Ian McEwan is a decorated (in the literal sense) and perhaps the most famous British author of his time, one that is almost a classic. His novel, Exercises, was published in 2022, and a Russian translation has already been published this year. The starting point of this sprawling narrative (over 500 pages) is frighteningly close: the Cuban Missile Crisis, as the world prepares for the end of the world. At the center are the memories of a strange relationship between a student and his music teacher, which serves as both the driving force behind a private drama and the backdrop to the historical upheavals of the century through which the protagonist lives. The novel will appeal to lovers of intellectual prose, especially those who prefer organized reading, where motifs, symbols, and images are neatly organized. 

"He felt a surge of unknown power, heard a murmur of delight, prompting him to declare to her that he had practiced the piano for a total of three hours over the past week. In fact, he had barely practiced, playing for three minutes, no more. He had never deceived a woman before."