Atonement

by Ian McEwan

She was one of those children possessed by a desire to have the world just so.

Many of the things that possess Briony once possessed me. Making a small, controllable world was one impulse, and I've watched it with fascination in my own children and grandchildren. Part of the attraction is in making a world, a scene, an enclosed environment that is completely comprehensible - unlike the adult world. My own enclosed fantasy land was a train set. It consisted only of a small oval track and a siding. But, crucially, it had a tunnel, a station, a level crossing, a few trees and houses and a few tiny people. I liked to lie up close, on my side on the floor and feel myself part of this society. The train ran on time! The people were model citizens. The world was benign. Meanwhile, in the real world around me, I sensed that things were falling apart.