“Much of the recent criticism has, bizarrely, pointed out that McEwan is concerned solely with stories about the middle classes. One particularly cross chap bemoaned the fall of literature in “the country of Dickens”. That is a bit like complaining that Le Carré only writes about spies and then for good measure comparing him to Thackeray.”

Ha! There’s a strange phenomenon that some people think stories should somehow anticipate what we might have wanted them to be instead of evaluating what they are. I don’t know if it’s the click-happy technology making every damned thing from gas pumps to plush toys ‘interactive’ and answerable to our whims, but we seem to be losing the ability to spectate.

It’s as if the balance between action and its equal and opposite reaction is off. And that ain’t just physics, it practice for life. Creation and control are elements of the human experience, but everything’s a bit lopsided when we don’t develop our ability to respond to what never required our input.