From the Bookshelf of Reading List Completists…

Atonement

Ian McEwan

Start date: February 1, 2016

Finish date: February 29, 2016

Discussion: Group Reads

Why we're reading this: Winner - February Back to Basics Poll
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Group Reads

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What Members Thought

Jan 11, 2016 Matthew rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016, completist-book-club, favorites, tear-jerkers, historical-fiction, library

In life, we all make mistakes. Some big, some small, but usually we quickly forget them. But what happens when you make a mistake that haunts you every day and you can do nothing about it?

This book was fantastic. I loved the writing. I loved the characters. They were so well developed I could feel their emotions in myself as I read. I was deeply and truly satisfied by the story and the writing. When I closed the book after the last page I felt like I was sitting back after finishing an amazing m ...more

101 likes · Like · see review

Sep 10, 2017 Jason rated it really liked it

Shelves: own

What Mr. McEwan gives us here is a story about love and war, yes, but much more than that it is a story about guilt, perception, and story-telling.

I will say that I felt as if this novel had a felling of dooming, damning taint from start to finish. There is an ominous foreboding that hangs over the beautifully orchestrated language. I half-wish there could have been some points to lighten the story, some glimmers of natural joy that wasn't sprung from malice or discomfort, but I guess that's jus ...more

31 likes · Like · see review

Feb 23, 2023 Jess Penhallow rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 1930s, boxall-s

This is one of the best character study books I have ever read. The characters all do things on the scale from questionable to awful but they are so well developed that you understand their multi-layered motivations.

The atmosphere is also incredibly immersive whether in a sleepy summer country house, a busy hospital or the banks of Dunkirk. Each setting is powerfully evoked in, at times, uncomfortable ways and this combined with the characterisation, really put you in the perspective of the cha ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Sep 19, 2015 Judy Robertson rated it it was amazing

What a beautifully written book. Holy point of views Batman! Earlier while reading I said it was an adjustment for me considering the lighter fares I have chosen the last few weeks. Atonement forces you to pay close attention to the narrative or you will be quickly lost. The viewpoint is first person, third person, wait...omniscient. Sometimes you don't know where the hell the narration is coming from, but be patient because in the end you will be all knowing. Maybe.
Briony is the driving protag ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jul 29, 2021 Tyler rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: the-guardians-100-greatest-novels, time-mag-100-best-novels, readers-digest-100-best-books, telegraph-100-novels-should-read

This was engrossing and I couldn’t put it down! On paper, I didn’t think it would be my cup of tea, but McEwan really snatched my collar and drug me into the story. Each piece worked so well that at every section change I was determined to read on. And what a phenomenal way to organize and end this piece of work! Just wonderful!

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