Feather Falls (Sorry About The Watermark)

A Brilliant Disguise: Solo Acoustic

From the novella Apparition, by Thomas Lynch

Adrian wondered what it was he wanted.  He had long since lost hope of a woman who could love him like a wife would and love his children like a mother.  That mix of passion and sacrifice seemed quite impossible to him now.  Not because such women did not exist, but because he lacked what it was they wanted.  Though he’d had housekeepers and nannies and tutors and teachers and therapists for his children; though he’d had no shortage of memorable sexual partners; there had not been nor would there be, he now knew with certainty, anyone like Gloria in his life and times–a woman who would mourn and remember the boy he had been, the man he was, the old man he hoped to be, who would love him and outlive him and keep him alive in the daily lives and times of his people, his children and his children’s children.  He could feel the wave of sadness rising in him that he knew, if he did not move, would overtake him.

Adrian wondered what it was he wanted.  He had long since lost hope of a woman who could love him like a wife would and love his children like a mother.  That mix of passion and sacrifice seemed quite impossible to him now.  Not because such women did not exist, but because he lacked what it was they wanted.  Though he’d had housekeepers and nannies and tutors and teachers and therapists for his children; though he’d had no shortage of memorable sexual partners; there had not been nor would there be, he now knew with certainty, anyone like Gloria in his life and times–a woman who would mourn and remember the boy he had been, the man he was, the old man he hoped to be, who would love him and outlive him and keep him alive in the daily lives and times of his people, his children and his children’s children.  He could feel the wave of sadness rising in him that he knew, if he did not move, would overtake him.

Ian McEwan's "Solar:" Are They Reading the Same Book?

Customarily, McEwan’s novels spring from a catastrophic incident in someone’s life, either a calamity that causes physical distress or a psychological trespass that causes emotional instability. For instance, in Enduring Love (1998), a man plunges to his death from a balloon, and in the aftermath, one witness continues to menace another witness. On Chesil Beach (2007) centers on an emotionally devastating wedding night. In his new novel, McEwan outdoes himself in terms of catastrophic occurrences. The protagonist, physicist Michael Beard, won a Nobel Prize several years ago and has been resting on his laurels ever since. A serial cheater, he is now married to his fifth wife, who leads a totally separate life, indicating her complete disdain for his wandering eye. His lack of effort in applying himself to either career or fidelity only increases our dislike of him. Even he says of himself, “No one loved him.” An accidental death in which he was involved and which he covered up, a politically incorrect statement aired before a professional audience, and his usurpation of the research of a deceased colleague: readers are taxed to even care about these crises. This draggy novel stands in stark contrast to its many beautiful predecessors, but McEwan is regarded as a major contemporary British novelist, so expect demand on that basis. --Brad Hooper

Praise from the UK:

"A comedy every bit as brilliant as its title might suggest ... Blazing with imaginative and intellectual energy, Solar is a stellar performance."
—Sunday Times
 
“A stunningly accomplished work, possibly [McEwan’s] best yet.”
—Financial Times
 
“Beard is as robust and full-fleshed and ebullient a character as McEwan has come up with. And in Solar, he shows a side to himself as a writer — a puckishness, a broadness of humour, an extravagance of style — that we haven’t seen before.”
—The Spectator

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