What We Can Know

The breathtaking new novel from Ian McEwan ‘A thumping literary mystery’ Independent ‘A gripping page-turner’ Observer ‘A beautiful novel, full of wisdom and heart. I loved it’ Elif Shafak 2014: A poem is read aloud once then vanishes without a trace. 2119: A century later, the seas have risen and the world is under water. Those who remain are haunted by what’s been lost – and what might still be found. When university scholar Tom Metcalfe stumbles across a clue that may lead to the great lost poem, he reveals a story of entangled love and a brutal crime that challenges everything he thought he knew about the past… READERS LOVE WHAT WE CAN KNOW: ‘Fantastic…a book I will treasure forever’ ‘Brilliant, gripping, fascinating’ ‘Makes you question everything you think you know’ ‘A beautiful exploration of memory and love’ ‘What a book. Utterly absorbing’ ‘Rewarding and thought-provoking’ Financial Times ‘A master storyteller’ The Times ‘It gave me so much pleasure’ New York Times ‘Haunting, playful and ultimately hopeful… A wonderful book’ Kaliane Bradley *A BOOK OF THE YEAR for the Sunday Times , Guardian , New York Times , New Statesman , Spectator , New Yorker , i Paper and Barack Obama*

The breathtaking new novel from Ian McEwan ‘A thumping literary mystery’ Independent ‘A gripping page-turner’ Observer ‘A beautiful novel, full of wisdom and heart. I loved it’ Elif Shafak 2014: A poem is read aloud once then vanishes without a trace. 2119: A century later, the seas have risen and the world is under water. Those who remain are haunted by what’s been lost – and what might still be found. When university scholar Tom Metcalfe stumbles across a clue that may lead to the great lost poem, he reveals a story of entangled love and a brutal crime that challenges everything he thought he knew about the past… READERS LOVE WHAT WE CAN KNOW: ‘Fantastic…a book I will treasure forever’ ‘Brilliant, gripping, fascinating’ ‘Makes you question everything you think you know’ ‘A beautiful exploration of memory and love’ ‘What a book. Utterly absorbing’ ‘Rewarding and thought-provoking’ Financial Times ‘A master storyteller’ The Times ‘It gave me so much pleasure’ New York Times ‘Haunting, playful and ultimately hopeful… A wonderful book’ Kaliane Bradley *A BOOK OF THE YEAR for the Sunday Times , Guardian , New York Times , New Statesman , Spectator , New Yorker , i Paper and Barack Obama*

**SHORTLISTED FOR THE NERO BOOK AWARDS FICTION AWARD 2025** 'McEwan’s most richly layered work' Sunday Times 'A gripping page-turner' Observer 'A daring, beautiful novel, full of wisdom and heart' Elif Shafak A quest, a literary thriller and a love story, What We Can Know spans the past, present and future to ask profound questions about who we are and where we are going. 2014: A great poem is read aloud and never heard again. For generations, people speculate about its message, but no copy has yet been found. 2119: The lowlands of the UK have been submerged by rising seas. Those who survive are haunted by the richness of the world that has been lost. Tom Metcalfe, a scholar at the University of the South Downs, part of Britain's remaining archipelagos, pores over the archives of the early twenty-first century, captivated by the freedoms and possibilities of human life at its zenith. When he stumbles across a clue that may lead to the great lost poem, revelations of entangled love and a brutal crime emerge, destroying his assumptions about a story he thought he knew intimately. What We Can Know is a masterpiece that reclaims the present from our sense of looming catastrophe, and imagines a future world where all is not quite lost.

**SHORTLISTED FOR THE NERO BOOK AWARDS FICTION AWARD 2025** 'McEwan’s most richly layered work' Sunday Times 'A gripping page-turner' Observer 'A daring, beautiful novel, full of wisdom and heart' Elif Shafak A quest, a literary thriller and a love story, What We Can Know spans the past, present and future to ask profound questions about who we are and where we are going. 2014: A great poem is read aloud and never heard again. For generations, people speculate about its message, but no copy has yet been found. 2119: The lowlands of the UK have been submerged by rising seas. Those who survive are haunted by the richness of the world that has been lost. Tom Metcalfe, a scholar at the University of the South Downs, part of Britain's remaining archipelagos, pores over the archives of the early twenty-first century, captivated by the freedoms and possibilities of human life at its zenith. When he stumbles across a clue that may lead to the great lost poem, revelations of entangled love and a brutal crime emerge, destroying his assumptions about a story he thought he knew intimately. What We Can Know is a masterpiece that reclaims the present from our sense of looming catastrophe, and imagines a future world where all is not quite lost.

From the Booker prize-winning, bestselling author of Atonement and Saturday, a genre-bending new novel full of secrets and surprises; an immersive exploration, across time and history, of what can ever be truly known. 2014: At a dinner for close friends and colleagues, renowned poet Francis Blundy honors his wife's birthday by reading aloud a new poem dedicated to her, 'A Corona for Vivien'. Much wine is drunk as the guests listen, and a delicious meal consumed. Little does anyone gathered around the candlelit table know that for generations to come people will speculate about the message of this poem, a copy of which has never been found, and which remains an enduring mystery. 2119: Just over one hundred years in the future, much of the western world has been submerged by rising seas following a catastrophic nuclear accident. Those who survive are haunted by the richness of the world that has been lost. In the water-logged south of what used to be England, Thomas Metcalfe, a lonely scholar and researcher, longs for the early twenty-first century as he chases the ghost of one poem, 'A Corona for Vivian'. How wild and full of risk their lives were, thinks Thomas, as he pores over the archives of that distant era, captivated by the freedoms and possibilities of human life at its zenith. When he stumbles across a clue that may lead to the elusive poem's discovery, a story is revealed of entangled loves and a brutal crime that destroy his assumptions about people he thought he knew intimately well. What We Can Know is a masterpiece, a fictional tour de force, a love story about both people and the words they leave behind, a literary detective story which reclaims the present from our sense of looming catastrophe and imagines a future world where all is not quite lost.

From the Booker prize-winning, bestselling author of Atonement and Saturday, a genre-bending new novel full of secrets and surprises; an immersive exploration, across time and history, of what can ever be truly known. 2014: At a dinner for close friends and colleagues, renowned poet Francis Blundy honors his wife's birthday by reading aloud a new poem dedicated to her, 'A Corona for Vivien'. Much wine is drunk as the guests listen, and a delicious meal consumed. Little does anyone gathered around the candlelit table know that for generations to come people will speculate about the message of this poem, a copy of which has never been found, and which remains an enduring mystery. 2119: Just over one hundred years in the future, much of the western world has been submerged by rising seas following a catastrophic nuclear accident. Those who survive are haunted by the richness of the world that has been lost. In the water-logged south of what used to be England, Thomas Metcalfe, a lonely scholar and researcher, longs for the early twenty-first century as he chases the ghost of one poem, 'A Corona for Vivian'. How wild and full of risk their lives were, thinks Thomas, as he pores over the archives of that distant era, captivated by the freedoms and possibilities of human life at its zenith. When he stumbles across a clue that may lead to the elusive poem's discovery, a story is revealed of entangled loves and a brutal crime that destroy his assumptions about people he thought he knew intimately well. What We Can Know is a masterpiece, a fictional tour de force, a love story about both people and the words they leave behind, a literary detective story which reclaims the present from our sense of looming catastrophe and imagines a future world where all is not quite lost.