Atonement in Pop Sugar's Annual Ultimate Reading Challenge

Jan 08, 2013 Jill Bonham rated it really liked it

Shelves: ww2

I had a really hard time getting into this book. I decided to read a couple of the reviews and thought the premise was compelling so I continued on and I was glad I did. I always judge my books on what they make me reflect on. There are two quotes that really made me think.

1. “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, and everyone's thoughts striving in equal importance and everyo I had a really hard time getting into this book. I decided to read a couple of the reviews and thought the premise was compelling so I continued on and I was glad I did. I always judge my books on what they make me reflect on. There are two quotes that really made me think.

1. “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, and everyone's thoughts striving in equal importance and everyone's claim on life as intense, and everyone thinking they were unique, when no one was.”
2.“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. It wasn't only wickedness and scheming that made people unhappy, it was confusion and misunderstanding, above all, it was the failure to grasp the simple truth that other people are as real as you."

I also found the whole thing of believing "what you think you saw" because of preconceived notions very fascinating. In the book, the author blames such shortcomings on the young age of the character. But don't we all sometimes do this? See what we want to see, believe what we want to believe. I saw this book as a warning to keep our minds open and to not fall into such a trap. Beautifully written, I wished it had been longer, filling in the time gaps that we did not see.

I read the audio version and thought it was great. As soon as I was finished, I started back to the beginning and listened to the first few chapters which I had had such a hard time "getting into " the first time around. They were much more enjoyable the second time around!

3/8/14 so just happened to see this book at the bookstore and it was thicker than I expected because I remembered it was a short audio book. Come to find out I had listened to the abridged version!!!!! I am so mad ---one of my complaints if the book was that it was too short!!!! so I immediately went to audible and got the unabridged version --will update review later! ...more

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