What We Can Know
 | |
| Author | Ian McEwan |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape (UK) |
Publication date | 2025 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 400 |
| ISBN | 9781787335738 |
What We Can Know is the 18th novel by author Ian McEwan, published in 2025 by Jonathan Cape.[1] The novel is set almost a century in the future, in 2119, in a UK partially submerged by rising seas,[2] and is centred on Tom Metcalfe, an academic at the fictional University of the South Downs, who is investigating a lost poem, read aloud at a party in 2014.[3]
McEwan has described the book as a work of science fiction "without the science."[4] In the book, people in 2119 call the first half of the 21st century "the Derangement" because everyone knew about climate change but failed to act.[5]
Reception
[edit]In an anonymous review appearing pre-publication in Kirkus Reviews, the book was classified as dystopian fiction and described as a "philosophically charged tour de force".[6] Kevin Power of the Guardian saw the book as a commentary on the liberalist movement in the post-Brexit world, noting that McEwan dons the hat of a "liberal critic of liberalism" and "compels us to consider the moral consequences of global catastrophe."[7]
Writing for The New York Times, Dwight Garner called the book "the best thing McEwan has written in ages" and "entertainment of a high order".[8] Garner praised the many themes explored by McEwan, including the meaning of history and legacy.
References
[edit]- ^ McEwan, Ian (18 September 2025). "What We Can Know". Retrieved 7 February 2025.
- ^ Creamer, Ella (7 February 2025). "Ian McEwan novel What We Can Know to be published this year". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
- ^ "Ian McEwan's next novel, 'What We Can Know,' is science fiction 'without the science'". ABC News. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
- ^ "Ian McEwan's next novel, 'What We Can Know,' is science fiction 'without the science'". The Independent. 7 February 2025. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
- ^ Lyall, Sarah (25 September 2025). "Ian McEwan Knows History Is an Imperfect Judge". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
- ^ "What we can know". kirkusreview.com. 24 May 2025. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
- ^ "What We Can Know by Ian McEwan review – the limits of liberalism". The Guardian. 18 September 2025. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
- ^ Garner, Dwight (22 September 2025). "Ian McEwan's Latest Is the Best Novel He's Written in Ages". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 September 2025.