I ended up skipping long passages about the end of the Tory government and the arrival of New Labour. Yes, I did find the book thought-provoking, and yet yes I did learn from it, but maybe not what the author intended in that it made me realize how much I read for pleasure, rather than to feel angsty.
Oh yes, one thing I did notice. The book is in 3 parts, and part 3 started exactly two-thirds (66%) of the way through. Now that takes skill! ;-)

reboocka's review against another edition

4.5

hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

jaclyncrupi's review against another edition

4.0

A true return to form from a writer who has delighted and disappointed me over the years in almost equal measure. I love books that offer a broad summation of a life. The protagonist here lives through many historic moments that shape his life; as do the women in it. The humanity and compassion on display is particularly moving and Lessons is beautiful if bloated.