Das ist Kunst!: Im Sommer 1935 schreibt die 13-jährige Briony Tallis ein dramatisches Theaterstück zu Ehren des heimkommenden Bruders. Sie will es mit ihren Cousins und ihrer Cousine aufführen, die zu Besuch erwartet werden. Brionys lebhafte und überdrehte Einbildungskraft, ihr kindliches Gemüt an der Schwelle zum Erwachsenwerden und ihr Eigensinn sorgen dafür, dass sie manche Dinge verzerrt wahrnimmt. So beobachtet sie mehrere für sie verwirrende Szenen, in denen sich ihre ältere Schwester und ein Freund des Hauses begegnen und zieht daraus die falschen Schlüsse. Als dann bei einer nächtlichen Suche nach den entlaufenen Cousins die Cousine vergewaltigt wird, hat Briony ihren großen Auftritt.

Es passiert fast nichts - und doch habe ich "Abbitte" verschlungen. Die wunderbaren, detaillierten Innenansichten der einzelnen Charaktere, ihre Entwicklung und Wandlung sind sicher der Hauptgrund dafür. Der Leser wird von einem atmosphärisch dichten Schauplatz zum nächsten geführt und erlebt hautnah mit, wie Selbstzweifel, Liebe, Haß, schlechtes Gewissen und die dauernde Frage nach dem Warum am Bewusstsein der Figuren nagen. Beim vierten Teil, der in der Gegenwart spielt und aus der Ich-Perspektive Brionys erzählt wird, habe ich mich zunächst gefragt, was das soll. Doch McEwan fügt zum Schluss noch eine winzige Wendung an, die die Krönung einer ohnehin schon grandiosen Geschichte ist.

rec'd by Kathy

I usually either rad the book or see the movie; I seldom do both. This time I did both, and I'm glad I did. I liked each in about equal proportion. Nicely done on both counts. ( )

Briony was a reflective character that saw things through the eyes of a writer. I liked the insight into the process she used to transform feelings into print. It was a shame, that once she created the picture of events, she was unable see the truth. Her belief in her first perceptions stopped her from considering other possibilities.

In her old age, as she learns of her worsening condition and the ultimate end she will face with dementia, she completes the novel she began as a child. She writes atonement for her childhood actions, in efforts to see things in a better light. Of course there is no taking back the damage done. Her false accusations against Robbie were realized too late to change everything. Even so she desperately wants to see Cecilia and Robbie happy, to make up for the years of suffering they endured in their tragic romance. ( )

He leído el libro después de ver la peli, que me gustó mucho. No había leído nada de Ian McEwan y le tenía ganas porque había oído hablar muy bien de él. El libro me ha parecido un poco irregular. Mi impresión es que hay un personaje que, para el autor, es mucho más importante que los demás y se nota un poco demasiado. La historia es leeeeenta pero, hay que reconocerlo, emocionante y emotiva. La construcción de la psicología de los personajes (sobre todo de uno) es acojonante. Tiene uno de los finales más impactantes y mejor escritos que he leído jamás, lo mejor del libro. Bastante (muy) recomendable ( )

He leído el libro después de ver la peli, que me gustó mucho. No había leído nada de Ian McEwan y le tenía ganas porque había oído hablar muy bien de él. El libro me ha parecido un poco irregular. Mi impresión es que hay un personaje que, para el autor, es mucho más importante que los demás y se nota un poco demasiado. La historia es leeeeenta pero, hay que reconocerlo, emocionante y emotiva. La construcción de la psicología de los personajes (sobre todo de uno) es acojonante. Tiene uno de los finales más impactantes y mejor escritos que he leído jamás, lo mejor del libro. Bastante (muy) recomendable ( )

Absolutely one of the best books I've read this year. This man can weave a story like you wouldn't believe. The first third of the book is the tightest, but it's all worth reading. ( )

Absolutely one of the best books I've read this year. This man can weave a story like you wouldn't believe. The first third of the book is the tightest, but it's all worth reading. ( )

Absolutely one of the best books I've read this year. This man can weave a story like you wouldn't believe. The first third of the book is the tightest, but it's all worth reading. ( )

A slow paced, overly descriptive dull sort of novel about a 13 year old girl who makes up a story and destroys lives. ( )

could not get into this book, I had to stop reading it. ( )

I have mixed feelings about this book. The opening is superb. Well-paced, breath-taking in some of its passages. But it's too heavy for the abbreviated ending that follows. The book tried to take on a epic scope - both its theme and in its war scenes - but it lacked the structure to achieve it. In the end, despite the brilliance of the parts, the whole left me dissatisfied. ( )

Pretty so-so. I need to stop picking up fiction when I run out of things to read. ( )

I guess this might be a good thing, but the little girl in this book made me so mad that the book went fling across my kitchen floor. I couldn't handle her ego and her whole being. I stopped reading it and sold it...... It really hit me hard and I couldn't go on with the story. I never did that before, so I'm not sure if it was so well written I was sucked in or I just had an issue with whole story? ( )

Some writers just have a gift. Ian McEwan is on a different plane from average mortal authors. I became aware of him the year he won every single literary prize, (it seemed). When I read Atonement I found out why. ( )

Atonement is beautifully written. For some reason Atonement reminded me of Romeo and Juliet. The whole star crossed lovers thing. Also the tragedy, Cecilia and Rob were only together once. They loved each other during their last summer together, but they weren't even aware, not till the fateful night. Very tragic. The only thing I found, well weird, with the story was how Cecilia realized she was in love with Robbie. Perhaps it was fitting, but still quite disturbing. Atonement makes Ian McEwan's reputation as a wonderful writer well deserved. ( )

Warning: Do not see the movie before reading this book! If ever a story needed spoiler protection, this is it. In the style of the best British classics, McEwan's beautifully written novel follows a single generation from early to late 20th century, beginning with a child's misperception of an innocent flirtation, the mistaken assumptions caused by it, and the ultimate Atonement she seeks at the end. While most young adults may not gravitate to the book, it's one worth introducing good readers to try. ( )

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was wonderfully written & kept my attention. Having seen the movie, I knew that the happily ever after ending wasn't real, so I was prepared for it, but I was hoping all the same they could be together. However, knowing what I was reading was "false" made me enjoy it slightly less, but that was through no fault of the book.Good book & good movie. I recommend both. ( )

In three separate episodes that take place on three different days (plus an epilogue), McEwan tells a sweeping story, one of love, betrayal, fatal mistakes and the futility of atoning too late. The book opens on an English countryside estate not long before World War II. On one significant night, a mismatched couple - Cecilia, the privileged Minister’s daughter, and Robbie, the housekeeper’s son - realize their love for each other due to her receiving the wrong note from him, a note with a very erotic P.S. That note was delivered by Cecilia’s over-imaginative younger sister, Briony, but not before she had read and misinterpreted it, which sets in motion a chain of events that leads the young girl to tell a lie so enormous that it separates the lovers irrevocably, and sends Robbie to jail.

In the second section, Robbie has traded prison for a place in the retreating British army, fleeing from the Germans through the French countryside and witnessing the horrors of war along the way. The only thing that keeps him going is the hope of being reunited with Cecilia when he returns to Britain and the memory of their brief meeting before war tore them apart again. Robbie is wounded when he reaches the coast, and his fate is unclear.

In the third section, Briony, now a young nurse caring for the initial flood of wounded soldiers, reunites with her estranged sister and her lover. She finally finds a way to ask their forgiveness and to atone to them for what she has done. But is her attempt enough to overcome the far-reaching consequences of her betrayal?

The brutalities of war and of life are both vividly portrayed in this novel, but it still feels and reads like a carefully crafted conceit, a not-quite-true-to-life three-act play similar to the melodrama that the young writer Briony attempts to stage when the story opens. The themes are grand, but my criticism would be that the three extended scenes go on a bit too long, the point being made perhaps a bit too strongly to be truly effective. But since this book was shortlisted for the Booker Award and named one of the all-time greatest novels by Time magazine, I may be in the minority on that opinion. In any event, it is still a book that is worth reading. ( )

Set in an upper-middle class English home, 13-year-old Briony witnesses an event that leads to the changing of numerous lives - including her own.

I read and listened to this book. The manner in which the story unfolds did not hold my attention in the handheld version, so I switched to just listening to it. The actual plotline became ridiculous; however, there were parts that I found interesting and actually enjoyable, but for the most part, there was just too much blah, blah, blah for nothin'. (2.5/5)

Originally posted on: Thoughts of Joy ( )

I really enjoyed this book. One of the best things about this novel is the style of writing, so few modern authors write this way anymore, but McEwan has this beautiful style of elegance in his writing, the words just jumped out of the pages. I loved having paragraphs and paragraphs explaining the scene using metaphors within the scenes to help convey the emotions of the characters and to hint at what's to come. There seem to be a lot who dislike this, but that’s what made this story. It’s the emotion put into words, descriptions, and setting that create this wonderful setting and characters all of which become very real. The author did an amazing job with this; I had the book playing like a movie in my head as I read it, visualizing each scene perfectly. The story was a bit sad, and during the war scenes really shocked you in the realism of it. The author was did an incredible job at bringing you a tiny glimpse of the war. Also, the ending of the story was what really made it. I was shocked and appreciated the ending, the author ties up loose ends, and some of them, the readers won’t like, but it is what makes the story, the ending where it isn’t exactly a happy one for most of the characters. With that said, I highly recommend this book to anyone, it’s a fantastic story combined with elegant style of writing which has created a stunning story you can read over and over again

Book review also on blog: http://juliebooks.blogspot.com/2008/0... ( )

I liked this book, but it was a very heavy read and I felt it was very thought provoking. And kind of made me sleepy at times. But the last bit really pulled me in as well. Contradicty much?

Most people have probably seen the movie and have a good idea of what the story is about. Let me tell you folks, it is an even more sad tale on the page than it was on the screen. Naturally, you get more into each of the characters and I think this really brings you to either fall more in love with them, or despise them more than you did before.

To read the rest of my review, please visit:
http://www.dorolerium.com/?p=515 ( )

It took me a little bit to get into the book because of all the wonderful descriptions of light and shadow. I enjoyed the characters and interaction of the two sisters especially. McEwan also did a great job making me as a reader doubt what I thought had happened. The twist at the end was even a surprise. Kudos for keeping the reader on their toes! ( )

Set in pre-WWII Britain, Atonement is a metafiction about a young girl's misinterpretation of a single flirtation between her older sister and the family's young protege. This leads to severe consequences which affect the entire family for years to come. Highly recommended.
(Read December 2006) ( )

Atonement is one of the books I chose for the War Through the Generations - WWII challenge. When I was looking at the books I wanted to read for this challenge, this was the first one that made it to the list because the description intrigued me and every review that I read said how brilliant this book is.

This is the story of Briony, whose imagination at fourteen years old changed the lives of her sister Cecilia and Robbie for ever. As she grows older Briony realizes the mistake that she has made, but it seems too late. She wants to make amends, but after all that they went through because of her will Cecilia and Robbie forgive her?

I had high hopes for this book but I have to say that I was disappointed. The story was slow and at times it just dragged on and on. The first thing that bothered me was the jumping back and forth in time. I found it confusing that sometimes I would be reading a part thinking the story continues, then I would realize that it is actually recounting the same scene I have just read but from the point of view of a different character. The long passages were very tedious, it goes into in-depth descriptions of objects which I found irrelevant and did nothing to enhance the story. Apart from feeling bad for Robbie and mad at Briony, I could not connect with the characters at all and this was a big downside because I like characters that come to life. The only part of the book that I can say I enjoyed reading is the second part, where Robbie is on his way back from the war. This was the only time I felt the story was suspenseful and it got me interested, however once I got through this part it went back to being slow and I struggled to finish it. The last part of the book just seemed like blurbing, I could not understand what message the author wanted to get across by this ending. By the end I realized that in fact there is not much to the story. I truly don't understand what is the hype about this book.

I was surprised with myself because I rarely ever feel this way about a book, and although I won't say that I hated it, I really didn't like this one. After reading this book I now want to watch the movie. I have not yet watched a movie which I liked better than the book, maybe this will be a first? ( )