Ian McEwan

In 1935 England, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis witnesses an event involving her sister Cecilia and her childhood friend Robbie Turner, and she becomes the victim of her own imagination, which leads her on a lifelong search for truth and absolution.

A Novel

Atonement

Includes the shooting script of the film, along with photographs, and complete cast and crew credits (p. 110-116).

The Shooting Script

tara  (she/her)

After that they pushed him into the car, and she spoke hurriedly, before the crying began that she could no longer hold back, and she said that what had happened between them was theirs, only theirs. She meant the library, of course. It was theirs. No one could take it away. ‘It’s our secret,' she called out, in front of them all, just before the slam of the door. ‘I won't say a word,' he said, though Nettle's head had long disappeared from his view. 'Wake me before seven. I promise, you won't hear another word from me.'

The witnesses were guilty too. All day we've witnessed each other's crimes. You killed no one today? But how many did you leave to die?

I was into this thematically, and McEwan can make very pretty sentences. I underlined a lot. 

much for any character, which is tough in a novel that concentrates on the power and tragedy of incomplete perspective.

elizabeth

I was into this thematically, and McEwan can make very pretty sentences. I underlined a lot. 

But I didn't feel much for any character, which is tough in a novel that concentrates on the power and tragedy of incomplete perspective.

I studied this novel for English and it was absolutely amazing to analyse. Trying to discover the hidden foreshadowing made this novel ten times better in addition to the writing style 😁

Jessica Hamnett

McEwan has a gift of adding layers of texture to his prose. The first portion, a cloying, dusty feel; the second, clarity against fatigue; the third, then final, a rest, questioning.

At the start of the novel I found it tricky to wade through, like a vat of narrative syrup. But that soon led into a seamless flow, where every word creates a new dimension of understanding, because this novel is not so much about what happens but about interiority; not action but reaction. The small ways that McEwan details a different thought process are remarkable.

"A second thought always followed the first, one mystery bred another. Was everyone else really as alive as she was? ... If the answer was yes, then the world, the social world, was unbearably complicated, with two billion voices..." 36

"There did not have to be a moral. She need only show separate minds, as alive as her own, struggling with the idea that other minds were equally alive." 40

"And darkness was nothing - it was not a substance, it was not a presence, it was no more than an absence of light." 163

"But what was guilt these days? It was cheap. Everyone was guilty, and no one was. No one would be redeemed by a change of evidence, for there weren't enough people, enough paper and pens, enough patience and peace, to take down the statements of all the witnesses and gather in the facts. The witnesses were guilty too." 261

Bell

McEwan has a gift of adding layers of texture to his prose. The first portion, a cloying, dusty feel; the second, clarity against fatigue; the third, then final, a rest, questioning.

At the start of the novel I found it tricky to wade through, like a vat of narrative syrup. But that soon led into a seamless flow, where every word creates a new dimension of understanding, because this novel is not so much about what happens but about interiority; not action but reaction. The small ways that McEwan details a different thought process are remarkable.

"A second thought always followed the first, one mystery bred another. Was everyone else really as alive as she was? ... If the answer was yes, then the world, the social world, was unbearably complicated, with two billion voices..." 36

"There did not have to be a moral. She need only show separate minds, as alive as her own, struggling with the idea that other minds were equally alive." 40

"And darkness was nothing - it was not a substance, it was not a presence, it was no more than an absence of light." 163

"But what was guilt these days? It was cheap. Everyone was guilty, and no one was. No one would be redeemed by a change of evidence, for there weren't enough people, enough paper and pens, enough patience and peace, to take down the statements of all the witnesses and gather in the facts. The witnesses were guilty too." 261

Masterfully written - I loathed Briony, but her writing is beautiful. It's the best version of "sticky summer day when everything changes" I have ever read. 

g.m.

Espiazione

un labirinto di flussi di coscienza e di prospettive narrative. un assoluto capolavoro. il plot twist sul finale e la riflessione di Briony sull'espiazione sono geniali. unica piccola pecca l'eccessiva prolissità dell'autore nel cimentarsi nelle descrizioni (la precisione è a suo modo una strategia per entrare nel corpo dei personaggi e non posso negare che sia stata trattata con un'indiscussa maestria)

Maria Pia Cerbo 

On the hottest day of the summer of 1935, 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 for ever. Robbie and Cecilia will have crossed a boundary they had not even imagined at its start, and will have become victims of the younger imagination. Briony will have witnessed mysteries, and committed a crime for which she will spend the rest of her life trying to atone.
--back cover

Lila R E

'I'll wait for you. Come back.'

One of the best books I've ever read. I wish I'd read it before seeing the movie now but it's evident throughout the book how well it was adapted to screen so I'm not too annoyed - but if you are seeing this and you haven't read/seen either yet, you have to read the book! Ian McEwan you are a mastermind.

On a summer day in 1935, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis witnesses a moment's flirtation between her older sister, Cecilia, and Robbie Turner, the son of a servant. But Briony's incomplete grasp of adult motives and her precocious imagination bring about a crime that will change all their lives, a crime whose repercussions Atonement follows through the chaos and carnage of World War II and into the close of the twentieth century.
(back cover)

taryn

This has been sitting on my shelf for ages and I think because I have watched the film previously I've been putting it off knowing how the twist ending. Controversial for some, but I think it's heartbreaking and brilliant. The book still lived up to my appreciation for the film adaptation. Joe Wright and Keira Knightley are one of my fave director/actor duos (P&P you'll always be my fave).

Michael Springer

Wow, this was definitely one of my best reads this year. I'll be writing a review of this one, and soon.

livs

it wasnt bad it was really good, but i think i need to reread it when im older to like it more because the war part and most of brionys life really didnt spike intrest in me and i just briefly read through those pages because i wanted to get to the end.

also i saw the movie before this so i knew the ending.

Luke Beck

Ana Paula

This book is divided on three parts and I liked them on different levels so here's the breakdown:
The first part took me soo long to get through, I feel like it could've been much shorter than it was and maybe then I would have liked it better. So my rating for this part is 2 stars.
Then we have the second part, which is much shorter (maybe 50 pages shorter?) and more interesting, however it still was pretty repetitive so 3 stars
At last: the third part, where everything comes together and by far the most interesting to read = 4stars.

To be fair, I added all my stars for each part (total being 9)and divided them by the number of parts in the book. Which is why I'm rating the book as whole in 3 stars (though before I finished and rated the last part it would've been 2,6 stars)

This took a while to read. I'm generally not that good with slow-paced books, but here it's just just full of nothing sometimes. This book has just three moods: confusion, nothing and World War . 

Inga Kühn 

andrea

Have you ever read a book that annoyed and bored you at the very first few chapters but completely astounded you at the end? That was exactly the case here in Atonement by Ian McEwan.

Reading the first part took so much of my focus and concentration. it annoyed me quite a bit, because reading is supposed to be good and relaxing, and I hate it when it sort of becomes burdensome to me. Only the thought the the first part of the story played the most crucial role to make the book a whole kept me motivated to press onwards. At the end, though, I adored the book, judging it as a whole, and found it very satisfying to my reader needs.

I found the plot unique and captivating. I have been wanting to read this for as long as I can remember. It was a refreshing change from the modern day settings of the books I have been reading a lot lately. The early 1990's, a mystery, forbidden love, all this drew me like a moth to a flame. Plus everyone has been singing praises for McEwan's work. Okay, maybe the movie trailer looked good, too. And maybe I should mention my not-so-secret obsession with James McAvoy. All through out the book, I saw the movie cast as the characters, Keira Knightley as Cecilia, Saoirse Ronan as Briony and James (I like to think we're on first name basis already) as Robbie. That helped a lot, too, although I usually dont do it. 

The details were simply brilliant in its telling. The characters were one of the best ones I've ever read. Briony Tallis was very vividly illustrated. She was young and innocent, but not completely free of malice. As a writer myself, I felt for her. The passion, the urgency and frustration of writing a story. Cecilia and Robbie were also amazing. I love how naive they were at first, how they never noticed how they felt for each other until suddenly, in a moment by the fountain, they did. All the characters actions, thoughts and decisions were so incredibly unaware, flawed and human.

The human nature, guilt, betrayal and forgiveness were explored very well. The book has so much substance and depth to it. Very well written, plotted out, organized and researched, not to mention the wicked plot twist at the end. I certainly am looking forward to reading more of Ian McEwan's work.

Norma gruden

“A person is, among all else, a material thing, easily torn and not easily mended.”

Lauren Wightman

So last time I read this I gave it four stars but honestly it gets me every time.

Elinor

this is a sort of book that i think i could have read in english in high school and had socratic discussions about and analyzed to bits and then talked about the last chapter with my classmates. like im imagining my old english class of 8 people reading this book. its good. the movie is amazing too and a really good adaptation but the book really gives you insight into the narrators uncertainty and justifies her childishness.

Ethan Hill

Jaymie Lemke

Slow start, ok book. I know others loved it. I did not.

The different pov’s we refreshing and really gave you a deeper look into what the characters were feeling. One can assume a lot by just one look or sentence, and it was nice to read cecilia’s, robbie’s and briony’s thoughts and experiences in the fountain scene.   Briony irritated me to no end, how she couldn’t separate reality from stories. She was so lost in her own world and stories, obsessed with her growing up and doing the mature thing. It was funny when the play: the trials of arabella was cancelled halfway through because briony decided she would become a novelist. The 3rd perspective, the hidden observer watching the encounter between cecilia and robbie was so cool, and brionys own urge to write a story with her as that 3rd person, watching that unexplainable scene between robbie and cecilia. Then cecilia’s annoyance at robbie’s behavior, him acting as if he hasn’t known her all his life, and him taking his shoes and socks(?!) off when walking on the freshly cleaned floor, seemingly wanting to impress her. She felt a tension between them, but she could not put a finger on what it was (it was love <3). She hated that it was awkward between them. She also felt bound to her house, that her family needed her and that she had business to finish (in reality she was comfortable, and torn). And in the fountain scene, robbie broke the vase, and trying to make amends, he started removing his clothes to jump into the fountain to retrieve the pieces, cecilia was done first, denying is help and any possibility of making amends was his punishment. Then she walked away without a word of parting. Meanwhile briony watched all of this from the nursery’s window. Robbie is torn between going to dinner, he knows cecilia will ignore him the whole night, but he also wants to see her.  The lovers and the crime. He gets taken away. The image was described so beautifully, in the morning sky, a giant emerges.  Him getting escorted to the car, and cecilia running towards him in her green dress. Briony gets driven into a corner, and keeps convincing her she’s sure it was him. But in the following weeks she begins to doubt herself, and later she knows it was paul marshall, who committed  the crime. Then, three and a half years later, we follow robbie on his path through france, through war and how he slowly dies and loses his sanity. The last few pages, where he’s stuck in a dreamlike conscious, he thinks about his cecilia, briony crime and his own. About how he wants to go back on the familiar roads, to rewind, to walk these roads again. HEARTWRENCHING. Then, we follow Briony on her search for atonement, how she is a probationer at a hospital, how she comforts a soldiers in his last moments, where he thinks she is someone from his past. And she goes the paul’s and lola’s wedding. She visits Cecilia and robbie and they decide to change her statement. Then, the scene is just something she wrote in the books, the please the masses and to give her sister and robbie the happy ended they deserved, for they both died in the war. This book was her atonement, but how can she atone when she is the novelist, she wrote it, there is no one to forgive her, just like there is no one to forgive god because she is the god of her book and her story. One of the most beautiful books i’ve read, the film is also amazing. Robbie’s last moments were heartbreaking and i’m sad.

wildemononoke

Caitlyn Baldwin

4.75 ⭐

I had seen the movie adaptation before embarking on reading this novel so the plot did not come as a surprise. Atonement is both beautiful and devastating and exemplifies that not everything is as it appears. Hasty judgements can trigger a shockwave that may affect the lives of all involved. Who is it that determines you are absolved from your crimes?

Atonement A Novel

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