Atonement

Atonement
by Ian McEwan

First published in Great Britain in 2001.

Atonement is a story of guilt, love, shame and anger.  It tells of the consequences of actions and how a seemingly small event can affect many lives.

The story begins in a big country house in the summer of 1935, where we are introduced to thirteen year old Briony who lives with her family, including older sister Cecilia.  She fancies herself a writer and is writing a play, to be performed with her cousins.  One hot day, a visit from family friend Robbie brings a shock when Briony accuses him of a crime he did not commit - an accusation which she will spend the rest of her life trying to atone (hence the title).

Mostly told from Briony’s point of view, the story follows her from being thirteen to an old lady.  Through her life she is constantly thinking of that summer in 1935 and what her terrible, childish mistake cost her.  Although we are seeing events through her eyes, I never liked Briony.  This is not necessarily a bad thing, as she is a difficult character to like, and I think this is the idea.  As she struggles to atone with her sister, so she struggles to atone with the reader.

Cecelia and Robbie are a classic love story; from different backgrounds they resist the attraction until they cannot any longer, only to have their love cut short by war.  Still they are not overly soppy, just quietly waiting for their time together.  Robbie is always thinking of Cecilia, and from his part of the story we see the horrors of war, which are a stark opposite to the carefree time before.

The book is in three parts.  Part one tells of the 1935 summer.  Part two switches to Robbie in the war.  It is an abrupt change, with no immediate explanation of the time in between, so as a reader you need to stick with it to find out what happened.  The third and shortest part brings us to London, 1999.  In this final part, the now seventy-seven year old Briony is returning to the country house to see a performance of the play she wrote at thirteen.  The old lady finally reveals what she has been covering up all these years, and the revelations make me cry every time I read the paragraphs.  This final part touches on the power of writing, and  the choice between writing reality or writing the lives you wish for your characters.

Atonement is a bit of a slow burner.  It stays with you long after reading but you really need the time to sit and fully immerse yourself in it.  Even now that I know the plot, and therefore read the story differently with this knowledge, I still enjoy it, in particular the excellent writing and tense descriptions.