Reviews

Atonement by Ian McEwan

byp's review against another edition

4.0

I like it, especially the first part. But I really don't like Briony, and it gets worse toward the end.

patiolinguist's review against another edition

5.0

It broke my heart! I've never felt this way about any story. For reasons I can't explain, this book really got under my skin - I love it so much it hurts.

nele_281's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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

3.0

utahmomreads's review against another edition

4.0

Well written. Beautiful, lyrical prose. Fully developed characters. Great story.

ltyson's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.75

alli_thebookgiraffe's review against another edition

3.0

in part one I did not enjoy the wordy and overly descriptive pages but it would not have hurt for there to be a bit more dialogue. I have seen the movie and quote frankly that is the only thing that kept me from putting the book down. I already knew the story was great. it was so dreadfully slow.
I'm part two I enjoyed it quite a big more. it was a faster pacing. I liked how it was mostly about Robbie's struggles. a lot more dialogue and more interesting characters. the romance was beautiful and the letters.
in part three it went back to the way I felt before. it was long and I didn't understand why they didnt go into detail about Robbie and Cecilia's fates. it was beautifully told in the movie. In the end I thought Briony had what was coming to her. a long life without her sister. she seemed unhappy.
overall it was pretty good.

wolfgold's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

hollietoftx's review against another edition

3.0

Was this disappointing because I read it in school and was expecting some bloody brutal murder or was it just actually a bit meh? I don’t know, but I don’t know if I can be bothered to re-read it to find out.

tdem122's review against another edition

4.0

[1st read this from 24/6/2021 to 29/6/2021] — 4.5⭐️

— i don’t even know what to say about this.
atonement is one of my favorite movies of all time and i’d wanted to pick up the book for a long time before i actually decided to!

that’s exactly why i couldn’t enjoy this as much as i wanted to, i love the film too much (and i’m definitely not one of those people) but i absolutely loved the prose and all those little details the film erases for obvious reasons!

this is one of the stories that remind me how much love there is to live for, it warms (but also breaks) my heart every single time, it was also especially nice to see briony’s reasoning towards her atonement, which isn’t as expanded in the movie.
also shed a few tears in the last three pages, just because i love these characters and their story so much, as usual :)

lynncornelissen's review against another edition

challenging mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Idk about this. I think this went over my head.