ian mcewan Lessons

[Mister Hobgoblin]

Lessons is the fictional biography of Roland Baines, a man who once might have been a concert pianist, a prize-winning author or a Wimbledon champion. Alas, fate pointed Baines instead to writing (or plagiarising) middle-brow verses for greetings cards, coaching overweight middle aged Londoners to play tennis (by letting them win) and bringing up young Lawrence Baines following the suspicious disappearance of Roland's wife, Alissa.

 

In drip fed flashbacks, we discover that Roland was brought up in Libya, his father being a gruff Scottish serviceman, and that at the age of 11, Roland was packed off to boarding school where he had some interesting times with his piano teacher, Miriam Cornell.

 

There are clear autobiographical details. McEwan himself was brought up in Libya and his father was a gruff Scots serviceman, etc. The end note is clear, though that while McEwan's erstwhile English teacher is mentioned by name, there was no such teacher [at his school] as Miriam Cornell. 

 

Roland's life is mapped out against the major events of the last seventy years: the Cuban Missile Crisis, Suez, the fall of the Berlin Wall, New Labour, Covid, etc. Naturally, this being an Ian McEwan novel, they are introduced out of sequence and references are made back and forth in the text. It is a style that appeals to me, creating something that feels more rounded than linear. 

 

The game, at least for this reader, is to decide what is autobiographical and what is fiction. Sure, Roland seems quite mediocre and unfulfilled. Alissa, on the other hand, becomes a world-renowned novelist who is criticised for becoming stale and generally hanging around for too long. Her final long work was a work of autobiography in which she cast Roland, her long estranged husband, as a wife beater. Roland objects, saying he had never lifted a finger to her, and she responds by saying that it is all fiction and is amazed that anyone would believe it. This, of course, will make the reader wonder whether the depiction of Roland Baines's father as a domestic abuser is fact or fiction. 

 

Lessons is a densely packed novel, with a lot of thoughtful commentary on politics and social values. The meandering narrative, reminiscent of a Ronnie Corbett chair sketch, is well controlled and consistently interesting. There are moments of suspense, heartbreak and occasionally joy. The meld of world events and the personal narrative works very well. If there is a minor quibble, it is that the later years do drag a little, perhaps outstaying their welcome. Too much family and not enough events in the final pages. But overall, this is a superb novel that knocks spots off some of the current Booker long list. 

 

*****