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Atonement

By Ian McEwan

(503)

| Paperback | 9780099429791

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The Stranger’s Child

The Stranger’s Child, by Alan Hollinghurst, Picador, RRP£20, 576 pages The long first part of this eagerly awaited novel occupies one dreamy weekend in the late summer of 1913, the last summer of its kind there ever was to be, to adapt a phrase Alan ... (read full critics)

ft published on Sat, 25 Jun 2011

'Atonement' by Ian McEwan

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2002, part one of this novel features some of the best fiction I have ever read. Set on the hottest day of the summer of 1934, it evokes very richly the individual lives of a family living in a lavish country house, a ... (read full critics)

readingmatters published on Mon, 27 Sep 2010

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32 Reviews

10 people find this helpful

His business was simple. Find Cecilia and love her, marry her, and live without shame.

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Claire N. said on Jun 10, 2010 | Add your feedback

3 people find this helpful

I can't stress how much I love this book. It's a thoroughly compelling read, with excellent character portrayls and a beautiful story. It's also absolutely heartbreaking. When the final few pages were turned, the twist revealed and the implications sunk in - my God, I was devastated. Very emotionall ... (continue)

I can't stress how much I love this book. It's a thoroughly compelling read, with excellent character portrayls and a beautiful story. It's also absolutely heartbreaking. When the final few pages were turned, the twist revealed and the implications sunk in - my God, I was devastated. Very emotionally powerful, and it will haunt you for a long time to come.

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Danelectrico said on Dec 5, 2007 | Add your feedback

3 people find this helpful

The 4 point rating scale really doesn't allow enough scope for the fine discrimination needed when comparing my favourite books. Out of ten this gets a nine for being excellently crafted, engaging and being one of those stories which stays in my mind long after I'd finished reading it.

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Quiddity said on Nov 20, 2006 | Add your feedback

I always have a problem with Ian McEwan's novels. On the one hand, I am impressed by the expert writing, the elegant flow with never the least snag in the language to trip me up. On the other hand, I cringe from his stories, full as they seem to me to be of treacherous snags to trip me up at every t ... (continue)

I always have a problem with Ian McEwan's novels. On the one hand, I am impressed by the expert writing, the elegant flow with never the least snag in the language to trip me up. On the other hand, I cringe from his stories, full as they seem to me to be of treacherous snags to trip me up at every turn. I read them with a terrible anxiety hovering near my heart. Am I the only one who is so sensitive to their exaggerated aura of menace? Friends who like McEwan's writing don't feel this at all. Why have I read so many ? Partly because of the critical acclaim that welcomes each new novel, partly in the hope that this time the story will be as satisfying as the writing. I continue to live in hope...

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Top of the pile said on Mar 30, 2012 about the Hardcover edition | 2 feedbacks

Doldrums

I really wanted to like this book. Quite a few people told me it was a great read, so I plodded on through it in the hopes that I would love it. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. Perhaps because I have seen the movie and expected a differently-presented story.
I enjoyed McEwan's writing style, a ... (continue)

I really wanted to like this book. Quite a few people told me it was a great read, so I plodded on through it in the hopes that I would love it. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. Perhaps because I have seen the movie and expected a differently-presented story.
I enjoyed McEwan's writing style, and I thought he encompassed a lot of interesting detail into many pages without it becoming dull. I enjoyed the three distinct sections of the novel - the first afternoon, the war, and the nursing. However, I feel that the epilogue let down the entire work. It seemed to attempt to serve as a conclusion, bringing these separate sections together, but it didn't work for me. I felt the attempt was weak and rather too late, especially since the content of the epilogue hardly related to the story itself.
Many of the topics raised in the epilogue were questionable: Was there, in fact, 'atonement' achieved? Was it guilt or feelings of obligation that drove it?
I think I have come to the conclusion that I don't like the way male authors try to write about female feelings. Since two of the three main characters in this novel are female, it was a noticeable flaw, I'm sad to say. I have noticed this in 'The Notebook' by Nicholas Sparks. It was Sparks' apparent complete inability to portray the feelings of a young, sentimental woman, that made the whole novel unpleasant to read. I much preferred the movie. Unfortunately, I also much preferred the movie of 'Atonement'. What a let-down.

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Jemma said on Mar 28, 2012 about the Mass Market Paperback edition | Add your feedback

Not life changing...

Well this was not the life-changing experience I was expecting, to be perfectly honest. I may be in the minority here but I found this book tedious. There are some good things but none of them make up for the fact that most of this book is utterly boring. I've never seen the film and I can't say I'l ... (continue)

Well this was not the life-changing experience I was expecting, to be perfectly honest. I may be in the minority here but I found this book tedious. There are some good things but none of them make up for the fact that most of this book is utterly boring. I've never seen the film and I can't say I'll be rushing out to buy the DVD any time soon.
So the good parts first, the sex scene in the library and mm.... thats it. If the book focused more on Robbie and Cecelia's love for one another and less on the tedious life of Briony or (don't remind me) Emilys then it may have worked. We barely ever see Cecelias whole take on things, just through letters she sends to Robbie and then of course Robbie is so consumed with life in war time that there isn't a whole lot of time given over to him thinking about Cecelia. I must say here though that the chapters about Robbie in France were probably the most exciting mainly because the author was very good at describing life during a war and the terrible effects on a country and it's people.
The beginning was the worst with most of the story being told from Briony's point of view and unfortunately she is just a weak thirteen year old girl who has an over-active imagination. How she can possibly justify in her head that Robbie is a rapist, the same boy who she's known all her life, who taught her to swim and gave her piggy back rides. I don't understand how she gets to this conclusion when we learn towards the end that she always knew that it wasn't really him. I just don't get it. It's not like she blamed him for stealing her barbie doll, this is rape.
And then the whole thing with Lola eventually marrying her real rapist Paul Marshall? Give me a frigging break. I didn't like this book. I will admit that it's nicely written. That, my friends, is the only compliment coming from me about this book.

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Lauraolsthoorn said on Mar 2, 2012 | Add your feedback