Atonement
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Atonement is Ian McEwan's ninth novel and his first since the Booker Prize-winning Amsterdam in 1998. But whereas Amsterdam was a slim, sleek piece, Atonement is a more sturdy, ambitious work, allowing McEwan more room to play, think and experiment.
We meet 13-year-old Briony Tallis in the summer of 1935, as she attempts to stage a production of her new drama The Trials of Arabella to welcome home her elder, idolised brother Leon. But she soon discovers that her cousins, the glamorous Lola and the twin boys Jackson and Pierrot, aren't up to the task, and directorial ambitions are abandoned as more interesting preoccupations come onto the scene. The charlady's son Robbie Turner appears to be forcing Briony's sister Cecilia to strip in the Fountain and sends her obscene letters; Leon has brought home a dim chocolate magnate keen for a war to promote his new "Army Amo" bar; and upstairs Briony's migraine-stricken mother Emily keeps tabs on the house from her bed. Soon, secrets emerge that change the lives of everyone present...
The interwar upper-middle-class setting of the book's long, masterfully sustained opening section might recall Virginia Woolf or Henry Green, but as we move forward--eventually to the turn of the 21st century--the novel's central concerns emerge, and McEwan's voice becomes clear, even personal. For at heart, Atonement is about the pleasures, pains and dangers of writing, and perhaps even more, about the challenge of controlling what readers make of your writing. McEwan shouldn't have any doubts about readers of Atonement: this is a thoughtful, provocative and at times moving book that will have readers applauding.--Alan Stewart --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
Atonement is a magnificent novel, shaped and paced with awesome confidence and eloquence', Independent .'Subtle as well as powerful, adeptly encompassing comedy as well as atrocity, Atonement is a richly intricate book- A superb achievement which combines a magnificent display of the powers of the imagination with a probing exploration of them', Sunday Times .'He is this country's unrivalled literary giant...a fascinatingly strange, unique and gripping novel', Independent on Sunday
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
His best yet?,
By Graham "Graham Bridgeman-Clarke" (Rayleigh, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Atonement (Paperback)
Ok I am a big Ian McEwen fan, but whilst I may be bias I rate this as one of the top ten book written by a British author in the last twenty years.
The story is one of family conflict and deceit. The story delves into the lives of a family and close friends who one evening are bought together when a incident occurs which is covered up. Someone has to shoulder the blame and the story revolves around the consequences of the cover up and the wrongful accusation of a young family friend and how that affects not just his life but those of the family. The story spans a period of 60 years or so but the plot entwines through the years, to climax at the very end. I was shocked by some of the prose, especially the description of the mayhem on the roads to Dunkirk and the horrors of war, but I was greatly moved by the book and recommend it highly.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
well worth the wait!,
This review is from: Atonement (Paperback)
A strange and brooding book novel which suprises in its emotional impact. It starts very slowly indeed in a large country home with a seemingly very ordanry family set up. This coupled with McEwans understated prose style led this particular reader to be very sceptical of continuing.Thank heavens i did because after the first few chapters McEwans slow burning menace begins to filter through the subtle text. A large sense of impending doom slowly builds throughout part one of the story, growing in ineveitibilty as each chapter passes. Part two brings a fast and brutal change of pace to the story as we skip five years in time to a world war two setting, scattered with unsettling imagery of the hardships and hatred of the Brittish soldiers with their initial retreat. We find ourselves back in London in part three at a hospital for the wounded where the story's sense of impending doom is brought again to the foreground. the only suprise is that it is not delivered. It is only the final chapter, a retrospect from the present day where the young protagonists are now old and withered, which brings about revelations, realisations and the full understanding of McEwans subtext. In the guise of a simple romance struggling against the attrocities of war and the lies of one girl, McEwan explores a multitude of themes such as guilt, retribution, redemption and ultimately the role and purpose of authorship. In a nutshell Attonement is ultimately a book which builds and builds the tension which isnt shattered until the last three paragraphs. On a personal note those paragraphs made this reader blubber like a little girl for the best part of an hour(worth noting i'm a 25 year old male who likes beer and football). i wish i could say more about the story but i wouldn't wish to spoil it for anybody.
36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful listening - an excellent book, beautifully read,
By
This review is from: Atonement (Audio CD)
I have already raved about this book in the form of a paperback - see my other review there. But for a wonderful book to be read so beautifully with such expression by a voice as rich and resonant as Isla Blair's is a real pleasure. She depicts the different characters with great expression and real attention to the nature of the characters, from the main Briony narrative to the "little boy" voices of Jackson and Pierrot, and the booming complacency of Paul Marshall.
I have whiled away many hours of tedious driving listening to this audiobook in the car. A real pleasure.
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