Book 195: Atonement

I watched the movie several years before I knew Atonement was also a book. I loved the movie. I thought it was beautiful. The book did not fall short of my expectations.

Although this is the first, and currently only, book that I've read by Ian McEwan, I have always heard great things about him so I came to this book with a  lot of expectations about quality and writing style; never mind the story which I was already acquainted with.  McEwan writes a novel which is engrossing and one that has a good flow.

I still have mixed feelings about Briony and I'm not sure I'll ever like her. Throughout the whole book her, and most of the other characters, seem extremely coddled and privileged. The novel deals with tough subject matter through a child's eye; and later an adults horror at the way that that child had behaved.

I rate this book a 7 out of 10. I read it last August, so we're still in the never ending catch-up phase. Unfortunately I can't remember much outside of the impressions I have from the book. At one point this year I thought I hadn't read it yet (which speaks well for the movie as it means that many of the events in it were similar/the same as in the book, but I do believe the ending in the book was somehow different.

I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good book for aweathery (snowy or rainy) afternoon or who enjoys different accounts of the World War II climate in England

Just finished #currentlyreading #books #instareads

A photo posted by Colleen Earle (@unphilosophise) on Aug 17, 2015 at 1:55pm PDT