Ian McEwan's 'Solar' might surprise you with its blend of dark humor and scientific discourse. It's an unexpected ride through the life of a flawed genius facing the enormity of climate change. Michael Beard is a compelling character whose chaotic personal life paradoxically serves as a nuanced backdrop for the sobering environmental themes. If you're drawn to character-driven narratives with a poignant, yet satirical look at human fallibility, 'Solar' could be a bright spot on your reading list.

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• Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction (2010)
• Dublin Literary Award Nominee (2012)

Michael Beard is a Nobel prize-winning physicist whose best work is behind him. A compulsive womaniser, Beard finds his fifth marriage floundering. But this time it is different: his wife is having the affair, and he is still in love with her. When Beard's professional and personal worlds collide in a freak accident, an opportunity presents itself for Beard to extricate himself from his marital mess, reinvigorate his career and save the world from environmental disaster. Ranging from the Arctic Circle to the deserts of New Mexico, this is a story of one man's greed and self-deception; a darkly satirical novel showing human frailty struggling with the most pressing and complex problem of our time.

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