Reviews

Atonement by Ian McEwan

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dogearedca's review

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

minheepeaches's review

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whoa. okay. mind blown. memory, love, storytelling, truth, family, war….. what a novel. glad i picked this up again. god, was briony a lot…….

I read this in '07 and I remembered what happened, so I wasn't shocked.. but I remember how I felt the first time I read this or saw the movie. It's gut wrenching. It's like being coaxed on to a rug, a beautiful rug with all these beautiful words, and just when you start to relax, someone pulls the rug out from underneath you. It's a well written book, but if I can't have happy fairytales in my books, what's the point? I understand why people love it, I understand why people hate it. I'm in the middle. The start of the book is the most excruiciatingly boring beginning of a book I've ever encountered.

florajb2068_hy's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Brilliant Book, Masterful Plot

kbaxter21's review against another edition

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emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

wynne_ronareads's review

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dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

lindseyas's review

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

What a gorgeous love story. While almost entirely framed as a subject of wartime and via the perspective of the scorned younger sister, the thematic value of romance amid distress remains paramount. With complicated characters and an even more complicated historical backdrop, the urgency of love, self-reflection and fairness becomes even more poignant. The beauty of true love overcoming all things, from injustice to violence to jealousy, may seem naive, but is always, always going to be one of the most powerful feelings in the entire world.