Ian McEwan: Atonement (EBook, 2003, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group)
eBook
English language
Published Jan. 6, 2003 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
Atonement is a 2001 British metafiction novel written by Ian McEwan. Set in three time periods, 1935 England, Second World War England and France, and present-day England, it covers an upper-class girl's half-innocent mistake that ruins lives, her adulthood in the shadow of that mistake, and a reflection on the nature of writing. Widely regarded as one of McEwan's best works, it was shortlisted for the 2001 Booker Prize for fiction. In 2010, Time magazine named Atonement in its list of the 100 greatest English-language novels since 1923.In 2007, the book was adapted into a BAFTA and Academy Award-winning film of the same title, starring Saoirse Ronan, James McAvoy, and Keira Knightley, and directed by Joe Wright.
The writing is impeccable, the story touching albeit moving too slowly sometimes. It's a great read even if you already know the film adaption.
Often too stylistically written for its own good, but a worthwhile read.
A great book, one of the most interesting and depressing novels I ever read. Unfortunately I made the mistake of watching the movie first (not knowing about this book at that time), which spoiled part of the novel and especially the ending for me. That's the reason for changing the rating from 4 stars to 5, adding this book to my alltime favourites.
I was drawn into the book right from the beginning - the pre-war setting with its lush and carefree atmosphere, spoiled by the events during the course of a day, then the darker and more brutal scenery during the war - the author did a great job here.
The characters were great as well. The motivation for their deeds (and for the things they didn't do) were understandable and there was a lot of character development. The actions that seemed to be out of character were explained …
A great book, one of the most interesting and depressing novels I ever read. Unfortunately I made the mistake of watching the movie first (not knowing about this book at that time), which spoiled part of the novel and especially the ending for me. That's the reason for changing the rating from 4 stars to 5, adding this book to my alltime favourites.
I was drawn into the book right from the beginning - the pre-war setting with its lush and carefree atmosphere, spoiled by the events during the course of a day, then the darker and more brutal scenery during the war - the author did a great job here.
The characters were great as well. The motivation for their deeds (and for the things they didn't do) were understandable and there was a lot of character development. The actions that seemed to be out of character were explained by the ending. Going into depth more would spoil the book for those of my friends who might be planning to read it (if they haven't read a synopsis somewhere else or seen the film).
I still sometimes think about some of the questions the book posed for me. Is there really a thing like atonement? Is it possible to forgive someone who spoiled the entire lifes of other persons, even if she did it without fully understanding what she was doing? A really good book - and definately on my list to reread.
Damn, this is a good book, paced and nuanced, subtle and for a little while overt.
Almost too good. At a point in the book I had to put it aside for a few days not to be crushed by it. Its characters were living with me even weeks after I finished reading it.
