Will I love Atonement?

This is a meta-fictional novel about the fragile state of memory and interpretation.

Stories can save us, and in the case of 13-year-old Briony Tallis, stories can ruin us. A single accusation is enough to destroy her sister, a young man’s life, and their future together. It shows us that the art of writing can be both sacred and profane.

It is a novel inhabited by ghosts, one that taught me the importance of absence in storytelling, of the silences and liminal spaces when writing about epic events. The style obfuscates the plot, then later renders it in vivid detail.… show more.

What I love most about Atonement is the way McEwan commits so totally and convincingly to Briony’s perspective – even when that risks making her feel unsympathetic to the reader.

Authors writing young characters so often stray into arch irony or soft-edged nostalgia, but McEwan keeps Briony awkward and sometimes unlikeable and resolutely real, before allowing her to grow and understand and become appalled at what she’s done.

McEwan has written young characters brilliantly before, but Atonement is more grounded: richly observed, layered, full of living, breathing characters, and almost unbearably poignant at the end. It’s also a masterclass… show more.

This book could almost be a study on psychology.

The writing itself is so stunning that I could get lost in the words themselves. But at its heart, the novel captures something about mistakes and ego and lifelong consequences that makes me want to cry. The progression over the course of the protagonist Briony’s life is painfully beautiful.

It’s one of those books that are so great that it’s hard for me to even describe how it makes me feel.

As a huge fan of Ian McEwan’s early novels with their dark drama, especially The Innocent, I initially gave up on this book after the first 70 pages—but then, thankfully, resumed a while later. 

What seemed a genteel novel about manners transforms into something much more sinister and dramatic. I loved the tense atmosphere of it, with much of the story condensed into one hot pre-war summer’s day and then the later serious repercussions from what, at the time, seem fairly harmless childish actions.

This novel is a shattering tale of how a child’s error in judgment changes the lives of everyone around her. When I finished reading it, I was so shocked I started trembling.

The novel is a magic trick—it inspires you with its art, while at the same time making you weep for the fate of its characters.

A compelling and moving story set partly in pre-war London and partly in wartime  London. Before the war, a jealous, misguided teenage girl accuses her older sister’s lover of a crime he did not commit. This act ruins lives. The lover goes to prison, and the older sister cuts off her younger sister and her family.

By the time the war begins, the younger sister realizes her dreadful mistake and seeks to atone for it. This is an exquisitely written and original story of love, relationships, innocence, and guilt.

I loved the three-part format of this book divided by time periods. The first part, set in 1935, describes an event that took place on a hot summer day in the grounds of the family’s country house garden. It’s seen from the different perspectives of thirteen-year-old Briony and her older sister Cecelia. The story evolves from there in parts two and three in unpredictable and devastating ways.

I appreciated the book’s in-depth exploration of the power of a lie and the devastating consequences of that lie. This psychological study of adult Briony’s guilt and subsequent atonement eloquently depicts how war… show more.

This amazing book reveals how a single mistaken perception, influenced by jealousy, envy, and the snobbery of social class, can wreak havoc on so many innocent lives.

McEwen writes with great delicacy and passion in constructing a story in which it becomes almost impossible to atone for a terrible accusation that cannot be rescinded. 

Atonement is a historical novel by McEwan, also made into a very fine movie with James McAvoy and Keira Knightley. Before you watch the film though (and even if you have), try the book as it’s a different experience (as books to films often are).

This book is really all about stories, narratives, and lies. Set in 1935 and beyond, the protagonist is a young girl Briony – a budding writer from a wealthy family and highly observant kid – who becomes fascinated by her older sister Cecilia’s relationship with local working-class lad Robbie.

The central romance between Cecilia and… show more.

You know those books where you remember not just the plot or storyline, but the actual experience of reading it? Atonement is of those for me.

A sweeping wartime novel, the fate of its characters is determined by the events of a summer party. This was one of the first novels I read where I was repeatedly struck by the writer’s gift of prose and storytelling, so I often come back to it for inspiration.

In Atonement, McEwan got everything right, both at the sentence level and with the story and characters – except, in my writerly opinion, for… show more.