Atonement
by Ian McEwan
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Book Reviews of Atonement
Book Review: simply brilliant
Summary: 5 Stars
Atonement is a literary masterpiece centering around Briony Tallis in the summer of 1935, her sister Cecilia and their neighbour Robbie, and the actions and consequences of one summer day in which the lives of all three will drastically change, and for which Briony will spend the rest of her life trying to atone. The book is divided into three parts, the event itself, the war, and when Briony is older.
In the her bedroom looking out the window, 13 year old Briony sees her sister strip down to her knickers and plunge into a fountain in the garden, whilst Robbie watches on. Not understanding what she has seen, Briony lets her imagination run away with her, concocting all different scenarios in which her sister is always the victim. Pushing it to the back of her mind-but not forgetting, Briony carries on with the task at hand- preparing for her adored brother Leon's visit by preparing a play in which she is the writer, director and star. A few hours later Briony's cousin is found down by the river. She sees a man walking away from her cousin, and based on what she saw earlier, accuses Robbie of rape. He is sent to jail based on her sole testimony and life carries on.
Next we see it has been a few years, and Robbie is serving in the war. He is trying to make his way home- to England, to a new life, and to Cecilia. The final part of the novel centres back on Briony. She is a nurse at a hospital, having now realised the consequences of her false accusations and wanting nothing to do with her family- trying to atone already. She works at the same hospital as Cecilia, who disowned her family when it became known why Robbie was taken away from her and by whose charge. Robbie and Cecilia are together again, and Briony goes to their place and tries to apologise for the wrong she has done. They send her on her way with specific instructions on how to exonerate Robbie, which she is more than happy to do.
An epilogue of sorts- Briony is now much older and has written a book as a testament to that summer day and the part she played in the crime that ruined the lives of two innocent people. The twist is fabulous, sad and heartbreaking, but on reflection was needed to show just how far reaching the consequences of our actions are and the damage they can do.
A humbling book of sorts for any who have ever exaggerated a story, or told a lie, it makes you aware of the potential consequences of our actions and how everything we do affects those around us, and can continue to affect those around us for many years. Stealing some money from your mothers purse and blaming it on your siblings, breaking someone up out of jealousy, telling someone they are fat or ugly- all can have far reaching consequences that cannot possibly be known at the time but could have easily been avoided. It makes you want to be a better person, show compassion and never take things at face value.
Ian McEwans writing is brilliant, superbly capturing the thoughts and feelings of all his characters and using meticulous detail to describe the surroundings. A born storyteller, this book is a fantastic addition to any library and i couldnt reccommed this book more highly- you wont regret reading this.
Book Review: Dense Novel
Summary: 5 Stars
Ian McEwan's Atonement is a dense novel; it has an intricate structure, and broad themes that elicit universal resonance. Set in England in the 1935's and ending in 1999 the novel follows the life of Briony Tallis, an English girl, from childhood to old age, touching on issues of family, class, war, good and evil, atonement, and forgiveness. Through the consciousness of Briony, McEwan asks questions about who controls human destiny. Do we write our own scripts?
Like real life, the novel is complicated by multiple viewpoints: Cecilia's, Robbie's, and most importantly Briony's. Each character has a limited perspective. Only the reader has access to the larger picture. McEwan shows life as perspectival, and shows the closest thing to truth is the union of multiple, sometimes conflicting narratives.
At the age of thirteen Briony Tallis tells a lie that negatively affects the lives of her sister Cecilia, and Cecilia's lover Robbie Turner. Her lie accuses Robbie of raping her young cousin Lola. Robbie loses a promising career, is sent to prison, and finally suffers the indignities of war as a foot soldier. Cecilia stands by Robbie, and forsakes her family because they believe Briony's lie.
When Briony understands the implications of her evil act she dedicates her life to making reparation. The dictionary says atonement is the making of reparation for a sin or a mistake. Briony, an upper-class girl, skips university to go into nursing in the middle of WWII as atonement for her terrible lie. She obeys hostile superiors, empties bedpans, dresses unimaginable wounds, and brings comfort to young soldiers torn apart physically and emotionally by war. She exchanges self-absorption for selfless care of others.
Briony admits her lie in front of Cecilia and Robbie. Her life of atonement and her admission of truth do not influence the couple to forgive her. Though they refuse pardon, they demand a witnessed written statement by Briony with the real facts, and an admission to the family about the lie. She promises to do this, and accepts their refusal of absolution. Briony can never repair the damage she has done. Her selfless work gives solace to others, but not her sister and Robbie.
Beyond the plot the novel is complicated by its structure. One narration is Briony's life; the other story is Briony's writing. She creates narratives in her imagination, which are played out in real life. She actually writes the story of Cecilia and Robbie, and exposes the true rapist. At first the reader is aware that this is reality. Then the reader begins to question outcomes. Is Briony writing this or living it? Where is the boundary between life and art? Briony, facing the onset of dementia, writes the final chapters of the story with enough ambiguity the reader is left wondering what actually happened. As a writer we know Briony has the capacity to play god--to control outcomes. But the reader is unclear about who is in control of destiny. McEwan asks profound questions, but gives no obvious answers.
Book Review: A Chore to Read
Summary: 2 Stars
I decided to read this book because of the enthusiasm and hype that has surrounded it. I took it with me to read while on a plane trip. The only reason I was able to get through the first 100 pages was because I had no appealing alternatives as I was trapped next to the window for my several hour airplane ride.
As others have said, the book is overwritten. While there is a lot of descriptive language, it is overdone and often irrelevant. At times it felt like the author wanted the reader to know how many words he knew or could use to describe something that was quite simplistic. The characters, except for Briony, are mostly absent, and Briony is just plain unlikeable. I had read that Ian McEwan did an outstanding job of infiltrating the psychology of the characters--I wholeheartedly disagree. The characters were barely present, therefore hard to care about or empathize with.
The "mystery" of the book was easy enough to figure out. After finally making in through the first part, I was intrigued and wanted to keep reading. While I thought the "mystery" wasn't really a mystery at all and an obvious conclusion, I was hoping for some great twist or turning point -- hoping that I hadn't figured out what really happened on the night around which the story was built. Unfortunately, there was no such twist, just disappointment that the truth was so obvious.
Then, in hoping that Briony might recant, I continued to keep reading. Again, disappointed with the anticipation of something that never came to fruition.
The parts of the book are abrupt transitions from one another. Each part requires the same determination as the first one to keep going even when it seems like the story isn't. When I finally was able to get interested in the new section, the book abruptly transitioned to the next section.
I read the book before reading any reviews, and was somewhat relieved to see that I wasn't the only person who was so sorely disappointed with the book. With all of the hype surrounding the book, I surely thought there must be something that I was missing.
I always try to take something away from the experience of reading a book, and there were a few instances throughout that caused me to stop and really think. One was when Briony was relating to her cousin and realizing how others and our reaction to others often help us to learn about ourselves. It is through how we relate and respond that we can learn something about ourselves that we didn't previous know, or hadn't thought about.
Another example was the depiction of the experience of Briony telling her story and then feeling trapped in her story with no space to modify it or turn back from it. This made me think about how often this probably happens with situations of similar magnitude as well as seemingly insignificant situations.
These are two examples of how I was able to use the book and relate it to life beyond the book.
Overall, two stars.
Book Review: Beautifully written and engrossing.
Summary: 5 Stars
Atonement is an extremely beautiful story about how differing perceptions of a single event can affect the lives of those involved, whether negatively or positively.
This book is told in three parts and each part is from three different perspectives.
The story begins in 1935 and is told from the viewpoint of the 13 year old Briony. Briony witnesses an event involving her older sister, Cecile, and the gardener, Robbie, that her young brain does not understand. Briony decides that Cecile would never commit such an indecent act of her own accord; therefore, Robbie must have forced Cecile into the situation.
Briony later witnesses an assault on her cousin and names the lewd Robbie as the perpetrator. Briony is unwaveringly believed in her account of the tale and Robbie is imprisoned.
Part two of the book is told from the viewpoint of Robbie. He was able to bargain an early release from prison by joining the military and being shipped off to France to fight. Robbie wants nothing more than to return to England and his beloved Cecile. His account of his struggle through the French countryside in an attempt at retreat is mesmerizing. His love for Cecile and absolute hatred for the person who tore him away from her and single handedly imprisoned him instills the same passion in the reader.
The third part of the book is told, again, from Briony's perspective. Years have passed and she is now a nurse for the wounded soldiers. She feels an immense sense of guilt for her childish take on the event so many years ago. She wants nothing more than to reconcile with Cecile and Robbie. Briony is finally able to confront the ghosts of her past and make her appeal to the parties involved. The outcome of this occurrence lies within the pages of the book itself. I will say, however, that the ending...affected me.
I found this book to be elegantly written. The language was absolutely exquisite and I identified with Briony. I could hardly put the book down...I had to force myself to stop reading each night when the hands of the clock approached 1 a.m. I was entranced with every page, every word. The tale of Briony, Cecile, and Robbie will be carried with me for the rest of my days and is now considered to be one of my most beloved experiences.
Book Review: love, rape, lies, war, injury and redemption
Summary: 4 Stars
All right, here are reasons to read, or not read, Atonement, depending on what your preferences are. The bad news first.
What you may not like:
1. While Ian McEwan does wonderful things with imagery (see below), it becomes a bit much at times, especially when he is detailing landscapes.
2. If you are not one who enjoys reading a novel that takes place on the battlefront, beware. About eighty pages center around a character's (who is a soldier) trek through France as it is being attacked by the Germans. 3. Having questions that you don't feel are being resolved. And I'm not just talking about the ending; throughout the novel I felt slightly frustrated at times that I was being left out. Granted, that's how life works, you're not always privy to every piece of information.
4. The last section seemed rushed, to me. On one level, I felt McEwan was trying to hurry up and tidy up the novel, but I again felt left out of the loop in some regards. The premise for the last section was interesting, though, I just had a problem with the execution.
What you may like:
1. Ian McEwan is an outstanding writer. He develops interesting, multi-faceted characters, beautiful descriptions and an intriguing plot. His writing isn't generic or typical of the genre; you can tell his syntax is carefully crafted, he's trying to create something more than just words on a page.
2. There is definitely a feeling of drama to this novel. You have love, rape, lies, war, injury and redemption all in one novel. Because of McEwan's style, it's drama that flows and weaves between characters, places and time periods.
3. The two main female characters, who are sisters, are strong, independent women who refuse to rely on their wealthy parents. Their mother is a perfect contrast; not as modern as her daughters, she doesn't understand their desire to become educated and explore the world.
4. The male characters are a diverse sample. There's rich and poor, motivated and unmotivated, honest and deceitful, kind and malicious.
5. The concept of justice isn't unrealistically portrayed. Unfortunately, the wealthy often prevail, although that doesn't mean there's no hope for the common man.
All in all, I recommend it!