An evening with… Ian McEwan

It was an intimate conversation (about 100 people) with the creative, literary genius, also the creator and ‘god’ of works such as Atonement*, The Children Act* and On Chesil Beach*.

He discussed his most recent novel, Lessons*, which is out now in paperback. I haven’t managed to read it, but after sitting in his company for an hour, it made me want to – another for the TBR pile!

As well as talking about its main character Roland Baines and how Lessons* is loosely based on his own life, he opened up about his literary career; reflected on other novelists who have passed (ie John Le Carré, Martin Amis); and how he hates the term, ‘closure’.

It was a very calm conversation, where I found his conversation very captivating. He is indeed an interesting man, as reflected in his works. He opened up about family, dealing with criticism and finding flow in his writing. When answering audience questions, in response to mine on his approach to writing and if he’s disciplined: he has the opportunity to write 16-hour days, every day! This only made my realisation more concrete that everyone has a particular time of day/week/month (whenever!) they write and for how long, as our priorities are different.

The end of the evening felt a bit rushed, where I expected it to go on for longer and get a photo and perhaps a personal dedication in a book. Nonetheless, I managed to get a book signed before he hopped on a train home.

It was a cosy, wonderful summer evening activity. I wonder how many more opportunities there will be to get close to such prolific writers…

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