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A review by dembury
Atonement by Ian McEwan
3.0
I don't have much to say other than I thoroughly enjoyed the first 175 pages, but the following portions sort of lost it for me. The first and second halves are just so very different in tone, setting, and pacing that starting the second half felt like I had been ripped from one book and dropped into another. Which, considering the fact the second half is 5 years into World War II, I suppose one could make an argument on the purpose of the disjointed feeling, but personally I just didn't like it. I mentioned this earlier but I also just don't really enjoy war stories: I completely understand their importance and how meaningful they can be, but I'd rather read nonfiction accounts of theses moments, like biographies. Again, this is a personal preference, so someone else will likely enjoy the war portions.
Also, I felt like the main conflict and drama presented in the first part never got any worthwhile answers. The audience kind of does for a moment before THAT rug is ripped away, too (spoilers, so I won't say). I feel like McEwan was trying to really get into depth about fiction writing here, but I think I lost the point.
However, I do want to say that I am totally checking out another one of McEwan's books in the future because his writing style is incredibly appealing to me. It's very lyrical, sensual, and the imagery he creates is soooooo nice to read! Holding out some hope that I'll enjoy another work of his even more!
Also, I felt like the main conflict and drama presented in the first part never got any worthwhile answers. The audience kind of does for a moment before THAT rug is ripped away, too (spoilers, so I won't say). I feel like McEwan was trying to really get into depth about fiction writing here, but I think I lost the point.
However, I do want to say that I am totally checking out another one of McEwan's books in the future because his writing style is incredibly appealing to me. It's very lyrical, sensual, and the imagery he creates is soooooo nice to read! Holding out some hope that I'll enjoy another work of his even more!