BookView Review

McEwan delivers a sweeping yet intimate portrait of postwar Britain through the life of Roland Baines, an ordinary man caught in extraordinary times. Sent to a bleak boarding school in the aftermath of WWII, Roland’s vulnerability is exploited by his piano teacher, leaving him scarred by trauma and a memory of illicit love that never quite fades. Decades later, when his wife abandons him with their infant son, he is forced to reckon with his own shortcomings against the backdrop of Chernobyl, the Cold War, and a rapidly changing Europe.

The novel’s strength lies in its interplay between the ordinary and the historical. Roland’s string of minor jobs, failed marriages, and disappointments unfold alongside seismic world events, illustrating how easily one can slip into an “unchosen life.” McEwan writes with his trademark clarity and control, elevating the everyday into something deeply resonant. The women who shape Roland’s story—ambitious Alissa, weary Rosalind, loyal Daphne, and others—are drawn with sympathy and nuance. Roland himself is no grand figure, but his openness and quiet resilience give the novel its humanity. 

Reflective, finely wrought, and humane, this is McEwan at his contemplative best.

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