Reviews

Atonement by Ian McEwan

emmatarswell's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.75

sohxpie's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Oh my goodness, what a heartbreaking yet absolutely brilliant book. Briony is such a complex character, McEwan does a fantastic job at writing a flawed character that you want to dislike but can't help but sympathise with by the end of the book. I think the second part of the story with Robbie's story and Briony's journey as a nurse is the most painful part. There's so much you want to be true and when you find out it isn't, it actually hurts a little. I think the way that the story is framed is brilliant, especially when it turns out that the whole story is part of Briony's novel, it adds that extra depth to the story that you didn't know you needed. I really enjoyed McEwan's writing throughout this book, his descriptions were almost poetic and it is clear how much research went into this story. Robbie and Briony's section in particular were so informative and descriptive, it was so immersive. It's the kind of book that you don't want to read because the subject is awful but you really enjoy reading because the writing is truly fantastic. I enjoyed reading this book more than I expected to and I am glad I read it (another win for the Top 100 book scratch off poster!). 

thegreekmoon's review against another edition

3.0

if you are a masochist and want to suffer and cry forever, read this book.

abbie_tratch's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

mantaraydawg's review against another edition

dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

2.75

singingsfun's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-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

5.0

Favorite Quotes:
“It wasn't only wickedness and scheming that made people unhappy, it was confusion and misunderstanding; above all, it was the failure to grasp the simple truth that other people are as real as you.”

“How can a novelist achieve atonement when, with her absolute power of deciding outcomes, she is also God? There is no one, no entity or higher form that she can appeal to, or be reconciled with, or that can forgive her. There is nothing outside her. In her imagination she has set the limits and the terms. No atonement for God, or novelists, even if they are atheists. It was always an impossible task, and that was precisely the point. The attempt was all.”

“It was common enough, to see so much death and want a child. Common, therefore human, and he wanted it all the more. When the wounded were screaming, you dreamed of sharing a little house somewhere, of an ordinary life, a family line, connection. All around him, men were walking silently with their thoughts, reforming their lives, making resolutions. If I ever get out of this lot . . . They could never be counted, the dreamed-up children, mentally conceived on the walk in Dunkirk, and later made flesh.”

“How can that constitute an ending? What sense or hope or satisfaction could a reader draw from such an account? Who would want to believe that they never met again, never fulfilled their love? Who would want to believe that, except in the service of the bleakest realism?”

darcierose2611's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

betweenmysheets's review against another edition

emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

foreverwithangel's review

challenging inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

mo_bees's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

Beautifully written but a slow read. The movie is largely faithful to this novel, with trade offs in either direction that make neither version better than the other. It does a strong job of depicting the realities of war for both civilians and servicepeople, and the narrator Briony is less hateable in the book, surprisingly. Would recommend!