Atonement

Title: Atonement

Author: Ian McEwan

Publication date: 2001

Book's setting: 1935-1940

Random facts: My sister bought me a used copy for my birthday. On the inside she inscribed it for me. She says that the book has a lot of voting in it so I'll like it.

Plot summary: "I love you. I'll wait for you. Come back." In the summer of 1935 England is on the brink of war. 13-year-old Briony intercepts an inappropriate note from the son of a family servant to her older sister Cecilia. Too young to understand the complex relationship between the two, Briony's overactive imagination black-lists Robbie as a maniac, a man not to be trusted. That same evening Briony's 15-year-old Lola is raped by a unidentified man who Briony assumes is Robbie. The assumption evolves into fact in the young girl's mind as she is questioned by the police and eventually as a witness on trial. Robbie and Cecilia, torn apart by a crime he didn't commit, vow to stay true to each other, but prison and the impending World War II keeps pushing them apart. Can Briony ever face up to her guilt and could Robbie and her sister even forgive her? Atonement is a complex, emotional, and epic novel. It's written from several points of view, giving it depth and holding your interest, with a clutching ending that the reader will never expect.

Favorite aspects: The characters were perfect. I couldn't dislike them. They were flawed obviously, deeply flawed. And yet I rooted for each one the entire way though. Briony was a little beast who did her penance and never had the forgiveness she sought. But she was practically a baby when she did it. Robbie was moronic for sending that note, for even writing out what he did. But I've done similar things. How can you judge him for it? Cecilia should have talked to Briony right away. She probably also should not have had sex in a library. But despite her incredibly ability to hate Briony, she is an amazing Penelope and I admire her for it. And of course, the writing was flawless. Not only did McEwan seriously research his time period, he also researched his writing. It was written as if it had been written 50 years before its publication date. It tasted like Fitzgerald and Waugh and Wharton. It was beautiful.

Least favorite aspects: Oh good grief. Am I actually expected to say something negative? Okay, I'll try my very best. Lola. I wanted more of Lola. Did she know? What was her prerogative, marrying Marshall? When did Briony figure out it was him? These are questions I would liked answered but it's not like the book was missing Lola's story. Robbie's and Cee's was quite emotional by itself, thankyouverymuch.

Other works it reminded me of: Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh; Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh; Summer by Edith Wharton; Tender is the Night by F Scott Fitzgerald; All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque.

Sadie's merciless break-down: THIS BOOK THIS BOOK THIS BOOK. *breathes*
I haven't been this emotionally moved by something since The House of Mirth. While reading it I would just get so overrun with EMOTIONS that I literally had to hide the book and go get a drink or something. Words are oddly powerful like that. I've never had to pause a movie to have a good cry. Atonement left me with my heart on my sleeve.
And yet... Despite the fact that this was a DEPRESSING novel, it was also full of grace and forgiveness and hope. Hence the title, I suppose. It was an oddly religious for a novel that, correct me if I'm wrong, doesn't so much as mention God. It was cathartic. Briony's atonement didn't just immortalize Robbie and Cee, but it felt to me like Atonement immortalized an entire generation of love stories cut short by the war. In a way the novel had two villains- Briony's crime and the war. So I guess you could say that the villain was unavoidable circumstance. Hardships and sorrow getting in the way of love and what to do about it. Briony never gets to ask forgiveness and she is unable to save Robbie and Cecilia from what she did to them. They never get to be together. But they are immortalized together in the novel, which in a weird way, like Briony says in the end notes, makes it okay.
While reading Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society I found myself filled with rage because of what happened to Christian and Elizabeth. I felt the same rage while reading Atonement. I know a lot of people hated Briony... and I guess there is reason to do so. But this novel is about, well, atonement. And you're not supposed to hate her. None of the main three characters acted in anyway to make them deserve the lives they had. They were just eaten up by the war. I think the war is the villain in this book. Or rather, war and everything else powerless about life. Living is the villain. Just by existing you end up hurting people and often it's completely out of your hands. I'm sure (actually I know) a lot of people might disagree, and it's easy to blame Briony for everything, but I think that goes against the entire point of the novel.
Atonement filled me with a weird sort of peace. I guess everyone will read it a different way but I found it to be a blessing. The note at the end made it an even better book, I read a lot of reviews who said they disliked it. It's almost more remarkable if she never lost her guilt and if Robbie and Cee were never able to forgive. Somehow, it was full of light and peace regardless.
Basically Atonement fills me with feeling. Feeling I could rant about for hours if you let me. It was visual and held amazing characters and incredibly motifs and it played with words in such a powerful way. I think I need to read it again before I can really wrap my mind around how moving it actually was.

Recommendation rate: If you're over 16 and you value good literature then put it on your list. JUST READ IT BECAUSE IT MAY CHANGE YOUR LIIFFFEEEEEEEEEEEEE. Goodness, you should see me now, I'm so hyper. I should not be allowed to type when I am hyper.