Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing But Worth a Look
Review: I had high expectations for Atonement.This may be why I was very disapointed. The first 100 pages move very slowly and then the pace picks up.Ian McEwan is a very good writer. The ending left me feeling cheated. I can't believe how a lie was atoned for. There is alot to discuss if you are looking for a book discussion novel. I am sure there would be different opinon on what took place in this novel. Go for it!
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing Language
Review: The first third of Atonement is a slow build up to "Briony's crime" but for reader's who love an author who takes his time with descriptions and uses the lushest language, this book is amazing.There are three distinct sections to this novel, each with a different feel but even though most reviewers here have disliked the slowness of the first section I think it was my favorite for all the amazing and perfectly nailed details of the emotions and perceptions of each of the central characters. Atonement has been one of my favorite reads this year, I highly recommend it and suggest you give it until at least page 150 before deciding whether or not to read on.
Rating:
Summary: Good writing; irritating book
Review: This novel started VERY slowly, and unappealinly. I did not like the character Briony even before her actions came into play. I just found her irritating, and the author seems to dwell with fondness on her "writer-ly" ways and in general on the craft of writing, which becomes very boring unless you are interested in the writing process rather than in the finished writing and the stories themselves. Twice, I almost decided not to finish reading this book. Finally, I got interested enough to want to find out what would happen. It is well written and ultimately has an interesting story to tell, and we finally do see why the craft of writing is a subject, but it's still an irritating element of the novel, and Briony is irritating. Anyway, I would say it's very good writing, an OK story, but nothing I'd recommend to friends.
Rating: 
Summary: Tedious Read
Review: I had waited for this book and thought based on reviews that it would be worth it. Our book club read it and we were overwhelmingly disappointed. It was over written in the beginning and although the ending was thought provoking, it was not worth the time it took to dredge through the first half of the book to get to it.
Rating:
Summary: The man can write, but getting through the book takes effort
Review: This was my first McEwan novel, and I have a pretty good feeling it will also be my last. It is a huge pet peeve of mine to start a book and never finish it, so regardless of how much this book bored me, I trudged along. I will admit, however, that it took me almost a month to get through the first 150 pages, reading about 3 other books in between. However, once I finally did get to the end of part 1, the rest was an easy read. Finally. A friend of mine had told me that she didn't particularly care for McEwan novels because they were so dark. Dark novels never bothered me. I usually like the eerie undertones. Plus, the book had won so many awards, and the majority of the reviews were raving about it. I'm now thinking the world is crazy. I have no idea why so many people seem to think it is wonderful. After finishing atonement, I was put in a horrible mood. The whole point of the book, atonement, had not even been achieved. It left me angry and annoyed. I suppose being the romantic that I am, I wouldn't have been so enraged had the book simply ended after part 3. I still wouldn't have thought it was anything to rave about, but I would have been a little more content and satisfied. It was part 4 that killed me. I found it completely unneeded for the plot, and it only made me doubt everything I had just read. Apparently some people like to question the entire book, but I'm not one of them. It is the not knowing, and it really made me despise this novel. It literally put me in a bad mood. Had I known it was supposed to be fiction within fiction perhaps I might have felt different, but not knowing made me hate the outcome, and completely dislike Briony. I understand it's trying to be realistic, but to throw in certain facts on the last page angered me. I felt as if McEwan was purposely trying to deceive me in order to see how emotionally attached I could become to these characters, and then throw it in my face that it was all a lie. Needless to say, I did not enjoy this book. I realize I am using this review as my own private place to vent, but I really just do not understand how it got so many rave reviews. Despite the fact that I hated Part 4, it took absolutely FOREVER to get into. The book was not only a waste of my time, it put me in a bad mood at all. Ian McEwan can write well, but unless being depressed is a hobby of yours, I don't recommend this novel at all.
Rating:
Summary: Great book, worth reading through the slow passages
Review: This is the first book I read from Ian McEwan and I have to say that I will definitely buy his other works. I started this book without knowing what it'll be about. The first few pages drew me in not because of the plot, but because of the prose. The book is written beautifully, words convey very well the nuances and emotions of people without having to go into too many details. Very good characterization. The ending came as a shock to me, but I loved it. The only thing I didn't like about this book was part 2 where there was too much detail about the Dunkirk retreat.
Rating: 
Summary: Unsettling
Review: I had to put this novel down halfway through, as I found it a bit unsettling. It wouldn't let me stay away for long, though; I'm glad I picked it up again. McEwan's writing gets under your skin -- a good thing, since most novels are forgotten once you put them down. Rich, fleshed-out characters and situations. You spend a great deal of the novel trying to decide if you love or hate the little girl at the center of this story. Engaging and well-crafted.
Rating:
Summary: Superb self-indictment
Review: There are certain things one can simply expect from any Ian McEwan novel. Stylish, succulent prose; intensely familiar yet all-the-more anguishing insights on human nature; and perhaps above all else, the uncanny and remarkable ability to completely absorb a character's persona and worldview and transfer that seamlessly into the absorbing third-person narration. And it is precisely because of McEwan's remarkable gifts that novels such as Atonement are all the more disappointing when they fail to realize their own potential. The plot begins vividly, almost painfully, with every action and thought a recognizable and believable extension of each character's personality. Yet before the first part is concluded, McEwan seems content to simply do away with all the rich, complex layers of his characters and assign them bleak, washed-out stereotypes that cause their actions and, accordingly, the book's plot, to stumble to an uninspired and disappointing conclusion. Though McEwan's writing style has definite faults (most notably an almost neo-Dickensian proclivity for long, shambling descriptions that obscure and, at times, get ahead of or even forget altogether the plot or action at hand), it makes the first third or so of Atonement quite fulfilling, and even the second part detailing an account of the British retreat to Dunkirk is more than tolerable thanks largely in part to McEwan's ability to keenly get in touch with the essence of his characters (an ability which, as previously mentioned, unfortunately fails to manifest itself in terms of plot action and continuance). Ultimately, perhaps the criticism of a literary magazine to the literary aspirations of McEwan's would-be author Briony best describe McEwan's own talents - excellent prose and style, with the perhaps-too-strong influence of Virginia Woolf readily noticeable, but poor grasp of what a novel truly is: a simple story. Though McEwan starts strongly, the vibrant essence of his story quickly fades off into a shallow, predictable paint-by-numbers plot of rehashed action and reaction.
Rating:
Summary: what really happened in this book
Review: this book has caused much discussion in my book clubs. what do you think really happened in the novel? this is an excellent work that will leave you wondering about the facts of the book and what did or did not happen. i think i will read all of McEwans work now
Rating:
Summary: Overrated- too wordy
Review: I chose this book because it had won so many awards and was disappointed. Although cleverly written (in the different voices/writing style of characters), I had to force myself to focus to get through the first 150 pages. It was like Briony was trying so hard to show that she was intelligent, she used unbelievably big words and took forever to describe something that could have been said in a few words. Once the story started to move, I enjoyed it and have decided it was worth the effort to finish it...
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