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Well, how many good things can I say about this one? This is so big! McEwan has put a lot into this novel. To start with, there is the personal story of Roland Baines, from the age of 11 to deep in his 70s. Actually, Baines is what our society in general would call a 'loser', a man who just muddles along in life, wastes his remarkable intelligence and his talent as a pianist, but ultimately manages to win our hearts. And that's probably because Baines is all too aware of his shortcomings and failures, constantly reflects them, muses on how he could have done things differently, or on how he could have taken charge of his life instead of letting it go. In a sense, McEwan has created a variation on John Williams' [b:Stoner|166997|Stoner|John Williams|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320600716l/166997._SY75_.jpg|1559207]: Baines and Stoner share the same passive, resigned attitude towards the vicissitudes of life.
Of course, there are some marked differences. And the most important one happens early in Baines' life: as a young teenager he became involved in what we would now clearly call a case of sexual abuse (by his female piano teacher). The result is that as a reader you wonder – all throughout the novel - whether Baines' impotence in life is the result of that early ‘damage’. But it testifies to the greatness of McEwan that he does not give a clear answer to this issue, even after more than 450 pages. It's as if he wanted to emphasize that perpetrator and victim are not as clearly delineated as we conveniently assume. The same goes for the character of Alissa, Baines' wife, who leaves him with their 6-month-old baby, just so she can pursue a successful writing career. But just as the piano teacher, also Alissa, whom you could easily see as a real bitch, isn't portrayed as the devil in disguise, on the contrary. In the end, almost all characters (with the exception of a really villainous Brexiteer) are victims of passions, ambitions and actions they can't control. Yes (I hear you thinking) a bit like in a Greek drama.
Another plus is that this novel, spread over constantly changing moments in time, gives a good overview of more than 75 years, from 1945 to 2020, with McEwan regularly zooming in on major world events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis or the fall of the Berlin Wall, up to and including the covid crisis. No wonder this book is so popular with boomers (myself included): it covers a lot of their lifes! And then there is the literary style: it is consistently of such a high level that you jump effortlessly from one time period to another, in and out of the head of Roland Baines and his vicissitudes. Yet at the same time, this novel is quite demanding for his reader: it has been a long time since I spent so long on a novel, such an intensity it offers at times. I guess in the meantime my message is clear: read this!
Of course, there are some marked differences. And the most important one happens early in Baines' life: as a young teenager he became involved in what we would now clearly call a case of sexual abuse (by his female piano teacher). The result is that as a reader you wonder – all throughout the novel - whether Baines' impotence in life is the result of that early ‘damage’. But it testifies to the greatness of McEwan that he does not give a clear answer to this issue, even after more than 450 pages. It's as if he wanted to emphasize that perpetrator and victim are not as clearly delineated as we conveniently assume. The same goes for the character of Alissa, Baines' wife, who leaves him with their 6-month-old baby, just so she can pursue a successful writing career. But just as the piano teacher, also Alissa, whom you could easily see as a real bitch, isn't portrayed as the devil in disguise, on the contrary. In the end, almost all characters (with the exception of a really villainous Brexiteer) are victims of passions, ambitions and actions they can't control. Yes (I hear you thinking) a bit like in a Greek drama.
Another plus is that this novel, spread over constantly changing moments in time, gives a good overview of more than 75 years, from 1945 to 2020, with McEwan regularly zooming in on major world events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis or the fall of the Berlin Wall, up to and including the covid crisis. No wonder this book is so popular with boomers (myself included): it covers a lot of their lifes! And then there is the literary style: it is consistently of such a high level that you jump effortlessly from one time period to another, in and out of the head of Roland Baines and his vicissitudes. Yet at the same time, this novel is quite demanding for his reader: it has been a long time since I spent so long on a novel, such an intensity it offers at times. I guess in the meantime my message is clear: read this!