Book Description

Ian McEwan's 18th novel, What We Can Know, is set for release in 2025. This new work takes readers almost a century into the future, to a United Kingdom significantly altered by rising sea levels, with parts of the country partially submerged. The narrative follows Tom Metcalfe, an academic at the fictional University of the South Downs. His focus of investigation is a lost poem, which appears to be central to the story.

Author Information

Ian McEwan is a Sunday Times bestselling author, widely recognized for his contributions to contemporary literature. His previous novel, Lessons, was also a bestseller. McEwan's career spans several decades, showcasing a distinctive range. Early in his career, works like First Love, Last Rites, The Cement Garden, and The Comfort of Strangers explored darker, often unsettling psychological landscapes. Over time, he has moved into broader narratives and themes, earning critical acclaim and a wider readership with novels such as Atonement and Saturday. His work often delves into complex human relationships, moral dilemmas, and the impact of societal changes, a tradition this new novel, set against a backdrop of future climate change, continues.

Readers are saying

As What We Can Know is a new novel slated for publication in 2025, community reviews and reader feedback are not yet widely available.

Key Details

• Title: What We Can Know
• Author: Ian McEwan
• Publisher: Jonathan Cape (UK)
• Publication Date: 2025
• Language: English