6.85k reviews for:

Atonement

Ian McEwan

3.92 AVERAGE

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced
emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Really...really slow to start but did get better. The way it was formatted was strange and took some getting used to but worked. I'm watching the movie now and I hope I like it more than the book because the book just left me feeling meh.
emotional 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

the beginning of this book was so slow it literally took me 7 months to get through it- reading the first part felt like a never ending assignment- but the book is fully redeemed by the second half. I’d made up my mind that this was an overhyped novel whose author liked the sound of their own voice a bit too much but as parts 2 and 3 unfolded, I found myself unable to put the book down and then …. that twist
challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
dark emotional 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

sentences too long
Movie is better
Second half is much better
challenging emotional reflective 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

A bit of a slow start, but utterly worth the reward. Incredible writing and a touching story that will stay with me.