Mcewan: my son’s essay on my book got a C

IAN MCEWAN, the award-winning author, has admitted feeling “a little dubious” about people being compelled to study his books, after helping his son with an essay about his own novel and receiving a C.

Mcewan, author of works such as Atonement, Amsterdam and On Chesil Beach – now a film starring Saoirse Ronan on general release soon – said he was unconvinced about the purpose of asking students to analyse his work.

“I always feel a little dubious about people being made to read my books,’ he told Event magazine, saying his son Greg was required to write an A-level essay on Enduring Love several years ago.

“Compelled to read his dad’s book – imagine. Poor guy,” Mcewan added.

“I confess I did give him a tutorial and told him what he should consider.

“I didn’t read his essay but it turned out his teacher disagreed fundamentally with what he said. I think he ended up with a C+.”

Asked for his thoughts on the literary landscape of 2018, Mcewan suggested he was sceptical.

“Literary fiction is in a curious nosedive saleswise, down about 35 per cent over the past five years,” he said.

“Everyone’s got a theory: TV box sets, some sort of fatigue, who knows. Maybe it’s not just good enough. When people ask me who are the amazing writers under 30, I’m not in a position to judge. I start a lot of modern novels and don’t find myself compelled to continue.”

Mcewan revealed he had taken licence with his adaptation of On Chesil Beach for the screen.

“I’ve learnt from experience that if you want to have influence, you have to get your hands dirty,” he said. “What’s also not in the book is the ending, because cinematically it’s irresistible.”

He added: “I tinker – I can’t stop. There’s one scene in the movie I know that if it had occurred to me when I was writing the novel, I’d have put it in.”