Atonement
| Author: | McEwan, Ian |
| Genre: | Novel - Historical |
| Written in the year 2001 and set in the time period: 1935-1940s | |
| Places: | |
| Originally entered by James Schellenberg (May-08) | |
| Rating: | 3/10 |
Comments
I really disliked this book - it felt incredibly pretentious, and the characters were far more annoying than anyone we should have to spend any time with, ever. Some events in a country house, then a WWII slog to Dunkirk, then some nursing-related events after the war, then the worst epilogue ever written (I guess I don't have much patience for meta anymore - in this case, it felt like the final kick in the pants).
Additional Comments
May-08 - Fiona Scannell gave the book 5/10 and wrote:
I did not dislike this book as much as James did, but I also found it quite a tedious read. Still, I thought it was well-written -- I just didn't care much for the characters and I found that in terms of it being a love story, the motivation of the characters seemed pretty weak. But the novel did capture what I thought would be the feel of that era in England, and also in France during the war-time scenes.
Oct-08 - Deborah Lawrenson gave the book 8/10 and wrote:
Setting aside the structure and success (or otherwise) of the characters, what Ian McEwan does achieve very well in this novel is the recreation of the dark, damp, harried atmosphere of London during WW2. His spare prose is perfectly suited to claustrophobia greyness and battened-down fear.
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