Atonement by Ian McEwan [Archive]

Kell

27th October 2007, 17:42

Anyone who would like to get hold of a copy of this book and join in the circle - there are quite a few copies available at Green Metropolis (http://www.greenmetropolis.com/search.asp?book_title=atonement&author_name=mcewan&author_first_name=ian&ISBN=&categories=&Format=All&scope=InStock&Results=1&search.x=42&search.y=8&search=search)
The Reading Circle choice for November is Atonement by Ian McEwan:
On the hottest day of the summer of 1934, 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 girl's imagination. Briony will have witnessed mysteries, and committed a crime for which she will spend the rest of her life trying to atone.

Some questions to consider:
1- Who was your favourite character and why?
2- Was there a particular part you enjoyed/disliked more than the rest?
3- Was this the first book you've read in this genre/by this author, has it encouraged you to read more?
4- Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with?
5- Overall, was reading the book an enjoyable experience?

(You do not have to answer all, or indeed, any, of these questions, they are meant only as points for you to perhaps mull over as you read, and provoke more discussion. Please feel free to ask and answer any questions that come up as you read.)

Gyre

2nd November 2007, 17:47

I started 'Atonement' the other day, so far, so good. My mate has been telling how much she hated this book, but I am enjoying it.

:readingtwo:

Happy reading circle people! x

Gyre

4th November 2007, 17:27

Hello,

I just finished 'Atonement' which proved quite difficult at the end because 'Coronation Street' was on, but I finished.

I heard mixed reviews about 'Atonement', a friend of mine really hated it but you know me not one to be put off. I am glad I read it because I really enjoyed it, Ian McEwan style of writing is direct in some aspects but in other aspects, there is a lot of the story between the lines (I hope that makes sense).

A good read. x

Freewheeling Andy

6th November 2007, 15:54

I tried starting on Atonement yesterday. I say "tried" because I read about 3 pages but it seemed very dense at said very little and all seemed a bit turgid. A poor start. It may take me some time to get into it. Not helped by the Northanger Abbey quote at the front which reminded me why I have never read more than a page or two of Jane Austen.

Janet

7th November 2007, 22:19

I read this several years ago and it obviously made no lasting impression on me as I can remember very little... except that the ending annoyed me and it wasn't as good as I'd anticipated.

(Sorry!)

angerball

11th November 2007, 18:06

I've just started this; I've only read the first chapter, but I'm enjoying it so far. I do like McEwen's writing - "Self-pity needed her full attention, and only in solitude could she breathe life into the lacerating details..." - how good is this quote?! :) I pretty much have no idea about this story, so I'm looking forward for more to be revealed.

Freewheeling Andy

12th November 2007, 21:53

I'm really struggling. I'm the exact opposite of angerball. The first chapter had me wanting to give up. And to slap Briony on the face (metaphorically). It has two of my least favourite elements in books - an author writing about writing, which always feels to me like a failure of inspiration; and a precious character who gets over-emotional about small things. I have so little time for either of these. It was only yesterday that I managed to read more than a few lines in chapter 2, and it was picking up a little. I'm hoping something might happen soon.

Gyre

12th November 2007, 22:09

angerball

13th November 2007, 00:16

*resists urge to look at spoiler* Oh, it's so tempting! :blush:

I'm really enjoying reading about Briony's view on writing - it's almost philosophical. I love the idea that a story is a form of telepathy ("By means of inking symbols onto a page, she was able to send thoughts and feelings from her mind to her reader's".); I'd never thought of it that way before.

I'm still quite early on. Cecilia has just received the "wrong letter" from Robbie - whoops! :lol:

Gyre

13th November 2007, 13:09

angerball

14th November 2007, 21:39

^Yup, especially Briony's reaction to it. She kept going over "the word" in her head, rhyming it with other words, etc. :lol:

haniirani

15th November 2007, 06:37

Hi, just curious how far in is everybody reading this book?

angerball

15th November 2007, 10:01

I'm up to page 151 - so, a bit under halfway.

Delmar

15th November 2007, 18:57

I figured it out! :smile2:

poppy

16th November 2007, 00:49

I'm only about 50 pages in and am doing a lot of :roll: at Briony, like Freewheeling Andy I think a good slap wouldn't go amiss, she's so wrapped up in herself. But I will keep going since it sounds like things improve.

Icecream

16th November 2007, 10:11

I do want to read this book, but there was an article in Christianity magazine this month which gave away the ending so as to discuss the point. I couldn't help reading the article. Atonement definitely seems worth reading to the end.

Freewheeling Andy

16th November 2007, 11:05

I'm still being driven mad by the tedious-period-drama content, and all the focus on flighty fickle emotion, and the fact that nothing happened for about 120 pages. But finally in the last 30 pages or so, one or two things appear to have happened, so it might be worth pursuing.

I also, by the way, despise the dropped-hints-to-the-future stuff. There's a lot of "as she would think about many times over the years that followed" stuff.

The rest of the book had better be bloody brilliant, or I'll be flummoxed as to why it's so highly regarded.

Icecream

16th November 2007, 14:35

I believe the author has a fantastic point to make. I guess I will find out if I ever get around to it, or you can tell me.

angerball

16th November 2007, 16:30

I find it really interesting at the mixed responses the book is getting! The reason I love the book so much seems to be for the exact reason that Poppy and Freewheeling Andy don't like it. :lol: I love the fact that Briony is so wrapped up in herself - I really enjoy all her internal dialogue, misguided as it may be. I'm hoping to finish it tonight! :)

Gyre

16th November 2007, 17:46

Me again,

I did do a lot of :roll: to Briony but I did find her endearing, she is discovering all these new things in her life and is trying to work them out. x

Freewheeling Andy

16th November 2007, 18:49

I've finally finished part 1, and you finally understand that Briony does need to be like that. But I find it insanely annoying because I don't think I've ever known anyone who has been so fickle and flighty, at any age, and it seems to always be a construct of author's imaginations. Perhaps I'm just too old and cynical. Anyway, the book has woken up at last. Will probably finish it in Paris this weekend.

angerball

17th November 2007, 20:39

Just finished this - what a great book! I really enjoyed it. :) I love McEwen's writing style, how he is so detailed and descriptive of every thought and moment of his characters lives. I'll be looking for his other books for sure.

Initially I had mixed feelings about the ending, but the more I think about it, the more I liked it. I wouldn't say Briony atoned for her mistakes; if anything, it showed that she was still living in her fantasy world. The ending certainly makes you think about things that happened earlier on in the book. Can't wait for the movie to come out on DVD - I haven't seen it yet, but I really want to now.

I'm really itching to get started on my next read, but I can't get this one out of my head. :thud: It's definitely one that will stick with me for a long time.

Gyre

17th November 2007, 20:45

Hey Angerball

Glad you enjoyed 'Atonement', I enjoyed it too (but you already know that), a great ending I thought too.

I am hoping to invest in 'Enduring Love' another title by Ian McEwan. I can't wait to see the movie as well.

:D

Renniemist

17th November 2007, 21:27

I absolutely loved Atonement too. I thought it was so full of atmosphere. I agree with you Angerball when you read a really good book it stays in your mind for a while and everything else seems insipid. I am really looking forward to seeing the film.

I have read On Chesil Beach and I liked it too. I have since bought but not read ‘The Child in Time’. I also really fancy ‘Enduring Love.’ Going to put it on my Christmas list.

Gyre

17th November 2007, 21:29

I agree, I was thinking about 'Atonement' for days after I finished it.

:D

angerball

17th November 2007, 21:37

Interestingly, I have heard a lot of people complain about the ending, that it was a bit of a cheat. I thought the ending had a lot to do with what made the book so enjoyable. :)

Delmar

18th November 2007, 01:39

Yes, like you all the book has stayed with me, too. I guess that is a sign of a good book regardless of the feeling that the ending stirs up. To me, this book seems to be a book about stories and about the reader. In a way I learned that I, as the reader, place so much faith into a story line. It also seems that Briony's book rejection letter foreshadowed the ending. One more thing I've been wondering about, by the end of the story (which one...ha,ha) Briony no longer believes it was Robby who attacked Lola, but that it was Paul Marshall. Was there some evidence that made her come to that conclusion, that I overlooked? When Lola was attacked, I immediately thought it was P Marshall, did you all think that, too?

angerball

18th November 2007, 17:29

^I too found it odd that all of a sudden Paul Marshall was the attacker. After thinking back, and reading a few things on the internet, though, there did seem to be some hints dropped. Mainly, when Lola came into Briony's room crying about the chinese burns on her arms (saying it was the twins); later on, just before the dinner, Paul Marshall is described as having a slight scratch down his face (where she fought back?). Perhaps he attacked her twice? I'm not entirely sure about it though.

Gyre

18th November 2007, 21:23

I remember reading the part about her arms/wrists and thinking, 'surely those twins could not have done that?' and also the part where they mentioned Paul looking at Lola, I thought that was slightly off, but I thought I was being too over-sensitive, if that makes sense.

angerball

19th November 2007, 07:19

I agree with you, Gyre. However, I put it out of my mind, as nothing else was made of it, and only the younger Hardman was alluded to as the possible guilty one. It was only later on, when I read some things on the net, that I started thinking of Paul Marshall as the one. But the thing is, why did she marry him? :10_confused:

Freewheeling Andy

19th November 2007, 10:35

Aaaaaaaaargh!

What an insanely annoying book.

It has so many, many, many of the things I hate. It has tedious period-piece nonsense set in dreary country house England. It has a central character who's an author. It has flighty pointless over-reactive emotional characters who do things on spur of moment: something that never, ever happens in real life.

And it has that stupid, stupid, stupid bottled out ending, like Life of Pi did. Oh, look, here's my story that's not really the story because I don't like the real story, so here's the version I prefer. Aaaargh!

And it's all set up so long in advance that you know it's coming. Firstly right at the beginning when she's thinking about writing a story of the couple by the fountain. It was fairly obvious then, although not as obvious as when she had her rejection letter from the publishers (and, by the way, there was a nice unintended irony where the publisher talks about nothing much happening in her original version - when actually in the first 150 pages of the "new" version it's dull as dishwater and nothing happens and you want to rip the book the pieces and burn it for being so utterly pointless.

To me, the only worthwhile and interesting parts of the book are the 1940 ones. These offer plot, colour, and value. And then even that is scuppered by that moronic ending.

Gah! What a waste of my time. How on earth has this book got such rave reviews.

Pfeh!

Freewheeling Andy

19th November 2007, 10:37

Oh, and the Paul Marshall thing with also flagged up from very early on, to me. Him being left alone with Lyra and then her coming in all shocked and bruised. And it felt like it was being flagged up all the way through from there, particularly with references to Amo bars.

angerball

19th November 2007, 18:01

Hmmm, so I'm sensing you didn't like it much, Andy? :lol:

Kylie

20th November 2007, 03:11

Yeah, come on Andy. Stop beating around the bush and tell us what you really think :lol:

I'm up to p 98 at the moment. Not much has happened but I like McEwan's writing style. If not for this, it would be a very dull book indeed.

poppy

20th November 2007, 07:46

I'm so peed off. Have just finished part one and am really getting into it, tried to renew book from library and I can't because 4 people have reserves on it!

Can understand why some people could say this is a bit slow, but he makes some wonderfully descriptive observations.

I find it a bit of a stretch of the imagination that anyone Briony's age could be quite so naive .... the scene in the library is one instance. She really is the most annoying, self-righteous little blot.

But I want to know what happens ....think I'll have to go and buy it tomorrow :roll:

Freewheeling Andy

20th November 2007, 08:33

I will say that a lot of the "atmospheric" passages of the opening part reminded me of The Leopard by Lampedusa, which should be a very good thing indeed. But those are largely the pieces surrounding Emily, the mother. For me, that mood is spoilt by everything going on around it, again something "good" in the book being scuppered by the rest of the structure and so on.

Kylie

26th November 2007, 01:42

I've just started Part 3. I enjoyed Part 2 more than Part 1 because the action picked up a little. Can't wait to see what this ending is that you all keep going on about! :mrgreen:

Paul

26th November 2007, 12:30

I gave up. Was the word really necessary?
That's exactly where he lost me.
The blinking lights immediately went on saying "Contrived. Contrived. Contrived."

lovesreading06

29th November 2007, 22:21

I not read this thread fully since i'm still reading it but i founing it hard to get in to. Its not a book where you can't wait to see what happens.

I going to carry on reading it and see if its get better.

~V~

3rd January 2008, 11:40

I finished this on New Year's Eve and thought I'd better write it up as the final entry in my blog thing.

I was concerned that my review would go against the grain. Seems not ;)

poppy

13th January 2008, 22:44

I finally managed to get this out from the library again to finish it (better late than never I guess).
I really enjoyed the second and third parts. Found myself warming to Briony in the end, thought she paid a huge price in guilt and separation from her family for what was really only naivety and bad judgement on her part. The ending came as a surprise to me I suppose I wanted a happy ending, but it made the story more memorable ending as it did.

Maureen

29th May 2008, 17:51

I have started on this book last night - but did not find it engaging at all up to now. Was thinking that I must've missed something, with all the raves it has recieved.....but feel better now after reading all of this thread. On the other hand I feel dismayed at the prospect of finishing off a book which seems boring at best.....:thud:

Freewheeling Andy

29th May 2008, 20:16

Part 2 of it is pretty good (the rest is horrible, though).

scottishbookworm

30th May 2008, 22:56

I've read Atonement it's a good book and the movie is excellent that green dress of keria knightly is lovely!

Maureen

31st May 2008, 11:48

Oh........ I am suspecting, I know what's coming.

Laa Laa

1st June 2008, 13:52

This is in my TBR pile so I might read it next.

scottishbookworm

1st June 2008, 20:44

I pick robbie turner as my favourite character because he's so dashing is played well by James Mcavoy! I'm sure any of the girls in the forum will agree with me! I'm not sure if the would!

:readingtwo:

Maureen

2nd June 2008, 10:59

I am about half-way through part two, and I am enjoying this book. I was wrong in how the story turned out - I did not see the twist (in the first part) coming.

Icecream

2nd June 2008, 11:14

I was wondering when you posted whether you would see the twist Maureen. I cheated and read an article on this book that had the ending in, but I might get the book one day.

Maureen

2nd June 2008, 15:45

I must say I enjoyed this book over all, although part one is a bit too long, and some passages are rather too flowery.
The ending was justified, in my opinion, it made the story more believable. Unfortunately there are too few happy endings in real life!
Did the film do it justice?

1- Who was your favourite character and why?
A toss up between Robbie and Cee - they both had strong decisive characters, and they did not give up on life.

2- Was there a particular part you enjoyed/disliked more than the rest?
The first part was tedious and too long.

3- Was this the first book you've read in this genre/by this author, has it encouraged you to read more?
Yes it is, and I would probably read another book by the same author.

4- Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with?
I don't understand war jargon much.

5- Overall, was reading the book an enjoyable experience?
Yes, I can't complain.

BTW, I enjoyed it, but I still do not get why this book got the reviews it did.