- Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: Vintage; New edition edition (5 May 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0099483556
- ISBN-13: 978-0099483557
- Product Dimensions: 17 x 11.2 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (286 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 764,373 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Atonement
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Product Description
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
"'The best thing he has ever written' Observer"
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format: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.
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.
37 of 40 people found the following review helpful
Format: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.
I have whiled away many hours of tedious driving listening to this audiobook in the car. A real pleasure.
65 of 71 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I bought my copy of Atonement around five years ago and I never seemed to get around to reading it, even though I am a big fan of Ian McEwan's work. I knew that the release of the film version is imminent, so I decided to take it with me on holiday, so that I could set myself the goal of reading it before the film comes out. When I started it I could not understand why it had taken me the best part of five years to get around to reading it. I was totally engrossed by every aspect of the book; it is very atmospheric, it has a strong narrative drive, the characters are brilliantly drawn and you care what happens to the main protagonist.
In the hot summer of 1935 thirteen year old Briony Tallis is trying to stage a play to welcome her older brother home, but her cousins are proving not to be up to the task. As she sulks in her room she notices that her sister Cecilia has stripped her clothes off and jumped into a fountain, apparently at the behest of the cleaning lady's son Robbie. Her vivid imagination transforms this scene into something very different, and when that night something truly terrible does happen, she completely misconstrues it, with consequences that will dramatically change the lives of Cecilia, Robbie and herself. McEwan brilliantly captures how a child's mind works and the ways in which a naive young girl can totally misunderstand adult passions.
The second part of the book is set during World War 2 and Robbie is desperately trying to get to Dunkirk. Cecilia and Briony have both become nurses and are dealing with the casualties of the conflict. McEwan's writing is consistently superb throughout this book, but the war scenes are incredible, being totally pervaded by a sense of danger. You have a real sense of the terror and confusion that the British forces must have experienced as they retreated from France. There is an intense immediacy to the writing in the war scenes and it is hard to believe that McEwan has no direct personal experience of being in a war zone. The horrors of war are graphically brought home, as well as the capacity of the soldiers to exhibit compassion or violence.
All of the characters are still living with the repercussions of Briony's actions from that sultry day of 1945. How will Briony atone for her crime and the promising lives that she has destroyed? She is desperate to re-establish conflict with her estranged sister and make amends to both her and Robbie. We see her character grow, develop and mature and the manner in which she attempts to redeem her earlier actions is revealed in an extraordinary twist. The whole novel is a testimony to the power of writing and the effect it can have upon our lives. If you haven't already read it, read it now because it is one of the best books written in the past decade, and is easily the best novel to come from the pen of England's finest living writer.
In the hot summer of 1935 thirteen year old Briony Tallis is trying to stage a play to welcome her older brother home, but her cousins are proving not to be up to the task. As she sulks in her room she notices that her sister Cecilia has stripped her clothes off and jumped into a fountain, apparently at the behest of the cleaning lady's son Robbie. Her vivid imagination transforms this scene into something very different, and when that night something truly terrible does happen, she completely misconstrues it, with consequences that will dramatically change the lives of Cecilia, Robbie and herself. McEwan brilliantly captures how a child's mind works and the ways in which a naive young girl can totally misunderstand adult passions.
The second part of the book is set during World War 2 and Robbie is desperately trying to get to Dunkirk. Cecilia and Briony have both become nurses and are dealing with the casualties of the conflict. McEwan's writing is consistently superb throughout this book, but the war scenes are incredible, being totally pervaded by a sense of danger. You have a real sense of the terror and confusion that the British forces must have experienced as they retreated from France. There is an intense immediacy to the writing in the war scenes and it is hard to believe that McEwan has no direct personal experience of being in a war zone. The horrors of war are graphically brought home, as well as the capacity of the soldiers to exhibit compassion or violence.
All of the characters are still living with the repercussions of Briony's actions from that sultry day of 1945. How will Briony atone for her crime and the promising lives that she has destroyed? She is desperate to re-establish conflict with her estranged sister and make amends to both her and Robbie. We see her character grow, develop and mature and the manner in which she attempts to redeem her earlier actions is revealed in an extraordinary twist. The whole novel is a testimony to the power of writing and the effect it can have upon our lives. If you haven't already read it, read it now because it is one of the best books written in the past decade, and is easily the best novel to come from the pen of England's finest living writer.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
What a waste of time and paper
Had to read it for a seminar at university which I ultimately did not take (because of that novel and the other two, very depressing novels: Remains of the Day and Waterland). Read more
Published 4 days ago by Stefan Flosbach
The cruelties of war... and people.
With this book, my journey of falling in love with Ian McEwan's writing began, and yet I have not written reviews for any of his books... Read more
Published 9 days ago by Lola
'Her reverie, once rich in plausible details, had become a passing...
Beautifully written novel that really immerses the reader in different worlds- the 1930s country house, the chaos of Dunkirk in the War and a British hospital in the same era. Read more
Published 1 month ago by sally tarbox
This one didn't do it for me...
I'm a huge fan of much of Ian McEwan's work but this one just didn't work for me and is a rare, rare example of where I thought the film turned out better than the book. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Sandie Dent
A great read
When I started reading the novel, I was immediately impressed by the way the author brought the characters to life. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Nanda
More (and more) description than plot; good if you like that sort of...
I have mixed feelings about this book. Whilst I found it quite informative in a self discovery fashion, and I thank Mr Mcewan for helping me make realisations about some of my... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Juliet Foster
amazing
I loved this book so much. It stayed with me for weeks after I finished reading it. Mc Ewan tackles human emotions and flaws with incredible sensitivity and sense of place.
Published 3 months ago by menapian
Moving, thought provoking and beautifully written
This book really does deserve its place on all those "Classic Books" lists. It has beautiful characterisation, wonderfully emotive settings and an entirely unique and thought... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Bookworm
Boring...Oh So Boring Read
I really found this book to be unbelievably boring and would only suggest it as a sleeping aid...do yourself a favour and read something brilliant by Mervyn Peake, Salinger or Head... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Lesley Tingle
Clever
I really enjoyed this book. The first part is quite poetic in its prose. The next part focusing on experiences in the war from Robbie's perspective are harrowing as are the... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Ladyg
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