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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, War, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A terribly fun book. Personally compelling to me, too, the questioning of certainty.
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i absolutely adore the film and the book was (obviously) also incredible. i wish i could have read it before watching the film. the descriptions of war in particular were incredibly detailed, although at times really challenging to read (not because they were poorly written, but due to a difficult and gory subject matter).
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
This was another novel/writer that my English teacher recommended to me, and she has still failed to disappoint. I was immediately captivated by the writing style of the novel, as well as the intricate prose and storyline. I loved how grand the entire novel was, but also the inclusion of so many stories and conflicts between characters, and how everything just seemed to end so realistically. The writing style with the hand-crafted details reminded me almost exactly to that of Anthony Doerr's, and I found myself profoundly in love. When you read this book, you go back and forth between loving all the characters and hating them, because they are so complex, real, and relatable, and that's what makes this book so spectacular. I'm looking forward to indulging in more of McEwan's literature, and by all means, you should as well.
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Briony would've loved TikTok. The queen of "how do I make this about me?"
I haven't yet seen the film, the book was on the Tbilisi Book Swap shelves at Begemot Coffee Books in Tbilisi, Emma's thumbs up were sufficient for me to take it and read it. In this novel important questions are posed about love, guilt, redemption, truth and the nature and purpose of fiction. McEwan writes excellent prose and he does the meta-fiction thing (a novel within a novel) extremely well.
Atonement is about a thirteen year-old girl, Briony Tallis, who observed her older sister, and the charlady's son acting unusually, first by the fountain then in the library, her immature mind doesn't understand what is actually happening but she has an active imagination, which concocts an extraordinary tale that causes an unforgivable crime. Can she atone for the damage she causes in everyone's lives?
The book is in three parts, each quite different in tone from each other. In the first part we have a large family mansion in the mid thirties, the long drawn out drama takes place over a single day in an atmosphere reminiscent of an Evelyn Waugh or Virginia Woolf piece. It is a very controlled domestic world in marked contrast to the second part.
The second part is faster paced and involves the shambolic retreat of the British Army to Dunkirk in 1940.
The third part is also set in the war with the hard life of a probationer nurse with lots of fascinating historical detail.
The prose is wonderful, McEwan can certainly write, although I wasn't too taken with any of the characters.
Atonement is about a thirteen year-old girl, Briony Tallis, who observed her older sister, and the charlady's son acting unusually, first by the fountain then in the library, her immature mind doesn't understand what is actually happening but she has an active imagination, which concocts an extraordinary tale that causes an unforgivable crime. Can she atone for the damage she causes in everyone's lives?
The book is in three parts, each quite different in tone from each other. In the first part we have a large family mansion in the mid thirties, the long drawn out drama takes place over a single day in an atmosphere reminiscent of an Evelyn Waugh or Virginia Woolf piece. It is a very controlled domestic world in marked contrast to the second part.
The second part is faster paced and involves the shambolic retreat of the British Army to Dunkirk in 1940.
The third part is also set in the war with the hard life of a probationer nurse with lots of fascinating historical detail.
The prose is wonderful, McEwan can certainly write, although I wasn't too taken with any of the characters.