The Children Act Ian McEwen
Discussion Questions 1. How did The Children Act affect your perception of family courts? What makes it so challenging for parents and the courts alike to follow the deceptively simple mandate that “the child’s welfare shall be the . . . paramount consideration”?
2. How would you react if your spouse made a proposal like Jack’s? Is Jack’s interest in Melanie purely sexual? When he asserts that couples in long marriages lose passion, is he right?
3. How would you have ruled in the first case described in The Children Act, regarding the education of Rachel and Nora Bernstein? Does Fiona approach religious freedom the same way in her ruling for Adam’s case?
4. How did your impression of Adam and his parents shift throughout the novel? How does his childhood expo- sure to religion compare to your own?
5. At the heart of Adam’s testimony is a definition of scripture, secured by faith in his religious leaders to interpret scripture perfectly. How should the government and the court system consider religious texts?
6. Both Jack and Adam are drawn to romantic ideals, albeit at opposite stages of life. Are their dreams reckless or simply passionate?
7. As Fiona reflects on her life, which choices bring her solace? How does she rec- oncile her childlessness with her notions of the ideal woman? How does her personal history affect her decisions in court?
8. Discuss Fiona’s sojourn to Newcastle. What is she pursuing on that journey? What is Adam pursuing when he follows her there? 9. In the novel’s closing scene, what transformations do Jack and Fiona undergo? The Children Act Ian McEwen
About the Author Born on 21st June 1948, Ian McEwan is a very prominent British writer, novelist and screenwriter. His first book was a collection of short stories named ‘First Love, Last Rites’ which was published in 1975. The book was highly acclaimed winning the Somerset Maugham Award in 1976. His second published work was also a short story collection called ‘In Between the Sheets’ and it was published in 1978. Two of his early novels called ‘The Cement Garden’ and ‘The Comfort of Strangers’ were published in 1978 and 1981 respectively and gave him his nickname ‘Ian Macabre’. After these novels he wrote ‘The Child in Time’ (1987) and ‘The Inno- cent’ (1990) and ‘Black Dogs’ (1992). ‘The Child in Time’ won the 1987 ‘Whitbread Novel Award’. Other works by McEwan include his novels ‘Enduring Love’ (1997), ‘Amsterdam’ (1998), ‘Atonement’ (2001), ‘Saturday’ (2005), ‘On Chesil Beach’ (2007), ‘Solar’ (2010) and ‘Sweet Tooth’ (2012). Enduring Love and Atonement were adapted into films in 2004 and 2007. Ian McEwan also produced several screenplays as well as a stage play and chil- dren’s fiction. His screenplays are ‘Jack Flea’s Birthday Celebrations (1976), ‘The Ploughman’s Lunch’ (1985), ‘Sour Sweet’ (1989) and ‘The Good Son’ (1993).
Ian McEwan has been honoured by many awards including the ‘James Tait Black Memorial Prize’ for his novel ‘Saturday’ and the ‘Man Booker Prize’ for ‘Amsterdam’. He received the ‘Shakespeare Prize’ by the Alfred Toep- fer Foundation in 1999 and a ‘CBE’ in 2000. McEwan is the first person to be awarded with the prestigious ‘Harold and Ethel L. Stellfox Visiting Scholar and Writers Program Award’ by Dickinson College. Other awards include the ‘Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award’ (2010) and the ‘Jerusalem Prize’ (2011). He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was awarded the honorary Doctorate of Literature by University College, London. Ian McEwan is also ranked amongst ‘The 50 greatest British writers since 1945’.
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