Literature: Ian McEwan interviewed on his new book 'Solar'; Literature: Ian McEwan interviewed on his new book 'Solar'

ENGLAND: London: GIR: INT Ian McEwan (Writer, author) STUDIO interview SOT - [on new book 'Solar' and climate change] First moves were thinking about human nature and climate change...forms of investigation of what we are...packed with statistics, very morally freighted, hostile to fictional treatment, my way in was to slowly build up in my mind long before I started, a rather flawed character, as I went along I started pouring more faults into him...poor guy, and let him wander into this backdrop of climate change - One thing I didn't want them to feel is that I was pressurising them into making an argument, I wanted to reflect our situation, I happen to believe we do have a problem, the science is pretty good, whatever public feelings about it at the moment are, but I think that would make a novel rather leaden to to be saying what is being said in so much reportage and generalism and non-fiction, my investigation was more to take us into a rather unsympathetic character, which is why I decided it ought to have comic elements CUTAWAY Front cover of 'Solar' by Ian McEwan McEwan reads excerpt of his book 'Solar' SOT - "He (Michael Beard) belonged to that class of men — vaguely unprepossessing, often bald, short, fat, clever - who were unaccountably attractive to certain beautiful women. Or he believed he was, and thinking seemed to make it so" McEwan interview SOT - [On main character Beard] A fat slob, lazy, thieving, lying, duplicitous fellow, steals another man's work...becomes convinced about climate change having been a sceptic... - [On his trip to Arctic in 2005] That was first hint to me there might be some way into subject