Atonement, Ian McEwan
Atonement, by Ian McEwan
Publication date: 2001
Edition: Vintage New Edition (2002)
Publisher: Vintage
384 pages
Source: Amazon
Summary from Amazon UK:
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.
My review:
I really enjoyed this book. It had a slowish start, and reminded me of some less-than brilliant novels about mysteries and love affairs in country houses I've read before, most of which were probably derivative of this one. However, the characters were well developed and credible (the only one where I felt McEwan was a bit heavy-handed on the "this is a baddy" characterisation was Paul Marshall), the plot progressed logically, and events foreshadowed in a delicate, subtle way which made the more believable, rather than in some novels where the tension is dispersed by the predictability caused by foreshadowing with the subtlety of a brick to the face. There was good contrast between the three segments of the book, and the different narrators added to, rather than detracting from, the cohesion of the novel.
It's a very well written, engaging story, and is quite compelling, it didn't take long to read, despite being quite substantial, and it's one of very few novels I'd be quite happy to re-read, as I'm sure there are details you only pick up on the second time around.
It reminded me a great deal of "The Go-Between" by L.P. Hartley, which is one of my favourite books and if you've read and enjoyed Atonement you should definitely read.
My review is short because a lot of what I would have said is in the summary, however there is a good review (with spoilers) here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2001/sep/23/fiction.bookerprize2001
My rating:9/10
Publication date: 2001
Edition: Vintage New Edition (2002)
Publisher: Vintage
384 pages
Source: Amazon
Summary from Amazon UK:
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.
My review:
I really enjoyed this book. It had a slowish start, and reminded me of some less-than brilliant novels about mysteries and love affairs in country houses I've read before, most of which were probably derivative of this one. However, the characters were well developed and credible (the only one where I felt McEwan was a bit heavy-handed on the "this is a baddy" characterisation was Paul Marshall), the plot progressed logically, and events foreshadowed in a delicate, subtle way which made the more believable, rather than in some novels where the tension is dispersed by the predictability caused by foreshadowing with the subtlety of a brick to the face. There was good contrast between the three segments of the book, and the different narrators added to, rather than detracting from, the cohesion of the novel.
It's a very well written, engaging story, and is quite compelling, it didn't take long to read, despite being quite substantial, and it's one of very few novels I'd be quite happy to re-read, as I'm sure there are details you only pick up on the second time around.
It reminded me a great deal of "The Go-Between" by L.P. Hartley, which is one of my favourite books and if you've read and enjoyed Atonement you should definitely read.
My review is short because a lot of what I would have said is in the summary, however there is a good review (with spoilers) here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2001/sep/23/fiction.bookerprize2001
My rating:9/10