Ian McEwan's writing career began in the mid-seventies. And today he is considered one of the most influential prose writers in England. In the books of McEwan, readers are invited to play fascinating post-modern games, the author deftly experiments with narrative strategies and storylines, leaves a huge number of references to history and other works of art.
Children's years, education and first books
Ian McEwan was born in the English town of Aldershot in 1948. His father was an officer and was transferred several times from one military base to another. Therefore, the McEwen lived now in Germany, then on the African continent, then in Asia … And only when Ian was twelve years old, the family finally settled in the UK.
In school, Ian enjoyed reading English-language prose, he especially liked science fiction. And the future writer received higher education at the University of Sussex - here he became the owner of a bachelor's degree in literature (this happened in 1970). And a year later, he became a master in the same field.
Ian McEwan made a loud statement in 1975 by releasing a collection of gloomy, distinctive short stories, "First Love, Last Anointing." Many criticized this collection for its description of violence and sex, but this did not stop McEwan in 1976 from winning the Somerset Maugham Prize.
The year 1978 also became important for McEwan. This year, two books by a talented author appeared at once - the collection "Between Downed Down Sheets", where mystical motifs are fancifully intertwined with a realistic tradition, and the novel "Cement Garden". McEwan touched on some very sensitive topics (for example, incest). The novel, of course, caused then a controversial reaction in British society, but in the end it still became a cult.
McEwan's Further Literary Career
In the eighties, two significant novels by McEwan were released - "The Comfort of the Wanderers" (release year - 1981) and "A Child in Time" (1987). For the Consolation of the Wanderers, the writer was even nominated for the most prestigious Booker Prize, but in the end it was given to another. In the same period, McEwan began to actively create scripts for TV, film and radio.
Another, the fourth consecutive novel by Ian McEwan "Innocent" was published in 1990. This work is interesting in that it mixes several different genres. Here you can find signs of a detective, spyware, and historical novel.
Further, the writer created three more major works highly praised by professionals and ordinary readers - Black Dogs (1992), Unbearable Love (1997) and Amsterdam (1998). By the way, the novel with the capacious title "Amsterdam", which tells an instructive story about the loss of human values by the characters, brought Ian McEwan the Booker Prize.
In the new millennium, McEwan continued to delight lovers of good literature. In 2001, his novel The Atonement was published. This was followed by the books “Saturday” (2005), “On the Shore (2007) and“ Solar ”(2010). The writer even won the Woodhouse Prize for“ Solar ”. In 2012, McEwan’s book“ Sweetener ”appeared on sale, journalist Chris Hitchens. In 2014, the book “The Children Act” (2014) appeared and finally in 2016, the novel “In the Shell.” This novel is interesting, in particular, because the unborn child of two key characters acts as the narrator heroes, it turns out that at the moment, McEwan has created 14 novels.
