Atonement in Retro Chapter Chicks

Dec 30, 2011 Book Concierge rated it really liked it

Shelves: france, movie, england, library, concierge, war, literature

How can you atone for a mistake which so drastically alters someone’s life?

13-year-old Briony Tallis aspires to being a writer. She spends her days writing romances, adventures, and plays; her family encourages these efforts. On a summer day in 1935, at her family estate, she witnesses a part of scene between her older sister, Cecilia, and Robbie Turner, the son of a servant, and her imagination takes off. Additional happenings in the house that same day, including her own snooping, result in a How can you atone for a mistake which so drastically alters someone’s life?

13-year-old Briony Tallis aspires to being a writer. She spends her days writing romances, adventures, and plays; her family encourages these efforts. On a summer day in 1935, at her family estate, she witnesses a part of scene between her older sister, Cecilia, and Robbie Turner, the son of a servant, and her imagination takes off. Additional happenings in the house that same day, including her own snooping, result in a leap of logic and she accuses Robbie of a terrible crime. Once the attentions of the adults and police are focused on her, she feels compelled to complete her story – she “knows” Robbie did it and so comes forth as an eye witness. Her “confident” testimony is what convicts him despite the absence of evidence. This is her crime, whose repercussions the book follows through World War II and beyond, and for which Briony will spend her life trying to atone.

This is a complex novel that explores issues of class, guilt, love, war and forgiveness. The reader knows this is an injustice and can only hope for an eventual resolution. I was horrified that no one took a good look at the situation and saw the obvious flaws in this young girl’s testimony. But then, she was an upper class young lady of a fine family, and he was the strong laborer trying to “get above his station.” Cecilia, in my opinion, is equally to blame for locking herself in her room at the outset and not coming forward until it is too late to save Robbie. She also atones; she completely cuts herself off from her family and continuously works to try to reverse the damage. Robbie is left to try to piece together some semblance of a life; his service during WW 2 is in part an effort to expunge his record.

Jill Tanner’s performance of this audio book is wonderful. She’s able to express the boredom and outrage of the young teen Briony, the passion and excitement of Cecilia, the anxiety and confusion of Pierrot and Jackson, the petulance and superiority of Lola, and the hope and determination of Robbie.

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May 17, 2011 Tasha rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction, favorites-2013

I have heard so much of this author and how amazing his writing is and I finally, finally got around to reading Atonement, my first but not my last, by Ian McEwan. Wow, his writing is just beautiful and evokes exactly what he must intend in a way that is not overly descriptive or flowerly...just perfect. The story had me engaged from the very start, I wanted to just spend all day reading it. ...more

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Jul 24, 2014 Kris (My Novelesque Life) rated it it was amazing

4.5 STARS

"Ian McEwan’s symphonic novel of love and war, childhood and class, guilt and forgiveness provides all the satisfaction of a brilliant narrative and the provocation we have come to expect from this master of English prose.

On a hot summer day in 1934, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis witnesses a moment’s flirtation between her older sister, Cecilia, and Robbie Turner, the son of a servant and Cecilia’s childhood friend. But Briony’s incomplete grasp of adult motives—together with her prec ...more

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