Atonement

Friday night, I stood outside a shop window and finished Atonement by the store lights. I'd read all but the last 20 pages on the train and couldn't face the 10 minute walk home until I'd found out how the book ended.

Over the years I've developed a talent for not getting emotionally involved in books. My detachment is not absolute — I can't read a book in which I don't like any of the characters — but I seldom truly feel for the characters. I've been reading Atonement by Ian McEwan for at least the last 4 months. I got about half way through and then just couldn't get myself to read anymore because I was so emotionally involved in the book. McEwan has a remarkable ability to make his characters seem real, and for the events that occur to them to seem plausible. I picked up the book again just recently and finished it in a few days.

The book is set in England and France about 5 years before and also during WWII. Most of the narrative follows the experiences of the protagonist Briony — as a girl and as a nurse — and examines a crime and how atonement can be made for that crime.

McEwan delves into being human and what motivates people. While his books tend to be a little grim, he does seem to ultimately have faith in people. His characters are often good people who make mistakes or who have impossible situations foisted onto them.

This is the best book I've read so far by McEwan. Atonement is wonderfully written and beautifully constructed. Oddly enough, the ending has echoes of Villette. Compared to most modern books, Atonement is subtle and complicated, the language is sophisticated, but it would not appeal to all readers.