One of the joys of the novel is the way it weaves history into Roland’s biography as well as the lives of other characters in the book.
It’s clear that this abusive and domineering relationship will define Roland’s life long after Miriam is no longer part of it. When he hits a wrong note, “her fingers found his inside leg, just at the hem of his grey shorts, and pinched him hard.” That first touch awakens something in Roland and years later he is still not yet old enough to drive but is drawn into a passionate sexual affair with Miriam. Their private music lessons quickly become about much more than music. When the family flees Africa for London, 11-year-old Roland is sent to a boarding school where he exhibits a prodigious piano talent and meets the young woman who will forever alter his life - Miriam Cornell. Is Roland a suspect? From there we’re swept back in time to Roland’s upbringing in Libya with a stern father and a mother who cowered before him. His wife, we’re told, has “vanished.” There’s a detective in the house, asking questions. The news is filled with ominous headlines about a radiation cloud floating from Chernobyl toward Britain.
When we first meet Roland Baines he is a new parent, struggling to his raise his son alone. “Roland occasionally reflected on the events and accidents, personal and global, minuscule and momentous that had formed and determined his existence.” That one sentence in Ian McEwan’s new novel, “Lessons,” nicely sums up the book. This cover image released by Knopf shows "Lessons" a novel by Ian McEwan.
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