Atonement - Part II

[Tamara]

Atonement is already broken down into three parts so we will read each part as our sections, regardless of length.

Please place spoilers behind a spoiler tag!

[amber]

My starter question for this section is what you think of the change in tone from part I to part II?

[amber]

There is a quote about halfway into this section, 'It was not reasonable or just to hate Briony, but it helped'.

Do you agree with any part of this thought?

[Jay]

For me, the pace def picked up and I found myself listening to the audiobook while driving and washing dishes and eating lunch and exercising...as far as the tone, not having a physical copy to see where part 1/2 were broken down, it felt that the book shifted from Briony's thoughts of the goings-on in the household to more of a wider narrators view of what occurs outside the home. I agree with the statement in that Briony was simply naive in her actions and more-so the consequences of them, but that it still does not solve the problem or heal the feelings of injustice.

[Irene]

I think society always finds it easier to be able to id a single cause of a complex and messy negative situation and to isolate that cause with our anger or pity or punishment. It makes us feel less vulnerable, less powerless, less of a potential victim.

[amber]

I felt that the pace of the story picked up in the second section. I don't know for sure if that is because of the writing itself, or if it's because there was a lot less of this part of the book in the movie, so there was more new information coming in part II.

I actually question the idea that it is unreasonable or unjust for Robbie to hate Briony. She has after all ruined his life at this point in the book.