Reviews with content warning for Gore - Atonement

I understand that Briony is a fictional character, but that's not gonna stop her from being public enemy #1.
I started this book knowing basically nothing about it except that a selfish little girl ruined everyone's lives and yeah, that's right. But as anticipated, this book is critically acclaimed for a reason. It took me a while to get into-- Briony is so damn pretentious as a child, the font is tiny, and unimportant details are dragged out for quite a while-- but I can absolutely see the merit and came to love/hate it as I binged it on this fine Saturday. I don't think I'm as critical of a reader as I maybe should be, so I'm sure there's all manner of analysis I should be doing, but I am simply a vibes reader.
I recommend, but be in the right headspace and know that this book probably won't give you an ounce of joy.

Content Warnings

bvrealis's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

beloved_bridget's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I have to stop reading reviews, they made me very scared to read this book. A friend recommended this book to me, and I'm glad I gave it a chance. the first half was a bit weird, I am really not a fan of how the romance between robbie and cecilia was presented. I felt that I wasn't supposed to root for them, and felt very disoriented with the major jump-cut to WWII and we're just supposed to believe that their romance is perfect. even before that, I just didn't really feel that cecilia's feelings for robbie made sense.
I was really surprised that the second half of the book was dedicated to the war, felt like I was reading a completely different book. it was still a good book, but felt that the second half was very disconnected from the first.
overall, the language can sometimes feel a little much at times, like he's writing just for the sake of writing. but I really liked it

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