“What We Can Know” by Ian McEwan.

“What We Can Know” by Ian McEwan.

From All About Books by Nebraska Public Media

April 29, 2026 · 8 min

About this episode

The episode discusses Ian McEwan's novel 'What We Can Know', set a century in the future, exploring themes of nostalgia and human freedom.

One hundred years in the future, a lonely British scholar longs for our time as he chases a poem written in 2014. He’s captivated by what he imagines were the freedoms and possibilities of human life at its zenith. It’s the carefully plotted literary novel, “What We Can Know” by Ian McEwan.

Topics covered

  • literary analysis
  • future literature
  • human experience
  • poetry
  • freedom
  • novels

Keywords

  • Ian McEwan
  • What We Can Know
  • literary novel
  • future
  • poem
  • human life
  • freedoms
  • possibilities

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: What We Can Know

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