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Atonement - Part 3
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I think McEwan did an amazing job writing another gender. I think it's difficult to pull off but it's just like writing from another culture or time period. With research and effort you can be convincing.
I know this is an old discussion, but I feel compelled to chime in. I adored this book. I seem to like the aspects of it that so many folks hate and to just adore the rest. :-) I actually liked part one. It didn't drag for me at all. I enjoyed being immersed in that world, in that country house, and in all of the different perspectives. I also liked and identified with Briony. She did a stupid thing, but she was just a kid. (Full disclosure: I am the youngest child in my family and my siblings are ten and fifteen years older than I am. So, I relate to her position in the family and her sense of wanting to be important in it, which is why she tries to "protect" Cecilia.) It's so obvious from the first chapter how much she idolizes Cecilia and Leon and how having them at home and near her is everything to her. I mean, she writes a play for him.
When I finished part 3, I was ready to hate the ending. All of the romance didn't ring quite true to me and I kind of hated Cecilia for totally cutting herself off from her family. I still thought parts two and three were incredibly well-written, but it wasn't the fantastic ending that I was expecting. The real ending changed all that. I think the most poignant love story in this novel was the love of Briony for her sister and the way that she spent her entire life trying to imagine a better ending for her. Loving someone doesn't always guarantee that you'll do right by them and I think by the time Briony knew and had the courage to do what she should have done, Cecilia was already dead.
I also loved how they returned to the old house, which was (very symbolically) no longer a home and finally put on that play. Because if the play had gone on in the first place, everything else could have been avoided.
And now I'm in danger of crying at work, just from thinking about it. :-)
Becca - Thank you so much for posting! Your comments really helped me view this story differently. It's still not a favorite of mine, but I can see it in a better light. Great thoughts.
Wow, Becca, what fantastic comments! Thank you! I've decided that I actually like this book a lot more than I thought I did when I was reading it, because months afterward I still think about it.
Hey, Becca--I agree with everything you said. I'm glad to hear I'm not alone!
Mod
ok, so I know everyone read this a while ago, but I just finished reading this book for a class.... I haven't finished reading all of your comments so if I repeat something, sorry. But I had so many thoughts to share and respond to that I couldn't wait until I read all of the comments to post.Someone mentioned something about Lola and why she married Paul. Someone in my class discussion said that perhaps she was being manipulative. I saw the movie before I read the book, and I have to say that i disliked Lola from the beginning. I saw her as a brat who was trying to act like an adult but really showing off her immaturity. However, a girl in my class gave the perspective of her being manipulative. Her family was going through a massive scandal, divorce, affairs, and such. And my friend thought that perhaps Lola had used such a situation (he had hurt her before and didn't say anything) to get a "wonderful" ending of money, status, and high society. After all, Briony says that when she was looking for the twins, she went to a place where no one goes and it was her place alone. So why were Marshall and Lola there? And I think that if I had some guy mistreat me before, I would be sticking pretty close to the older cousins for protection... so why was she by herself? Anyway.... some interesting thoughts.
I find it kind of funny some of your reactions to the ending of the book. I have the movie to thank that I already knew what happened. But I have to say that I enjoyed it better, knowing how it would end. It helped me look more in depth to the book and the concept of Atonement. At first, after I saw the movie, I really didn't like the fact that they died at the end and never really ended up together. However, after reading the book with the idea that they would die at the end, I found such a greater love story. I don't know if it's just me, but I really felt like the concept of forever being bonded in love and committing your entire life to one person after one single event and eventually dying because of it... it seems so romantic. So much better than a classic fall in love before the war, come home, get married, and have a family after the war. I feel like that leaves too much to be imagined. If they got together.... they could have eventually split. I feel like their separations bonded them together further.
I will probably have more comments to come. :)
That's what I love about literature classes and book clubs (and goodreads, of course)--you get to hear so many different perspectives and ideas about the same book, all of which have their own validity. I felt the same as you about the ending. I thought it was beautiful the way Briony tried to make it all up to her sister in the only way she could. I sympathized with Briony more in the book than I did in the movie. There seemed to be more malintent than misunderstanding in the movie.
I did sympathize with Briony more in the book than the movie... I had not noticed that. But I felt like when the author added the thought processes of Briony.... I was like, Oh I can relate to that. I am the youngest of 4 and I understand the younger sister complex. However, I have never been able to hold on to a "crime" (as she puts it) for that long. I think the longest I have been able to lie to my siblings is two days. But I thought it was interesting that the older I get, the more I relate to Cecilia. My sister and I got into a fight about a month ago and I could totally relate to Cecilia and holding a grudge. Thankfully, my sister and I have made up... but at the time, i understood it.
I noticed as I was finished reading the other postings that someone asked the question of whether or not Cecilia and Briony would have parted from their parents had the one event not occured. I don't believe they would have. While I think that Cecilia would have gone out into the world, I don't think she would have cut herself off completely from her family, especially Leon. Briony, I definately think, would not have cut herself off from her family. She was such a people pleaser with her mom and dad... she so much desired to have approval from them (I believe that's part of what drove her to accuse Robbie - seeking to be important and to be praised).One thing my lit class pointed out is that it is almost like Briony is trying for Atonement by attempting Cecilia's way of life. Briony goes to nurse's training like Cecilia, she almost completely cuts herself off from her family. It's like she's trying for atonement in living the life her sister was forced to live.
It's interesting to hear you guys talk about how Briony was doing the same thing in her book that she did in her fantasies.... creating lies and weaving webs of deceit. I had not thought about it that way. But somehow, I believe that you are right. Thought I think it was probably very painful and very revealing for Briony to write her story (for she had to relive what happened, examine her motives, and go over and over what she did wrong). I still think that at the end becauase she changed the ending, it was not the same. It's like she had grown up some, but that part of her that sought for control and the God-like quality still held on and so she changed the ending. Perhaps she thought that it would give more tribute to Cee and Robbie... but in the end, I don't really like that she changed the ending.
One other thing (if anyone looks back at this) my lit class discussed that I thought was interesting is how the lack of forgiveness hurts Robbie and Cecilia. Are they able to move past that event and live their lives as they so want to? Or do they become so bitter that if they had lived, it would have consumed them? I did my final paper on Forgiveness and Bitterness and Atonement was one of the books that I studied. If anyone is still wanting to discuss this book... I would love to hear you guys opinions.
I agree with you that bitterness consumed them, but what person could rise above that type of betrayal? Their ENTIRE lives were ruined. Everything that Robbie worked for...I think that if the characters had "moved on," the book would have been far less realistic.
I completely agree with you. I think that the one event bonded them in such a complete and strong way that probably would not have been there otherwise. I just wonder because forgiveness and bitterness are really relevant topics in my life. As I grow up, I really am having to learn how to forgive and not hold grudges. I can't imagine their lives being ruined. It's something that I can't fathom. But it just makes me sad that their entire family fell apart from one single event on one night. I wonder if it is possible to forgive and move past something like that. Even if they had never reconciled with Cee's family, I wonder if they would ever had been able to forgive Briony and live their lives like Robbie so wanted.
Do you think this is true? Do male authors have difficulty in writing for a female audience? (I don't have the book next to me. Tomorrow I post the quote.)