Atonement

I remember watching the movie before reading the book and loved how well it was done. It was an excellent story with such a great cast of characters and visual appeal. The book carried to the movie well so it was easy to truly visualize locations and the colors of it all.

So when I went to go read the book, I was so enraptured by the way it was written and the flow that it carried. I do not know about you, but as I was reading there was a constant state of melancholy in the background that would come forward every now and then. The plot follows a girl who creates the biggest misunderstanding of hers and the people close to hers lives. When you boil it down, she basically ruined someone’s life. She falsely accuses her older sister’s lover who grew up with them of rape and he gets tossed into the military to the frontlines. She has known this person forever and trusts him wholeheartedly, but because she is young and naïve about romance willingly throws him under the bus when asked who was the rapist.

You can tell I got a little into it, which obviously McEwan did a really job of doing; I am sure you can agree that a good author is one who can bring you into the world they created and then write in a way that gets a rise out of you, whether it is sad, mad, or whatever. You feel so much and process through so much with Briony to a point where you do your own personal reflections in a way.

It really plucks heartstrings when you [Spoiler] find that it was a huge what-if scenario. I went through life like that throughout high school into college. What if this happens/ed, that sort of thing; it would decision making hard. I just cannot imagine the weight she carried throughout the remainder of her life, wishing that she would not have done what she did. It makes me think of people who get wrongly convicted who eventually have their case turned over. Just going to stop myself.

I would read this again, absolutely; I am pretty sure I still have my copy actually. If not, I will, like you if you are interested in Atonement, can get it here.

10/10