Atonement
by Ian McEwan
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Book Reviews of Atonement
Book Review: Contrived and predictable
Summary: 2 Stars
What an overrated piece of soap-operatic junk! I can't recall when I was so disappointed in a book. With all the accolades, I was expecting something really special (tho' I should know better by now, as commercial/popular success seems these days to be inversely related to quality). While the prose itself is nice, the entire book hangs on an event that occurs early on and is so contrived and unbelievable, with an outcome that is so predictable, that it was difficult for me to keep reading -- and the only reason I did keep reading was because I kept hoping it would get better, that an intelligent and complex structure would ultimately emerge to justify the contrivance and its predictability -- but alas, it never does. I can't get into specifics without giving away details that shouldn't be revealed to those who still want to read this trash, but if you're looking for an intelligent read with some substance and honesty, DON'T read this book!!Book Review: A Mistake in Perception Has Tragic Consequences
Summary: 5 Stars
Wow! There are almost 800 reviews already for this book. I'm glad about that because this is a book that should be read.
Ian McEwan certainly has a way with words. This novel is beautifully written and the plot is so intricately developed that it reminds me of Russian stacking dolls.
Without giving away the crux of this wonderful book, let me say that it weaves in and out of the present into the past and back again. In World War I England, Briany is a young impressionable girl who witnesses an event that she misinterprets. Does she really believe what she says she saw or does she tell a tale for her own devices? Regardless of her motives, her story has lifelong irrevocable implications for her sister and her lover.
This is a book that will be long remembered once the last page is read. It is poignant, tragic and beautiful. I feel enriched for having read it.
Book Review: British Drama
Summary: 5 Stars
I liked the book and its adaptation into a movie, although as is the case, the insight of the book into the characters outpaced the film images as a description of the characters. The number of events and outcomes, the folly and guilt of Briony, the lack of chronology from chapter to chapter made the reader feel like he/she were sweeping the cobwebs from the mind of the narrator. The reader had to consider the characters' feelings which prompted the tenor of their interactions. 'Atonement' is a story to savor as it is read. The end is bittersweet because the characters' fates coincide with the march of life -- youth, circumstance, age. Death lies below the surface as a fact of life, although it remains as a fact that has happened or that is about to happen. Like the lovers, life will continue in the imagination .Book Review: Confused about the Hype
Summary: 1 Stars
I have picked up many books and put them down without ever reading them through, usually with the thought "That's the worst book I've ever had the mis-fortune to try reading". With this book, I forced myself to read it though simply because it's supposed to be an award winning novel and so fantastic that they are making a film of it. I hope they have better luck with the film...because when I say I forced myself to read the story, I was thinking when I finished it "That's the worst book I've ever had the mis-fortune to read through it's entirety".
Don't get me wrong, it had a few events that held you for a page or two, but overall, the story was so wordy that usually by the time you reached the bottom of the page you were forgetting what was going on and having to read it again...
Book Review: A book that will stay with me forever
Summary: 5 Stars
Since people here have already provided excellent reviews of the book itself, I would just add that I read it five years ago and I still remember reading the last page. I remember where I was when I read the last page.
I remember fighting back tears and almost feeling disoriented, because the book had touched me so deeply. This book is an incredibly moving meditation of life and art, loss and regret. The book spoke to me about human frailty, as well as art as an act of compassion, despite its limitations.
I don't think there are many writers today that can match McEwan's gift of language, and the Dunkirk passages are incredible. Easily one of the best books I've ever written, a book that will stay with me forever.