![]() ![]() “How easy it was to drift through an unchosen life, in a succession of reactions to events,” writes Mr McEwan. ![]() He feels all the more real when Mr McEwan shows how his life is affected by global upheavals, from the Cuban missile crisis to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the spread of covid-19. Yet Roland emerges as a vivid and sympathetic creation. In places it feels episodic, reading like a catalogue of births, deaths, marriages, relationships and reunions (or “reckonings”). Mr McEwan’s account of his protagonist’s long, “shapeless existence” could have made for a rambling, directionless novel. At one point he believes he has grasped the way to steer his life smoothly: “Make a choice, act! That’s the lesson.” Fate, though, may not be finished with him yet. Nevertheless, he finds comfort and stimulation in books, music, family, friends and a late-flowering love affair. ![]() Instead of making a career as a poet or a concert pianist, he ekes out a living writing “wised-up doggerel” for greetings cards and playing the piano in lounge bars. Unlike his absent wife, who achieves international renown as a novelist, much of Roland’s adult life consists of missed opportunities and squandered potential. Some sections are devoted to his past, in particular his sentimental education from Miriam and his subsequent failure at school. From here, the novel charts Roland’s progress through the years. ![]()
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