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A review by michelareads
Lessons by Ian McEwan
Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.
I was very excited to read Ian McEwan's latest novel, Lessons, and even more excited when I saw how long it was (around 500 pages - I love a thick book). Unfortunately, and I say this with a heavy heart, reading Lessons became almost a chore for me, one that I didn't like, and I decided to DNF it at 30% (this is the second book I don't finish in my LIFE, so I really tried).
Roland was sexually abused by a teacher when he was 11. Now adult (in 1986), his wife left him with a baby without an explanation. Pretty interesting so far. Then a sort of stream of consciousness starts, where Roland remembers different parts of his life, when he met his wife, his parents in law, all this mixed with European history... On paper this book seems exactly my cup of team, but in reality I never got to know who Roland was, he always seemed very far away and therefore I quickly lost interest. The writing is beautiful, but also quite heavy and didn't make me connect with the story, sadly. I'm sure this is not a case of bad book, it wasn't simply for me / for me right now. Maybe in the future I'll give Lessons a second chance and change my mind.
Audiobook comment: absolutely loved the voice of the narrator, truly a pleasure to listen to! Unfortunately it was not enough, as I struggled paying attention to the story. That's too bad!
* I'd like to thank the author, Knopf Doubleday and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Roland was sexually abused by a teacher when he was 11. Now adult (in 1986), his wife left him with a baby without an explanation. Pretty interesting so far. Then a sort of stream of consciousness starts, where Roland remembers different parts of his life, when he met his wife, his parents in law, all this mixed with European history... On paper this book seems exactly my cup of team, but in reality I never got to know who Roland was, he always seemed very far away and therefore I quickly lost interest. The writing is beautiful, but also quite heavy and didn't make me connect with the story, sadly. I'm sure this is not a case of bad book, it wasn't simply for me / for me right now. Maybe in the future I'll give Lessons a second chance and change my mind.
Audiobook comment: absolutely loved the voice of the narrator, truly a pleasure to listen to! Unfortunately it was not enough, as I struggled paying attention to the story. That's too bad!
* I'd like to thank the author, Knopf Doubleday and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.