Rating: 
Summary: The beauty of great writing
Review: Ian McEwan's ATONEMENT is a mesmerizing, entrancing read, peopled with complex, naive, yet accessible characters, set in dangerous pre-WWII England, with Hitler on the march and much of London unaware of what's to come.Briony Tallis, the catalyst for much of what happens in ATONEMENT, is a pre-adolescent dreamer who is not fully aware of all things adult, and as a result she changes the course of many lives. Her sultry sister, Cecilia, and the charwoman's son, Robbie Turner, also live on the expansive grounds of the rural estate outside of London. What was a dinner party planned on a gloomy day becomes the turning point of the novel -- perhaps. It is difficult at times to figure out what's real and what isn't. McEwan deftly turns us from the realistic to the chaotic to the unreal, and by the end of the book, which will keep you up several nights in a row absorbing the beautiful words, you aren't sure what's happened, and might believe, as others do, that McEwan has compromised the story with the ending, hamstrung a 400+ page novel with the strange few final pages. I am not a fan of the ending, but the second and third parts of this book more than make up for that. You'll find some of the best wartime narrative in fiction in these pages. A brilliant work, truly, one of the best novels I've read in years.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your time.
Review: I cannot remember the last time I was so disappointed with a book. Atonement lacked substance and continuity both with its characters and storyline. I stuck with it until the end and threw it down in disgust. Rarely have I been so disenchanted with a book.
Rating: 
Summary: Another Win From Ian McEwan
Review: This is a good novel. Some UK reviewers have called it an epic and a masterpiece. It is neither. Although long for a McEwan novel, 351 pages does not an epic make. And McEwan's loyal readers (including this one) are still waiting for the masterpiece he will one day, no doubt, achieve. "Atonement" works on many levels: Here we have the annoying British class system, a stunning depiction of the BEF's retreat to Dunkirk and images of London during the Blitz. The stitching that holds it all together is betrayal and the quest for atonement thereafter. This novel should be read.
Rating:
Summary: The Novel Lives!
Review: This novel is a work of art. The author knows what he's doing. He's created memorable characters, riveting descriptions, a very good plot, and has thoroughly entertained the reader. Strongly recommended. The novel lives!
Rating:
Summary: Deeply intoxicating
Review: This will not be a summary, but a recommendation! Ian McEwan's novel Atonement is one of the very best works of literature to be presented in the last fifty years. Some may find this a bit strong, but it is true nevertheless. Atonement reads as a fairy tale, with complex characters who mature wisely, yet strangely. The book has a purpose, not a plot, and the characters know it. That Ian McEwan's books are not as widely read as John Grisham's, Tom Clancy's or James Patterson's is a pity. The world could use more books like Atonement, which demands the mind's full attention and the heart's strings. This is not the easiest book to read, as the paragraphs are thick with description and there is little dialogue; however, McEwan masters the art of writing with his style. It is worth every penny and thought invested. This little review is a toast to Ian McEwan, for enriching the minds of the interested instead of interesting the minds of the rich.
Rating:
Summary: What would happen if...
Review: Anne of Green Gables lived in the real world? She would be Briony Tallis, still as fanciful as ever, but now her actions have consequences. That is what I thought of as I read this book. Indeed thirteen year old Briony is also a budding writer, who takes extraordinary flights of imagination, and has incredible drama for everyday events in her life. Like Anne, Briony is also capable of summoning up outrage at the events in the world around her. It is just this outrage which unintentionally sets off a terrible chain of events. Briony witnesses an episode between her sister, Cecilia and their childhood friend, Robbie. This is followed up by more events, in the same day, that Briony is too young to understand, plenty of childish imagination, and then one final horror in the late evening. This sets the stage for an emotionally charged Briony to mistakenly identifying someone.
The rest of the story follows the fallout of that one day. Atonement is a splendid story, told very much through the impressions of the characters rather than their actions. This lends the novel an emotional immediacy that allows the reader to walk slowly through the narration and savour every bit. We feel the lurking menace early on in the novel, the sickly sweet heat of the victorian home, the emotional cascades of the characters, the heat of surprise love making, and the horrors of war. While I feel that this is a fine novel, there were things that I felt weren't really necessary. The narration from the POV of Emily, Briony's mother, doesn't really add anything to the story. It shares no new information, nor is Emily a main character to the story. It was, in my opinion, a waste of space. I also felt that some plot points were a tiny bit weak (especially Robbie's conviction and Lola's marriage), however, this may be forgiven as the book is less about the plot lines than about the effect upon the characters.
Rating:
Summary: An all encompassing story
Review: Great, collossal book.. Very, very satisfying reading experience. Will try to read as many McEwan books as I can lay my hands on.
Rating:
Summary: Superb
Review: Excellent novel - one of the best I have read in ages, however - to all other reviewers, please do not give summaries of the plot as anyone wishing to read the book on the strength of a review will inevitably have the novel spoiled. The characters & plot of this novel are fantastic.
Rating:
Summary: They own the language
Review: It took me a little while to get into this book. What kept me going was the way this guy writes, his choice of words, his flow, his structure. Not much happens at first and I almost put it down, figured I fell for all the hype and shoulda spent my money on a couple of movies. Wrong. All of sudden the novel shifts into overdrive and took me for a ride until the last page. This is the only book I've read by McEwan, but will read more. I told a friend about the book; he had just finished it and made the comment: "No wonder they write so well (they being the Brits). They own the language." I recommend you read this book, but be patient. Let the author lay the groundwork, fully develop the characters, the setting... then look out!
Rating: 
Summary: Earthbound
Review: To an extent, I see what all the fuss is about. McEwan has a wonderful descriptive talent at his disposal and creates a gallery of memorable characters in the only way such characters can come to life: through skillful showing and not telling. But he certainly sends those characters up in one rickety craft. The result? His lofty creation comes crashing to earth in flames. As other reviewers have pointed out, Robbie's conviction is an unbelievable sham, something that couldn't possibly happen in the real world, but I was still willing to suspend disbelief because I was interested in and cared about the characters. I also found Robbie's long march... Adding to the absurdity is Briony's gestural self-sacrifice, told through the labored pentimento of the last section of the book, a literary lead balloon if there ever was one. So while I respect McEwan's evident talent and was with him through much of the narrative, ultimately I was greatly let down by it.
|
