Rating: 
Summary: un-put-downable
Review: Best novel I've read in ages. McEwan really takes his time to develop full-bodied characters and find their precise voices. And the story is gripping. Read it!
Rating:
Summary: Enthralling!
Review: Thank God people write reviews! I picked up this book on the advice of other Amazon.com customers and was completely blown away. I read it in one night, I simply could not stop reading until it was finished. McEwan's writing is captivating, and the underlying themes of existence, fate, and the transcendance of love drive the story along. I have not felt this much empathy for literary characters in a long while. A definite must read.
Rating:
Summary: Masterpiece Indeed
Review: The mere title suggests that Atonement is a book with weighty themes, and in that, novelist Ian McEwan does not fail to deliver. Yet for all its seriousness, Atonement escapes the snares that befall so many stories of its ilk; it is unerringly told without being heavy-handed. Throughout the work, McEwan fills the story with true soul and humanity. Atonement opens with Briony, the thirteen-year-old youngest daughter in an upper class British family. A budding writer, the girl is preparing to put on a play for her older brother's visit home. Yet as one misfortune after another dooms her production, the young protagonist turns her imagination to an innocent occurrence that she damningly misreads. Her sister's plunge into a fountain to retrieve a vase reads as something sinister in the eyes of the would-be novelist, and her story telling lands her sister's lover in prison. The second half of the story opens as that boy, Robbie, is released from jail only to land himself in the routed British Army retreating toward Dunkirk. Robbie's terror and the desperation to return to the woman he loves is wonderfully transcribed and the sympathy the reader feels for young soldier burns true. Meanwhile, Briony, now a nurse, has realized the true nature of her error, and she greatly wishes to reverse her actions. Yet for all her realization, the girl can neither unsay her words in court nor manage to persuade Robbie to forgive her. The final chapter of the book takes place in 1999 as an aging Briony reveals that the novel is her final attempt to tell the truth and atone for her actions. The novel has all the post-modern feel of an artist commenting on the false nature of his work, but in truth, this is an older type of story---one about people attempting to live very real lives---and that is part of what makes it remarkable.
Rating:
Summary: A dazzling achievement
Review: Within 25 pages, alert readers will discover they are in the hands of a masterful writer. Before reading this novel I had read McEwan's "Amsterdam," an interesting and worthy book but far less engrossing than "Atonement."The first thing that struck me in this novel was McEwan's absolutely convincing rendering of his characters' thought processes and sensibilities. The narrative is presented from the perspective of at least four characters, and for two characters the level of knowledge about what is happening changes noticeably from one point in life to another. This is very persuasively done. Quite apart from the dazzling success of the author in presenting an absorbing story and convincing characters is his ability to link the story to the nature and mechanics of writing fiction. It is rare that this can be done in a way that would interest anyone other than a fiction writer, but in this novel McEwan succeeds in fascinating at least one reader who doesn't write fiction -- me. The novel contains a wealth of impressions and ideas to ponder, long after one has finished reading. As someone who reads 25 - 35 old and new novels a year, I would place this novel near the very top of those written over the past quarter century.
Rating: 
Summary: It's hard work at the beginning but it is worth it
Review: This is a very moving and profound novel. Its true significance, and the awfulness of the sin for which Briony spends her life seeking a redemption she will never find, is not truly revealed until the end of the book. After finishing the book, I could do nothing for several minutes, I was so lost in thought. The beginning of the novel is hard work but McEwan is establishing a time and a place which is essential to grasping the meaning of this book. Keep your patience - it is worth it.
Rating:
Summary: On par with Charles Dickens
Review: Undoubtedly, McEwan has renewed my faith in contemporary fiction! This book seems so perfectly real that I found myself feeling disdain, pity, respect and utter sadness for its fictional cast of characters. McEwan writes from a triage of vantage points and shows us how one's perception can be tragically skewed. Original and Amazing and Brilliant and Profound... I'd loan you my copy, but I want to read it again!
Rating: 
Summary: Great writing, but disappointing story
Review: I agree with everyone that this was a great write - a great read. Nevertheless, it also took me about 150 pages in to decide to keep reading instead of putting it down. Then I was hooked. But the ending left me feeling used. That's all.
Rating:
Summary: Glorious
Review: I started this book a little reluctantly, on the recommendation of a friend. It was hard to read. The novel starts slowly, and the style took some getting used to. The story itself is also dark and painful. I found myself wanting to look away from the pages rather than continue toward the horrifying events that were taking shape. I was getting close to putting the book down, and giving up on it altogether, when I got to the second half of the novel. Wow -- I was absolutely hooked, couldn't stop reading, and by the end felt absolutely enraptured, enthralled, and uplifted. I didn't want to read anything else for awhile, but instead reflected on this novel for several days afterward. In my opinion, this is one of the best books I've read in years. I gave a copy to my mother, and she told me she's having a hard time getting through the first few chapters. "Keep reading" I told her. "It's worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Enthralling, Intellectually Challenging Book
Review: I can't recommend the novel strongly enough. It operates on several levels, and is worthy of rereading to pick up the subtly expressed themes, most notably the uncertainty of perception and the blurred line between fiction and truth.
Rating: 
Summary: Hit and Miss
Review: I fell for the tantalizing literati buzz on this book hook, line and sinker. While the author is certainly talented in his ability to craft prose that engage your tongue and mind at times, I felt the story lacked depth. I did not "connect" with the plotline - in fact, I nearly gave up mid-stream. The number of run-on sentences employed in the first section seemed cloying. An English teacher would have slashed and burned an 8th grade essay with the same content. I wasn't committed until about 75% of the way through and I did feel the story picked-up at that point. It became more engaging as the writing was much more crisp and compact. However, by the time the pace picked-up, I felt the remainder was merely hurtling toward a quick conclusion. So far, other readers I know (ranging in age from 16 - 60)share my sense of disatisfaction; can't wait for my book club discussion at the end of the month. Bottom-line: fulfilled my book club obligation; would have spent my $$$ on something else
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