Atonement
by Ian McEwan
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Book Reviews of Atonement
Book Review: Haunting, instant classic!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Atonement is without a doubt one of the best books I've ever read. It's right up there with Jane Eyre, Farewell to Arms, To Kill a Mockingbird. McEwan's masterpiece is divided into 3 main parts: the manor house and crime, the war in Belgium/France, and finally London. An epilogue covers modern time. Atonement is a story of unbelievable betrayals- the rape of a child, war, backstabbing relatives, all offset by the only thing that can overcome such horrors- love. The writing is achingly vivid and there are many memorable scenes. McEwan is so descriptive of simple things- the multi-colored IV drip bags in the hospital are suspended like "exotic fruits." But there are also clever twists, especially surrounding the imaginative young writer, Briony. In the final pages, even the reader feels betrayed by the so-called atonement of Briony. But upon examining the facts, you realize you already knew the truth, just like the characters aware of the original crime at the manor house. The entire affect is complex and mesmerizing! McEwan is truly a genius!Book Review: An atonement?
Summary: 4 Stars
This was my first Ian McEwan read, and it was a good one. This was an interesting story though not really a whole lot happened in it, and somehow it went for a few hundred pages. The reason for that was McEwan's precise and extensive descriptions of characters' thoughts and the story's various settings. McEwan is rather amazing at imagining the possible details of a one's thoughts, details that most people might not ordinarily be conscious of, but upon reading them ring true. The limited plot is lengthened also by the story being told from several viewpoints, particularly in Part 1. It was all very intelligently done.
But was there really any atonement in this story? At least atonement when it counted? I don't know if the title really applied considering how things turned out.
I hadn't ever planned to see the movie. Seemed to be a chic flick, but after this reading, I plan to rent/on demand it. I guess by being from the England and reading it while on my recent trip there, I appreciated an English story.
Book Review: See This One Through
Summary: 5 Stars
Part One of this novel is slow going. Had I not trusted the author from reading a previous book (Saturday), I might not have continued. This would have been a travesty. Part Two picked up the action and intensity in the war scenes, and Part Three tied it all together with one of the most elegant, haunting and surprising endings I've experienced.
After experiencing the ending, you will realize that Part One had to be written the way it was for the book to have resonated so powerfully. It laid the necessary groundwork for development of the novel's themes: reality versus perception, honesty versus artistic creativity, and real life versus fictional creation.
I watched the movie after reading the novel and was also impressed with the film adaptation. Beautiful cinematography, great acting, and a good sense of time and place. The movie did, however, feel choppier than the novel, as it was harder to blend the three parts into one seamless narrative as well as Mcewan did.
Book Review: Thoughtful piece of Literature
Summary: 4 Stars
I personally enjoyed the book, I was told, from the people who saw the movie, that the book would be just as bad, though it wasn't. Mcewan shows a powerful and new perspective not just on WW II but its affect on the people. Many would hate Briony, a very complicated and confused girl in Ian's story, who has a passion for writing. She was the person who betrayed her sister and her lover, in a irrational and thoughtless way. In my opinion, she was too eager to write an amazing play that would lead her to the center of attention, and give her the apperence of maturity. In her haste she overlooked the after affects that would come from simply assuming and choosing the victims of a crime, and inso doing changing the lives of so many people. For me it was easier to relate to Briony and her complicated emotions, since we share a similar age, and it was easier for me to look beyond her haste actions and into the deeper level of emotion that Ian probably wanted to condemn and be reflected on.Book Review: "it has no backbone."
Summary: 3 Stars
Young Briony, with an overactive fantasy and novelist soul, witnesses the flirtation between her sister, Celia, and the son of a servant, Robbie. When her cousin is raped, Briony accuses Robbie, which sends him to prison. During WWII, Celia--who has left the family--and Briony--guilt ridden by her crime--become nurses while Robbie fights in France. The book has a very lovely Virginia Wolf style to it (which I recognized before the book told me so), with the stream of consciousness, emotions, and perceptions of the characters flowing together during the momentous days. The meta-book stuff (Briony writing the book and changing the events to suit her imagination and forgive her crime) isn't as grating as I usually find that sort of thing. No, my main complaint is just how utterly boring the book is. The story is fascinating and full of potential. But it takes forever to tell. In the words of Briony's rejection letter, "it has no backbone". Grade: B-