Ian McEwan's latest novel, What We Can Know, set in 2119, offers a scathing critique of modern liberalism through a future Britain ravaged by climate catastrophe and a Russian-triggered tsunami. The story follows literature professor Tom Metcalfe, who obsessively searches for a lost poem from our era, revealing the insularity and moral blind spots of contemporary liberal thought.
McEwan's quintessential Englishness—his rational yet purblind liberal morality—is laid bare. The novel's England-centric perspective, which ignores Ireland's fate in the inundation, mirrors the selective vision of English liberals, even post-Brexit. This insularity, both literal and metaphorical, is a central theme, as characters are islanded in time, space, and life.
Tom's nostalgic view of the early 21st century as 'resourceful raucous times' contrasts with his students' dismissal of that era as 'ignorant, squalid.' The novel's gripping plot, involving a vanished vellum manuscript and shocking revelations, ultimately feels unpersuasive in classic McEwan style—compelling yet leaving readers questioning the logic.
Through this future-set narrative, McEwan compels us to consider the moral consequences of global catastrophe, exposing the limits of liberal vision and the dangers of cultural insularity.
