The art of nature

Ian McEwan's lifelong respect for nature shapes his poignant new novel What We Can Know. In a rare interview, the author discusses nature's vulnerability, beauty and resilience - and his hope for the future

- Words: Mark Bailey Photos: Steve Sayers

Ian McEwan is strolling through the garden of his Cotswolds manor house. Bees waft drowsily between wildflowers. Plump apples, pears and walnuts bauble the trees. Vibrant cerulean-blue damselflies hover over the lake, like flecks of paint chipped from the vaulted fresco of summer sky. Framed by limestone hills and forests of oak, beech and ash, it is a scene of aching beauty - the kind that thrills the heart - but, inevitably, in the shadow of climate change, invites haunting reflections on loss.

This dance between wonder and fear shapes McEwan's new novel, What We Can Know, in which environmental catastrophe has left much of the UK submerged by tides, with three quarters of species lost.

"Those Joni Mitchell lyrics, 'You don't know what you've got till it's gone,' should be our warning motto," says McEwan. "Somebody ought to translate it into Latin, and have it emblazoned under every national flag."

McEwan's urge to confront topical issues, from euthanasia and artificial intelligence to climate change, has earned him the moniker 'Britain's national novelist'. The 77-year-old has penned 18 critically acclaimed novels, including Amsterdam, Atonement, Saturday, On Chesil Beach and Lessons. Many have been adapted into movies, notably the Oscar-winning Atonement, starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy. McEwan was made a Companion of Honour by King Charles in 2023.

When not writing, the 77-year-old McEwan can be found exploring the natural world, both physically and intellectually. He relishes long hikes along ridgelines, chalk tracks and footpaths. He enjoys vicarious adventures through the honeyed words of Patrick Leigh Fermor, Robert Macfarlane and William Wordsworth.

"I think Wordsworth really did change human consciousness in relation to landscape and nature," says McEwan. "What people saw as chaos, in time became beautiful."