Atonement by Ian McEwan (2001)

Finished: April 27, 2009

(Fiction - PR6063.C4 A88; 823/.914 - dc 21)

The only thing I knew about this book before I began reading it was that it was a bestseller and it was made into a movie. I still haven’t read the book flap, and had I read it beforehand, I may not have given the book a chance. I generally do not enjoy reading stories about war, but the style of this book made it much more approachable for me. Rather than a full-out war novel, this book is actually a family drama that includes some member’s experiences of war.

The first section begins before World War II hit England and introduces the Tallis family. Each chapter follows a member of the family, giving intimate details of each one’s thoughts and feelings about their lives (the father is conspicuously absent other than in the minds of the family). Emily, the matriarch, has just taken in two nephews and a niece because her sister ran off to live in France with her beau. This part of the book ends horribly when the nephews run away and while looking for her brothers, the niece is raped by an unknown man. Emily’s youngest daughter, Briony, with clouded judgment, swears that the rapist was a family friend, Robbie.

The reader knows that Robbie was not the culprit, and we learn during his war journeys that he was convicted and sent to prison based on Briony’s false evidence. Briony realizes her tragic mistake and seeks forgiveness from Robbie and her sister, Cecelia.

This novel is Briony’s atonement for her sins. By setting up the novel in this way, McEwan is able to provide a glimpse into the writing process through Briony. As a reader, I was frustrated at first by the seemingly drawn-out and overly descriptive prose, but I came to appreciate the style for its depth and character analysis.