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danielafin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
megfindlay's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.5
nellyycurrie's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Enjoyed quite a lot! Devoured it on holiday. Didn’t like the ending, it confused me and was unsatisfying, but liked the whole idea of the narrative and not knowing what was true or not, and truth as in some ways objective.
spyralnode's review against another edition
tense
medium-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
2.0
'Atonement' is all about context, rather than the events. So many key moments happen off page, and the parts that we see appear to be more complementary than the main plot. I wish it was reversed, that we got to experience what happened in the time jumps rather than what was written.
The blurb mentions that a young girl sees something she isn't supposed to happening between her older sister and the son of one of their servants, and following this makes an accusation that will have devastating consequences.
But the reality is that this only happened halfway through the book! So here I am, waiting for something to happen and it takes 200 pages. After the big reveal, there is no aftermath, but it jumps to 5 years later.
So the first part was actually depicting family life in England, with Briony, the young girl, writing plays and finding out that Cecilia and Robbie were having an affair by observing them in the garden together and then later having sex in the library. The crime referred to is a rape, and this seems like a major life event for Lola, Briony's cousin, who is the victim. Yet we never find out what happened to Lola to overcome it, except that she gets married years later. I also didn't quite understand what repercussion there are for Robbie, because the time jump places him at war, and I didn't understand if this was by choice or not.
The prose was very roundabout and flowery, and again, I just didn't think that it was on topic. It read meandering and wandering, focusing on details that I couldn't care about less. The characters themselves also didn't get my sympathy, and by this I don't mean that I would like to like them, but I would perhaps like to feel a fascination, an interest.
I was just really, really bored, and didn't find any of it captivating.
The blurb mentions that a young girl sees something she isn't supposed to happening between her older sister and the son of one of their servants, and following this makes an accusation that will have devastating consequences.
But the reality is that this only happened halfway through the book! So here I am, waiting for something to happen and it takes 200 pages. After the big reveal, there is no aftermath, but it jumps to 5 years later.
So the first part was actually depicting family life in England, with Briony, the young girl, writing plays and finding out that Cecilia and Robbie were having an affair by observing them in the garden together and then later having sex in the library. The crime referred to is a rape, and this seems like a major life event for Lola, Briony's cousin, who is the victim. Yet we never find out what happened to Lola to overcome it, except that she gets married years later. I also didn't quite understand what repercussion there are for Robbie, because the time jump places him at war, and I didn't understand if this was by choice or not.
The prose was very roundabout and flowery, and again, I just didn't think that it was on topic. It read meandering and wandering, focusing on details that I couldn't care about less. The characters themselves also didn't get my sympathy, and by this I don't mean that I would like to like them, but I would perhaps like to feel a fascination, an interest.
I was just really, really bored, and didn't find any of it captivating.
laurasauras's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of those books that gets better the more I think about it, and enjoyably it left me *wanting* to keep thinking about it. All of the indications of storytelling became more important on reflection. Even as I was reading, I was astonished with McEwan's ability to create rich, believable internal narrative. Good stuff!
2hannon's review against another edition
4.0
it took me a while finishing this book, since i’ve got it for my a level and is a book i have for studying, i took my time with it.
however, when reading it by myself, for pleasure and even while studying it, i must say that this book is so brilliant. the plot, the writing, everything, it’s so well-composed.
i only knocked it down by a star, firstly because i RARELY if ever give 5 stars to anything (i’m very picky), but also because it is the first novel with such (imo) heavy writing. i will say, i got used to it eventually and it’s very refreshing from the usual books i read.
overall, i highly recommend this to those who want to read something that evokes true reflection, a novel that brilliantly conveys introspection and has a great plot too.
however, when reading it by myself, for pleasure and even while studying it, i must say that this book is so brilliant. the plot, the writing, everything, it’s so well-composed.
i only knocked it down by a star, firstly because i RARELY if ever give 5 stars to anything (i’m very picky), but also because it is the first novel with such (imo) heavy writing. i will say, i got used to it eventually and it’s very refreshing from the usual books i read.
overall, i highly recommend this to those who want to read something that evokes true reflection, a novel that brilliantly conveys introspection and has a great plot too.
athenabirch's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
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
4.0
adelle_bookworm's review against another edition
3.0
Nemůžu se rozhodnout mezi 2* a 3*; dost dlouho jsem se nemohla začíst, Robbieho část šla úplně mimo mě. Ale mělo to svoje místa a chápu, proč je kolem toho takový haló.
Na těch knihách, které vás na konci přimějí pochybovat úplně o všem, co se stalo, přece jen něco je.
Na těch knihách, které vás na konci přimějí pochybovat úplně o všem, co se stalo, přece jen něco je.
nicky19's review against another edition
emotional
relaxing
sad
slow-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
4.0
jess_mango's review against another edition
4.0
Thus far, Atonement is my favorite of the McEwan books that I've read. It was a captivating story about how a lie told by a 13-year old girl dramatically effected the lives of her family members. McEwan's writing in this novel is beautiful and the characters are wonderfully drawn. I hope to see the film version soon.