Lessons

Roland Baines's life is completely flipped upside down as the Iron Curtain closes and the world is still tallying the costs of the Second World War. He is eleven years old. His weakness draws piano instructor Miss Miriam Cornell, two thousand miles away from his mother's protecting affection and stuck at an odd boarding school, leaving wounds and an enduring memory of love.

Now that his wife has disappeared, leaving him and his little boy all by himself, Roland must face the truth of his restless life. He embarks on a lifelong quest for answers that delves deeply into his family history as the radiation from Chernobyl spreads around Europe.

Roland, plagued by missed chances, turns to various sources of comfort, including books, music, friends, sex, politics, and, at last, a tragically short-lived but ultimately redeemed love. For everyone of us, his path poses significant questions. Can we fully direct the path of our life without harming other people? How are our lives and memories shaped by uncontrollable global events? And what actual lessons can we draw from the tragedies of the past?

Lessons is an epic, captivating, and profoundly humanistic chronicle for our times—a potent reflection on mankind and history via the lens of one man's life.