Alex's Review: Atonement by Ian McEwan

Reader's Name :: Alex
Grade: 12
Book Title: Atonement
Author: Ian McEwan

I picked up Atonement because of the film, which is an absolutely gorgeous creation, and I had heard the novel was just as lovely. I hadn’t heard wrong. Naturally, the novel gives more detail than the film, therefore drawing one in even more. The conveyed visuals were stunning and eloquent, and each character really had a ‘voice’ of their own. McEwan wrote from three very different standpoints – the young Briony, then the older Robbie and Cecilia – and each of their stories was just as deep and touching as the last.
Atonement, for those that aren’t aware, is the story of a young girl, Briony Tallis, in England in 1939, who witnesses and experiences some displays of love between her sister Cecilia and their servant boy, Robbie. Briony is young, but thinks she is older and more aware of everything than she truly is, has an affection for stories, and a little jealous too – all which cause her to commit an act of accidental cruelty that puts both Robbie and Cecilia on the path of destruction. It’s a story hard to explain simply, and if you read the novel, you’ll understand perfectly.
As McEwan tells the story in different time periods, from each characters' point of view, and even from different stages of Briony's life, he weaves it all together with an underlying tone of not just regret and sadness and love, but honest suspense. I loved his knack of giving only ONE side of a story, and then several chapters later, you realize you/that character had interpreted everything wrong. It was incredibly clever and life-like, and really just written in a different way than things I've read before.
I can’t do much more than say this book was beautiful, and absolutely heart-wrenching. I’d recommend it to anyone, purely because I enjoyed it so much. It’s so incredibly moving and fantastically written; so real, and easy to connect with. I could hardly put it down, even knowing what happens, thanks to the film. And without a doubt, I will be reading it again.

Why I picked the book up:: I had just watched the film again, and really wanted to try the novel.

Why I finished it:: Partially because I wound up using it for a class assignment, mostly because there was no reason not to.

I'd give this book to:: Everyone. Except someone just looking for a 'fun read'.

My rating for this book:: ***** It was amazing!