Reviews tagging 'War'

Atonement by Ian McEwan

86 reviews

athenacomplex's review against another edition

challenging reflective slow-paced

3.5

Rich with food for thought, but often too slow-paced.

"Yes, she was just a child. But not every child sends a man to prison with a lie."

Or, in which jealous teenager Briony Tallis walks in on her older sister Cecilia having a romantic tryst with gardener boy Robbie Turner. Briony, a writer with an overactive imagination, assumes Robbie sexually assaulted Cecilia and their cousin Lola. Briony reports this to the police, and chaos ensues.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War and Sexual assault

ar_jun's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

McEwan is a middle aged white man writing about a 13 year old girl's perspective, and I find that he does it quite poorly. All of the women in the book are stereotypical and have no real character development. I also personally did not enjoy the tone or writing style of the author. If you want a book that is truly about atonement and resolving mistakes, there are others that communicate that message better - with better characters, plot, narrative structure, and everything else.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Sexual assault

em_1920's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

DRAMA. Oh you will be so mad at the end. 

FUCK Briony she’s the literal worst. At first when I read this I was a bit confused who the narrator was because they seemed to be omniscient and the tone was that of an adult. But it was seemingly telling to story mainly through a little girl’s perspective. And I was SO confused why Cecilia and Robbie had NO chemistry in the beginning. By the end though it was clear that Briony was jealous and selfish not only for what she actually did to Robbie, Cecilia and Lola in real life but then USING their story and trying to justify her actions.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Sexual assault, and War

steakumm_jakeumm's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: War

Minor: Rape

torigottlieb's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gore, Child death, War, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

karls_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Chronic illness, Sexual content, War, Dementia, and Medical content

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Medical trauma, Rape, Sexual content, and Violence

frankchester's review against another edition

reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Rape, and Gore

laudee's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I had to read this book for school and did not finish it at first because it is just not my favourite genre. Now, preparing for my finals, I listened to the audiobook and have to appreciate the different narrative perspectives and the interesting approach to atonement. However, I could not get myself to really care for any of the characters and the general theme and pace of the book is just not my cup of tea. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and War

Moderate: Rape, Animal death, Child death, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Death, and Adult/minor relationship

jadeng's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Sexual assault

maess's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, War, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, and Infidelity