Atonement by Ian McEwan Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Atonement
Book Review: heartbreakingly romantic
Summary: 5 Stars
AtonementSaw the movie first and was captivated by the story. The book explores the relationships and feelings of the characters even more deeply. Writing is superb -- one of those books that you slow down reading because you don't want it to end.Book Review: melodramatic war story?
Summary: 3 Stars
This book has 4 parts, and the only reason it gets three stars (as opposed to 1) is because of part 1. Parts 2 and 3 are fluff, added for melodramatic effect, and are a painful attempt at making this a war epic. Part 4 is cleverly written, although the 80th birthday party is completely cheesy.
I actually enjoyed the author's writing style. Although slightly laborious, I liked his detailed descriptions of feelings, feelings about feelings, the countryside, hot summer days, people and events. I empathized with the characters (only in part 1), and even got the part about atonement (in part 4). I thought that the ending, where Arabella could be any of the female characters in the book was very clever.
**** WARNING - giving away some of the plot - do not read further, if you haven't read the book ****
I like that there was no reconciliation between the sisters. It makes it more real. However, Robbie's and Cecilia's premature deaths makes their love, and therefore the book, seem pointless - almost like "all that for nothing" or "so many years for two months together". Most of their relationship is imagined or based on wistful memories and letters. It may have been a better book if they had moved away and started a new life, with some sort of character development and some sort of description of their lives together in addition to the brief glimpse through Briony's eyes.
All in all, a good read, but not brilliant, which is sad, because it has all the potential to be so. Oh ya, and the great "mystery" was as transparent as a window right at the moment it happened.