I wasn’t able to get into this novel. The style of writing was dense, and the reader is thrown directly into a story without any background knowledge or scene setting. I think this would be a great read for a specific type of reader, but it just didn’t appeal to me. I don’t know much about poetry and I think that left me a bit confused as well, since the author talks different poetic styles and backgrounds for one of the characters but they don’t give the reader any knowledge of what that style entails.

I found this book to be very intriguing. It was also frightening in that events and mindsets of today could clearly lead us to the devastation that has taken place by 2119. The book also explores the concept of what we think we know, of our own lives and others, based on one's memories and interpretations. Was my childhood really as I recall it? Do we really know anyone completely? A thought provoking dystopian novel with a mystery as well. It feels as though this book will stay with me for a long time.

Part 1: To say I slogged through it is an understatement. The narration is dense and extremely verbose. And while that can be good, a lot of the commentary is repetitive. This is especially true for Tom when taking about Vivian. I get the whole plot point of someone looking at the past through rose colored glasses but it was just a bit much and oh so slow

Part 2: much more fast paced when we’re seeing Vivian’s first hand account.

Mortal of the story - everyone is kinda awful. The theme looking at what will you be remembered for and what does history say about us is lost in just the book itself.

Written in two parts, this novel explores obsession, guilt, and climate change among many other topics. The first segment is very dense and was difficult for me to keep an active focus on. The characters were uninteresting to me and mostly I felt lectured at. The effect of climate change on the British Isles and the world was the most developed and interesting part. The second segment improved with more background for the characters. But I tired of the multitude of affairs and the surface emotions they exhibited. By the time the mystery of what happened to the poem that was the subject of the story was revealed, it was anticlimactic.

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Publishing for the ARC to read and review.

In today’s world history is being rewritten on a daily basis. Museums are eliminating our past and books are being banned. Imagine if someone in the future found a relic glorifying a lie and chose to put it on a pedestal as a great find. Will taking something as gospel misdirect the future? McEwan sets part of the story in 2120, in a partly submerged U.K. Earth has been nearly destroyed by climate issues, travel is tedious and treacherous and humanities education is an afterthought.

Thomas Metcalfe, a college professor, is obsessed by a twentieth century poet. Metcalfe, through meager research tools available, forget the Internet, wanted to locate the poet’s best known work, “A Corona for Vivien.” A corona is a poem in 15 sonnets with the final line of each sonnet as the opening line of the next. It was written as a birthday present for the poet’s wife who was given the sole copy after he read it at a dinner party. Not only did Tom analyze all the supporting documents surrounding the poem, he desperately wanted to be able to find and read the poem. he became infatuated with Vivien, long dead, to the detriment of his wife.

The second half of the novel is Vivien’s journal. What is real? What is fantasized? Where does truth lie? Do we learn from the past? On reflection, the book becomes more significant and important. The writing at times is weighty which reflects the depressing atmosphere of a bleak future world: however it do not detract from the story.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

A deep exploration of the novel’s titular theme, McEwan’s latest novel delves into the question of what we can truly know about the past as well as each other. Between shifts in time and perspective, not only do readers fill the gaps in narrative, but in their own lives as well. How much can we know about historical events, what we’ve been told, what we assume, and the interior lives of others? How much of reality do the facts we’re aware of comprise? What remains of us after we’re gone, and what will be the mark we leave on the world? McEwan’s novel is full of more introspective questions than answers, but for the reader willing to examine their life’s role in the span of history, WWCN is a thought-provoking, worthwhile read.

Giving this one four stars instead of five because the first half of the book could be a little too slow-moving, especially in terms of large chunks of exposition. If you read this one, power through, because the latter half of the novel really does make up for the shortcomings of the beginning. Overall, this was a great literary read that I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a deep, introspective novel. Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the ARC!

Ian McEwan writes wonderful, flawed characters who make terrible choices but are somehow sympathetic and engaging. "What We Can Know" is no exception. I was a bit underwhelmed by the first part of this book, but the second half only makes me appreciate the first. Part 1 feels frustratingly removed and none of the characters feel quite fleshed out. Upon reading part 2 this choice makes sense as the reader realizes they've fallen down the same path as Thomas. At times it is a little too present with reminders of current events and the failings of society. Despite this, McEwan paints a picture of the limits of perspective, dangers of AI and climate change, and the inability to truly appreciate something one has not lived.

I'm not sure I would have read this so quickly if it weren't an ARC, but I'm happy I did. While the first part took time to get into, I read the second in a day. This book had an incredibly interesting premise and provided a new perspective on returned to themes from McEwan of perspective and assumptions. He also writes beautiful, visceral prose.

Thank you to Ian McEwan, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, Anchor, and NetGalley for the ARC!

Ian McEwan is a master of capturing the intricacies of thought and emotion, and What We Can Know is another brilliant example of his craft. From the very start, I was struck by the depth of his prose — precise, layered, and quietly powerful. This is not a book you rush through, but one you savor, letting the ideas and emotions unfold slowly.

The novel is both intimate and expansive, weaving together personal lives with larger questions about truth, knowledge, and the limits of understanding. McEwan has a way of making abstract themes feel grounded and deeply human, and I found myself reflecting on the story long after I finished.

It’s thoughtful, beautifully written, and full of those small yet profound insights that make his work unforgettable. Readers who enjoy literary fiction that challenges as much as it moves will find this to be a rewarding and memorable read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – Intelligent, elegant, and deeply affecting.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Ian McEwan never disappoints. I admittedly found the first 1/2 of the book slow at times. Interesting, mind-expanding, but sometimes slow. However, as another reader has indicated (and thank you to that reader for keeping me motivated to push on), the second half more than makes up for it. Very clever, very thought-provoking. I will be thinking about this one for a good long while. Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This is the first time I read Ian McEwan's work. Since he's so well known and always referred as a pure talent, I had high hope for this book. Well, even though there are many elements that makes the book works, yet, I was hoping for more. What was supposed to be the event revealed in the poem (or the poem itself), was pretty clear, and the first POV (from the future) was dull and didn't feel that brought much to the story. On the other hand, I think deep down the themes about human connection, the need to redime yourself, and the nature of the human being are so strong that leaves you wondering.
Thannk you so much to Knof, Pantheon, Vintage, and Archor and NetGalley for sending me this ARC.

"From the Booker prize–winning, bestselling author of Atonement and Saturday, a genre-bending new novel full of secrets and surprises; an immersive exploration, across time and history, of what can ever be truly known.

2014: At a dinner for close friends and colleagues, renowned poet Francis Blundy honors his wife's birthday by reading aloud a new poem dedicated to her, 'A Corona for Vivien.' Much wine is drunk as the guests listen, and a delicious meal consumed. Little does anyone gathered around the candlelit table know that for generations to come people will speculate about the message of this poem, a copy of which has never been found, and which remains an enduring mystery.

2119: Just over one hundred years in the future, much of the western world has been submerged by rising seas following a catastrophic nuclear accident. Those who survive are haunted by the richness of the world that has been lost. In the water-logged south of what used to be England, Thomas Metcalfe, a lonely scholar and researcher, longs for the early twenty-first century as he chases the ghost of one poem, 'A Corona for Vivian.' How wild and full of risk their lives were, thinks Thomas, as he pores over the archives of that distant era, captivated by the freedoms and possibilities of human life at its zenith. When he stumbles across a clue that may lead to the elusive poem's discovery, a story is revealed of entangled loves and a brutal crime that destroy his assumptions about people he thought he knew intimately well.

What We Can Know is a masterpiece, a fictional tour de force, a love story about both people and the words they leave behind, a literary detective story which reclaims the present from our sense of looming catastrophe and imagines a future world where all is not quite lost."

I mean, I love the irony that a poem at some pretentious dinner party becomes someone's talisman.

Note: I would've preferred to not give a star rating, as I think there is a market for this type of slow-paced writing, it's just not my cup of tea. This book, a commentary on climate change and historical research, was one I had to DNF. It was reading as one big infodump with occasional interruptions for the researcher's thoughts. I think I would have been more engaged if this was presented in a more typical manner: alternating perspectives. The sentiment behind connecting with those of the past was beautifully written, but I could not get past the general writing style of this piece.

As always, Ian McEwan turns out some gorgeous prose. This story, split into dual timelines that focus on a future academic in a post-climate catastrophe England researching the lost poem of a venerated poet and on the personal papers of that poet's wife (subject of the lost poem), touches on a few themes worth exploring: the difficulties in truly knowing something or someone; the folly of letting the preservation of the past prevent one from truly connecting with their present; the value of preserving and teaching arts and humanities.

I enjoyed the book to an extent, in that the story stayed in my thoughts long after I laid the book down every day to sleep and haunts my thoughts now that I've finished. But one of the thoughts that haunts me is, my god, Ian McEwan is consistently very, VERY weird about women. His female characters are... troubling, in a way that's hard to put into words but which my nervous system recognizes and recoils from, and I think this might need to be the last work of his that I read.

What We Know by Ian McEwan

In Ian McEwan’s new novel What We Know, Tom Metcalf is a fictional academic from the year 2119 living on the archipelago that is Britain after global warming and nuclear war decimate the population and change the topography of the planet. His research centers on a poem by a prolific fictional poet who reads a famous poem at a dinner party that is never found in written form.

The novel is broken into two parts. Part One follows Tom’s search for the poem with his wife and explores their relationship as he pursues his passion for the past sometimes ignoring the present. Part Two brings us back in time to experience the events from another character’s point of view.

The novel explores love, marriage, loyalty and what we can reconstruct about the past from what is left behind. I found this especially interesting to think about as I wondered what interesting stories could be pieced together in the future from my mundane texts and emails.

It includes some interesting twists as many of his novels do. As always, his writing is beautiful. It’s part adventure story, part mystery with themes of love and loyalty. Although not my favorite of his, this is well worth reading.

I picked up this book because this author also wrote Atonement which was a hauntingly good story.

This book had elements that I liked and unfortunately, quite a few I did not enjoy.

The story is written in two parts. Part 1 follows Thomas, a scholar in 2119 who is researching a famous dinner party of poets and writers. This portion could have been sped along at times and the writing seemed a bit tongue-cheek at intellectualism. Or at least I hope so, otherwise it’s just boring.

In Part 2, you get to dive deeper into this mysterious dinner party and that was the part I enjoyed most. An untraditional story and I was surprised along the way.

The themes were strong. A strong political stance on climate change, activism, generational differences, social media, and morality.

That said, the overt lack of faithfulness with these characters was depressing. And the inadvertent way that the author framed female characters left me wondering if he holds the same standards for fidelity for everyone.

⭐️⭐️.5

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

2.5 rounded up to 3.

The premise of this book hooked me in the beginning but then it got too in the weeds for me.

It’s told in two parts and the the main character of part one was so invested in the lives of the people he was studying. It bothered the people around him and it bothered me too. He didn't have enough of a personality for me to care about him one way or another and the characters in his reality weren't given much of an arch for me to care about them either.

As the second part of the book began I thought to myself, “Seriously? Now I have to hear it all again from another point of view? But I was wrong and then surprised. Part two was so much more interesting, I got through the last 30% in a fraction of the time I got through the first 30%.
Part two features equally unlikeable characters but at least it had a forward motion to it instead of part one’s spiral. 


It took me a while to get through this one.

Francis Blundy was an esteemed poet, a genius, his name mentioned as second to Seamus Heaney. He wasn’t a believer in climate change. His belief was that the Earth is a self-regulating system that would correct any damage to the planet. He was an urban poet, requiring the countryside for solitude for his thinking and writing. His wife, Vivien, was the nature lover. As a literary historical scholar, her favorite poet was John Clare. For one of her birthdays, Francis wrote a nature poem, a double corona. A corona is a poem consisting of seven joined sonnets. Francis’ birthday poem to Vivien, consisted of fifteen poems, written on vellum. To make the gift special he destroyed all notes and copies, the only copy given to his wife. A year or two after the birthday party, the world was visited with a different corona, the coronavirus, COVID-19. Francis was right, in a sense, humanity did not become extinct. And then came the Inundation, a global catastrophe on a magnitude comparable to the destruction caused by Thanos in the Marvel Universe.

One hundred years in the future, literature and scholarship struggled to survive until the birth of Mabel Fisk, who became a great poet. Thomas Metcalf, literary biographer of Blundy, actually, biographer of Vivien’s corona gone missing, has devoted his life to finding the corona. Legend has it, perhaps the greatest poem written and prophetic of the times that followed. But without the poem, no one knows and for some the poem never existed. Thomas Metcalf with the assistance of Rose Church, professor, the two of them lovers, embark on an adventure into the past on a quest for the mythic corona.

Ian McEwan has delivered the tone of the world of poets and researchers with fidelity and kept the story from sliding too far into melodrama, while being a page-turner. Easily, one of my favorite McEwan novels. Thank you to the publisher, Alfred A Knopf, and NetGalley for an ARC.

This duel timeline novel gives a split narrative, like his earlier novel, Atonement. Unlike Atonement, this one fell flat for me. Much ado about climate change but without any real purpose, it feels.

I wanted to love it, but I just couldn’t get into it. I didn’t connect with the characters and the pacing was a little slow for me and I just had a hard time reading it.

This book is divided into two parts. In the first part, we follow a historian in the year 2119 who’s trying to find a poem written for a woman named Vivien in 2014. We are treated to extensive descriptions of changes in the physical world due to climate change and wars in the 100-year gap. In the second part of the book, we get Vivien’s story.

It seems at first that McEwan wants this to be his climate change novel. However, while changes in life and landscape due to climate change create circumstances and obstacles in the story, the historical search for answers is barely affected by it. The same story about Vivien and the poem could have been written with no mention of climate change, and the story would be enjoyable. That’s not to say the commentary on where society is headed is wrong; it just didn’t really add anything to a story about the desire and need to study history.

The writing in the first part of the book is dense and at times tedious. There’s no denying McEwan’s talent for writing, but the first 60% of the book was, for me, slow-going ands but confusing. The second part is highly readable and easy to follow.

Thank you to Knopf and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.