McEwan, Ian. Atonement.New York: Anchor Books, 2001.
I love it when I find a book that I find impossible to put down. I read this in three stages: on the car ride to Syracuse (3.5 hours), in the hotel an hour before bed, and on the car ride home (another 3.5 hours). Finished it in that eight hour time span. It was that good. I know I will be reading it again. And again.
How to review a book that has already been “reviewed” over three hundred times in one place? Suffice it to say I could not (and will not) write a one line review, “this was boring.” Nor, will I say “I loved it” and leave it at that. Having not seen the movie I am relieved I cannot confuse the two.
Briony Tallis, as a thirteen year old girl, witnesses an exchange between her 23 year old sister, Cecelia, and the son of a house servant, Robbie Turner. Because she is not within hearing distance she perceives the situation based on body language and facial expression alone. Being young and impressionable she mistakes sexual tension for violence and anger. This misconception is further compounded when she witnesses Cecelia being “attacked” by Robbie later in the evening. Briony’s perceived reality is so horrifying she points the finger at Robbie when her cousin is raped by an unidentifiable man. The next two parts of the novel are from the point of Briony and Robbie five years later as they both deal with the horrors World War II. The final section is sixty years later when Briony is a successful author.
Part One was definitely my favorite section. It’s the only point in the book where one character tells the story from a limited perception and another character circles back to describe the same situation from his or her point of view. The reader has the sense of circling the scene, seeing it from different angles, witnessing it from all sides.
Favorite quotes, “Cecelia longed to take her brother aside and tell him that Mr. Marshall had pubic hair growing from his ears” (p 48), “Every now and then, quite unintentionally, someone taught you something about yourself” (p 111), and “In love with her, willing himself to stay sane for her, he was naturally in love with her words. When he wrote back he pretended to be his old self, he lied his want into sanity” (p 191 – 192). I chose these three quotes because they seemed pivotal to turning points in the story: the first quote is lighthearted, a foreshadowing of how treacherous things are about to become; the second quote could sum up Briony’s entire existence; and the third quote illustrates true love in its finest moment.
BookLust Twist: From Book Lust in the chapter called “Ian McEwan: Too Good To Miss” (p 149). I’ve read five books by McEwan so far and I have to say this one is, by far, my favorite. Atonement is also listed in More Book Lust in the chapter called “Tricky, Tricky” (p 222). This last inclusion is a head scratcher for me. While there were many twists and turns to the story I never once felt McEwan “tricked” me in any way. If anything, McEwan’s ending seemed logical and expected.
~*LunaSea*~ 