Reviews with content warning for Rape - Atonement

This book was incredibly boring and just not a vibe. I have yet to enjoy reading a literary fiction novel (so far, the only except is Memorial by Bryan Washington) because I find they are so overly descriptive and vague. This book was no exception and I'm glad I listened to it because the British accent of the narrator was the only redeeming quality to the story.

I feel like so much time was spent building up to the 'crime' and showing multiple perspectives that added no extra insight just for the actual crime itself to be glossed over quite quickly.

And it hardly felt like Briony even atoned for her crime anyway. It felt like everyone just kept living a life that might have only been slightly different had she not wrongly accused Robbie but it didn't feel directly correlated (except for him going to prison and being separated from Cecilia). And then bringing the war into it felt irrelevant? The whole experience of the war just felt disjointed and like something that would've happened anyway.

Plus I don't like the overly descriptive depictions of war when the author wasn't the one who actually experienced it and it felt like it was just being used as a literary device and felt inauthentic.

What I think did not sit well with me the most was the whole premise of the crime;

I don't like that they used this story to demonstrate a case where someone misidentified a rapist and the focus was then on how that wronged person was made to suffer, rather than using it as an opportunity to give voice to the victim. It seemed like a flawed process to believe only the young girl and now it could almost be used as an excuse for not believing others because someone was so certain of something that they didn't know.

Plus it being written by a male made it all a more damaging narrative. Would not recommend.

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soph1768's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
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

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mezzaaa's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

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livruther's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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

4.25

I think the book could have become an entirely new level of impactful if the cast of characters was more diverse. I hated the narration in the first part, and I thought most of the second part was boring, but I enjoyed the third and fourth parts. I thought the imagery of the soldiers in the hospital was really gripping. I thought the part with Luc was really sweet. I also really loved the character of Robbie. Even though it made me angry and sad, I thought the ending was really well done, and it is definitely a book that has stuck with me.

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sierruh's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

4.5

this was Very Good

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