New novel from Ian McEwan Machines Like Me to be published in April 2019

Britain has lost the Falklands war, Margaret Thatcher battles Tony Benn for power and Alan Turing achieves a breakthrough in artificial intelligence. In a world not quite like this one, two lovers will be tested beyond their understanding.

Machines Like Me occurs in an alternative 1980s London. Charlie, drifting through life and dodging full-time employment, is in love with Miranda, a bright student who lives with a terrible secret. When Charlie comes into money, he buys Adam, one of the first batch of synthetic humans. With Miranda’s assistance, he co-designs Adam’s personality. This near-perfect human is beautiful, strong and clever – a love triangle soon forms.  These three beings will confront a profound moral dilemma.

Ian McEwan’s subversive and entertaining new novel poses fundamental questions: what makes us human? Our outward deeds or our inner lives? Could a machine understand the human heart? This provocative and thrilling tale warns of the power to invent things beyond our control.

Upon announcing the release, Dan Franklin, Associate Publisher at Jonathan Cape commented:  'In pure storytelling terms this is a totally compulsive novel – funny, sorrowful and intensely engaging. A mystery, a love story, and one of the most morally layered books that Ian McEwan has written. This feels like the crucial novel for our times.'

Waterstones have limited edition signed copies of Machines Like Me – pre-order yours now.

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