Ian McEwan – Lessons

Ian McEwan – Lessons

Eleven-year-old Roland Baines’ life changes dramatically when his Africa based parents decide to send him back to England to attend a boarding school and get the classic education. While the political landscape forms itself after the Second World War, the boy takes piano lessons with Miss Cornell who will shape not only his idea of music, she will become his first love. Incidentally or initiated by fate, Roland’s life will remain closely connected to global events, be it the cloud coming from Chernobyl, the beginning and end of the Cold War, or major crises such as AIDS and the pandemic. As we travel through his life, he has to learn some lessons, some taken light-heartedly, others a lot harder and leaving scars.

I have been a huge fan of Ian McEwan’s novel for years and accordingly, I was keen to open his latest novel “Lessons”. What I have always appreciate most in his books is his carefully crafted characters who – hit by events outside their control – need to cope and to adjust. He is a wonderful narrator who easily makes you sink into the plot and forget everything around you. Even though “Lessons” does not focus that much on a single question as in “The Children Act” or “Saturday” and was much longer than most of his former writings, I hugely enjoyed how his protagonist’s character unfolds in front of us and becomes who he is when his life closes.

The novel has been announced as “a chronicle of out times” and admittedly, that’s just what it is. By the example of Roland, he illustrates the last six decades, he chronicles British and European politics, arts, music and mind-set. Roland’s process of learning does not stop, life is a continuous process of trial and error, of mistakes and good decisions which all leave their mark.

Interestingly, the protagonist is a rather passive character. He only ever reacts to what happens, his piano teacher’s advances, his wife’s running away, his career: Roland does not actively shape his life, it is the first and foremost the women he encounters who make him move and – even though they all remain minor characters – it’s them who bring the verve and dynamics into the action.

I can imagine that some readers will find the novel a bit slow and lacking focus, yet, I totally adored it and enjoyed every minute of the read.

Bonnie Garmus – Lessons in Chemistry

Bonnie Garmus – Lessons in Chemistry

Elizabeth Zott is a famous cooking show host in the 1960s. People love the way she beings cooking to their homes which is quite different from what everybody else does. She explains the chemistry behind the food and the processes she operates in the kitchen because, well, cooking is simply chemistry. But this is not what the mother of 10-year-old Madeline had in mind. She wanted to work in a lab and do serious research. However, she was ahead of her time, women were supposed to marry and take care of the home and children but not taken seriously as scientists. Only Calvin Evans, one of her colleagues who is as passionate about chemistry as Elisabeth, recognises her potential and treats her as an equal. They quickly become much more than colleagues. As lovers, they are soulmates and have found the other part they have always missed. Fate, however, had other plans for them.

Bonnie Garmus‘ novel is a rollercoaster of emotions which first and foremost lives from the outstanding protagonist who is unique and exceptional in all respects, a feminist long before the word existed in the common knowledge, stubborn and intelligent at the same time. Life is so unfair to her that I wanted to shout at times, but, on the other hand, “Lessons in Chemistry” also highlights what a change a single person can make.

Elizabeth has chosen a highly misogynist environment, science labs in the 1950s were no places for women, except for the secretaries. Already the idea that she could have an equal – not to speak of a superior – mind as her male colleague seems unimaginable. But not only does she encounter men who look down on her, harassment and even assaults are normal parts of a woman’s professional life. When she encounters Calvin, things seem to have the potential to change, but he, too, despite being a prodigies and highly regarded, cannot influence his colleagues’ attitudes that much.

A female fighter who only briefly after the birth of her daughter goes down, but stands up again. She uses her cooking show to inspire others, to send out her messages ignorant of conventions and the risk of losing her job. She knows that things must change and that women need the same chances as their male colleagues. The fight she has chosen seems unwinnable und futile, but for her, it is worth every setback.

A wonderful novel, funny and tragic, oscillating between the emotional extremes, with amazing female characters who even today can inspire and motivate readers since the battle of equality still has not been won.

Nicole Trope – The Mother’s Fault

Nicole Trope – The Mother’s Fault

Even though Beverly is rather young for a mother, she has done the best in raising her son Riley the past eight years. Partners have been in the picture but whenever they got too close, she withdrew in her cocoon. But now, Ethan does not seem to accept her decision and by sending expensive toys tries to win Riley’s favour. However, Beverly is mistaken, the anonymous presents are from somebody else, somebody who has been searching her and who is watching her now, waiting for the best moment to strike. Somebody who knows her past and above all, the secret she has successfully hidden for years. Finally, her luck seems to come to an end and she is not only threatened to be exposed but also to lose the most precious thing of her life: her son.

Nicole Trope has wonderfully plotted the action in her thriller so that the reader is immediately gripped. By alternating the chapters’ focus, we are presented with different points of view that fuel speculation about who is this unnamed observer, what is this person up to and, first and foremost, what is Beverly hiding? I totally adored hypothesising about these questions, running in the wrong directions while the conflict slowly unfolds and heads towards a climax.

Beverly is a character you are fond of instantly. She is a lot younger than the other mothers and feels inferior not only due to her age but also senses that she needs to do better than the fellow moms to avoid being looked down on. Being a single parent is hard enough, for her, the pressure put on her from the outside makes it even harder. She only wants the best for Riley and is willing to put her personal luck second which is quite a compassionate attitude. That she becomes the focus of a villain seems unfair even though you are aware from the beginning that she, too, has some secrets which might be rather nasty.

A brilliantly crafted psychological thriller with some unexpected turns that kept me riveted from the beginning to the end.