This was when he first suspected that the kindly child-loving God extolled by his headmistress might not exist. As it turned out, most major world events suggested the same. But for Theos sincerely godless generation, the question hasnt come up. No one in his bright, plate-glass, forward-looking school ever asked him to pray, or sing an impenetrable cheery hymn. Theres no entity for him to doubt. His initiation, in front of the TV, before the dissolving towers, was intense but he adapted quickly. These days he scans the papers for fresh developments the way he might a listings magazine. As long as theres nothing new, his mind is free. International terror, security cordons, preparations for war these represent the steady state, the weather. Emerging into adult consciousness, this is the world he finds.
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About Ian McEwan
Ian McEwan was a contemporary British novelist and screenwriter. Ian Russell McEwan is a British novelist and screenwriter. In 2008, The Times featured him at number 35 on its list of "the 50 greatest British writers since 1945", and The Daily Telegraph ranked him number 19 out of "the 100 most powerful people in British culture". Read more on Wikipedia →
Themes
- War — Reflections on conflict, peace, and the human cost of war