This was just so beautifully written. The mastery McEwan had over the language in this book is incredible, and I felt so deeply for each of the characters.

imjustaboat's review against another edition

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reflective

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

5.0

This review contains unmarked spoilers.

Absolutely brilliant. I loved every sentence, perfect and formed meticulously. There are two major things I want to focus on while writing this review: Technique and Plot & Characters (though what is a book without those factors?).

Technique

As said by Ian McEwan, "[Atonement]'s really a book for other writers about reading and writing." Guess what, I'm a writer! This sums up why I was so drawn to a book that I wouldn't have spared a second glance at on any other day (thank you Laufey book club). The observations offered on writing intrigued me, and I sped through the pages faster than I normally would have with a book that has such acute descriptions. (Possibly also why I found Briony's point-of-views more enticing than the others. More on that later.) Every layer crafts a masterpiece that's one of the best books I'll read. However, if you stripped away all the book contains to the backbone, you would still find an enthralling novel on love, war, guilt, and forgiveness. "Atonement engages the reader on every conceivable level, with an ease and authority that mark is as a genuine masterpiece."

In the novel, Briony receives criticism on her writing, or makes her own comments, and leaves you suspicious that the writing being written about (lol) is too similar to the style of the actual text. I wondered if the author was critiquing his own writing by inserting himself into Briony. I even made the remark, "Ian McEwan definitely reads dictionaries for fun." Now, all this could be a little true, especially because this is the first work I've read by McEwan and I don't know what his style of writing is, but the feeling I had when I reached the final part and learned it was actually Briony's writing was delight. McEwan leaves hints that it is in fact Briony's writing, in everything about her fictional novel "Two Figures by a Fountain".

I've talked to some people that said they didn't like the book because of the writing style, but personally I loved the descriptions and characters, so to each their own.

Plot and Characters

Even without all the wonderful writing, the plot itself is so compelling. For me, Briony and Cecelia were the most relatable. (Part Two dragged on a bit because I didn't find Robbie that relatable, though.) I know Briony is made out as unlikeable (like damn, let your sister and her lover sext in peace), and although I wouldn't even think about doing what she did (as someone similar in age), I found her parts to be the most intriguing, especially when her writing was mentioned. As a writer myself, these were when I enjoyed the book the most. I also found a lot of parts of Cecelia's character relatable, although more so in Part One than Parts Two and Three. Having interesting characters (even if they're majorly flawed, or especially) is the most important part of a piece of writing for me. I've never read Virginia Woolf, but the descriptions about how she writes about/in streams of consciousness fascinated me (and Briony's Virginia Woolf stan era was great!), because her plots are described as perceptions and internal journeys, basically, wowie. But I digress.

Revisiting the Vulture review, Atonement's "got the three elements that make it a must: a country house, the Second World War, a love affair." I won't lie, the plot is one of the less captivating things about the book, and may steer some people away. It's pretty slow-paced, and contains a lot about war, which is, quite frankly, depressing. However, (in my humble opinion,) that makes the novel all the more better, powerful. Also I shed a tear or two on the last page of Part One and that should count for something!

Overall, I LOVE this book! I'm definitely watching the movie and reading other novels by Ian McEwan :D I'll be thinking about the characters long after today for sure, and I believe the observations and critiques on writing have in turn helped me become a better writer. Atonement will have a lasting impact on me.

P.S. My original review for this was going to be "what a bunch of prudes" before I got emotional over the final pages of Part Three and read the 1999 part (ew, who thinks of a review before finishing the last page?) and I just wanted to share because I thought it was kinda funny-ish 😓

reeburka's review against another edition

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sad tense slow-paced

3.5

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