Join Ian McEwan for this special event at Southbank Centre as he discusses his mesmerising new novel, Lessons. This epic story is a powerful meditation on history and humanity told through the prism of one man’s lifetime.Spanning the last seventy years, from the end of the Second World War to the Suez and Cuban Missile Crises, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to the current pandemic and climate change, McEwan’s protagonist, Roland, 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, family, friends, sex, politics, and love.
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? What does parenthood, that 'double helix of labour and love', teach us about ourselves? And what can we really learn from the traumas of the past?
Join Ian McEwan in conversation with Alex Clark as he celebrates publication of Lessons and reflects on his critically acclaimed career. From his early novels to his Booker winning Amsterdam, his number-one bestsellers such as Machines Like Me, and big screen adaptations including Atonement, Enduring Love, The Children Act and On Chesil Beach. Don’t miss your chance to hear from one of our foremost storytellers as he discusses his work and for the first time, Lessons, his most epic book to date.
This event is hosted in partnership with Penguin Live & Southbank Centre.
Event Venue
Royal Festival Hall, ,London, United Kingdom
Tickets