Book Review: Atonement by Ian McEwan

“The cost of oblivious daydreaming was always this moment of return, the realignment with what had been before and now seemed a little worse.”

Published in 2001, Atonement by Ian McEwan is set on the hottest day of the summer of 1935, when thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis sees her sister Cecilia strip off her clothes and plunge into the fountain in the garden of their country house. Watching her is Robbie Turner, her childhood friend who, like Cecilia, has recently come down from Cambridge.

By the end of that day, the lives of all three will have been changed forever. Robbie and Cecilia will have crossed a boundary they had not even imagined at its start, and will have become victims of the younger girl’s imagination. Briony will have witnessed mysteries, and committed a crime for which she will spend the rest of her life trying to atone.

Rating:

The film adaptation of Atonement is one of my favourites, directed by one of my favourite directors, including some of my favourite actors and actresses, and so many poignant and standout moments that I think about often. Not to mention that heartbreaking ending.

So I’ve been eager to read this book for a long time, and I could tell straight away how good the adaptation was as every scene felt so similar to this original story. From the scenes in the library, to Robbie’s time at war and Briony’s time as nurse, to Briony’s final monologue as she wraps up her experience.

Some scenes were a little too descriptive which is my only negative, but overall I just love this story, and the book consumed me just as much as the film does on every viewing. A multi-layered story of guilt and regret, it’s a heartbreaking and thought-provoking story that strikes a powerful blow.