The story of a life. The story of the year.

''Lessons shows [McEwan] at the very peak of his powers. He has written his masterpiece'' Daily Telegraph

When the world is still counting the cost of the Second World War and the Iron Curtain has descended, young Roland Baines's life is turned upside down. Stranded at boarding school, his vulnerability attracts his piano teacher, Miriam Cornell, leaving scars as well as a memory of love that will never fade.

Twenty-five years later Roland's wife mysteriously vanishes, and he is left alone with their baby son. Her disappearance sparks a journey of discovery that will continue for decades, as Roland confronts the reality of his rootless existence and attempts to embrace the uncertainty - and freedom - of his future.

''Ian McEwan is a masterful storyteller'' Elif Shafak

''A beautiful book about love, loss and regret'' Observer

''Luminous, beautifully written... about lives imperfectly lived'' Vogue

''A whole, unruly life between the covers of a single book: a literary feat'' Spectator

''A tour de force... A single life is silhouetted against global happenings'' Sunday Times

* A Book of the Year for The Times, Sunday Times, Financial Times, Spectator, New Statesman, Washington Post, Vogue and New Yorker *