Atonement

This post originally published January 22, 2010.

Author: Ian McEwan
Published: September 2001
Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
480 pages (mass market paperback)
 
Synopsis: It’s 1935, a hot summer’s day, and young thirteen year old Briony Tallis is preparing her first play to perform in front of the family. Frustrated with her cousins’ lack of cooperation in performing her play, when Briony witnesses a strange scene from a window of the outdoor fountain between her older sister Cecilia and the servant boy Robbie, Briony’s imagination invents an imaginative story between the two, which is reinforced when Briony walks in on Cecilia and Robbie in the library while they are in entwined in a passionate moment. Briony is convinced that Robbie is a maniac, and when her cousin Lola is attacked later in the night, Briony accuses Robbie of the crime, not knowing that she is committing a crime herself, a crime that will change everybody’s lives forever.

My Thoughts: There are some books with deep meanings and ‘bigger pictures’ that unfortunately have rather dull stories. There are also some books with captivating stories but no real deep meanings, just cheap entertainment. Then there are the books that have both the deeper level and mesmerizing plotline. That’s what Atonement was for me. I love this book, it was enthralling and wonderful in every way. Briony is an aspiring writer and arguably the main character of the book (or one of), and I really liked how the book explored the concept of writing, why people write, what can writing do, etc. It’s a big theme in the story and one that I enjoyed immensely as I read the story.

There wasn’t any one character who particularly stood out, except maybe Briony, but it wasn’t because I liked her. On the contrary, she makes me so angry. Briony is spoiled, always wanting things to go her way, and she is bored. She wishes her life was exciting, but it’s not, and when she witnesses the scene between her sister and the servant boy, she is confused by it, and so, interprets it her own way, and every event afterwards she skews to fit the story in her head. She actually reminds me a lot of my younger sister, so maybe that’s why I felt particularly pissed off with Briony, hahaha. Cecilia and Robbie are so sweet together. At first I was just as confused as the two of them with their relationship — they didn’t seem to realize that the reason they’re so frustrated with one another is because they are actually in love — but their relationship unfolded beautifully and it was just terrible how Briony uses the two of them as ‘characters’ in her imaginary story.

This book is split in four parts: the first explains the crime; the second part is about Robbie after the accusation and taking part in WWII; the third is mainly about Briony as she attempts to atone; and the fourth is the ending. Frankly, Robbie’s part was a little sluggish, I guess I just don’t find reading about wars particularly fascinating myself (I like war movies, but it’s a different experience reading them, and I guess it’s not for me), but I loved all the other parts, especially the ending. Even though it’s the shortest part, it ties everything together and I thought it was perfect for this novel, a very thought provoking ending.

My Rating: 5/5