This novel, published in 2001 by British author Ian McEwan, was the first book I read by him. As many of you may know, this novel was made into an epic-sweeping saga film from 2007. It garnered academy award nominations and stars James McAvoy and the lovely Keira Knightly. I haven’t seen the movie, but will look for it on cable.
This novel takes place in 1935 London, before WWII and continues into the beginning of the War. The epilogue jumps all the way to the end of the century, as the main character (who surprisingly is the young sister of the Knightly character Cecilia) grows into an accomplished old woman. I say surprisingly because from the film’s previews, it’s suggested that Cecilia is the star and she, in fact, is on the book’s jacket. Yet, it is her younger sister, Briony, who is the instigator in the whole premise of the story, who lets her creative and overindulgent imagination blind her into seeing the truth and destroying the love between Cecilia and Robbie (the biggest victim in all of this).
It was hard for me to get enthusiastic about the book at the beginning (perhaps a slow start or the subtle nuances of the British way of speaking), but once the story took a turn for the worse and Robbie was accused of a horrendous crime which he did not commit, then things really started to "rock and roll" and I was hooked.
Atonement stands for the literal atonement Briony attempts to make happen. She desperately struggles in atoning for her "sins" and sacrifices her dreams of becoming a novelist (or at least puts them on hold during her young adult years) as she instead takes a career in nursing and becomes a nun. As a nurse in training, she sees the horrors of the war manifest in the hospital and McEwan writes these chapters in such clarity and detail that we can practically feel, smell and taste the gross injuries the soldiers sustained. MckEwan did research the War, of course, and utilized actual war documents.
Overall, the book was intriguing, eloquently written, mesmerizing and captivating. Lots of heartbreak, anguish, sadness and drama.
I give this book 4 Stars
