Atonement – Ian McEwan

 

When I saw the trailer for this film I thought ‘wow that looks like a good film’, and it was. I decided that as the film was so good I would read the book, to see if it was just as good. The story is about a young girl called Briony who, on one very hot summer’s day in 1935, sees her sister strip off and jump into the fountain in front of their gardener, Robbie. Briony doesn’t understand and from there the things that she does changes everyone’s lives forever.   

The main thing I have to say about the film is that it is exactly like the book, and follows it almost perfectly. It took me a while to get through the first half of the book as I found it a bit slow but as I had seen the film I persevered as I knew the story picked up further on. My other problem with the book is McEwan’s writing style, but I know that if all authors wrote the same way then books would be extremely boring. His style is very descriptive and in some places he takes almost a page to explain something that could have been explained in a few sentences. However his style works well in other places where he is describing the characters feelings which, I feel, are very important to the story.

It is a very touching story and I would definitely read it again some time in the future. I did find that watching the film helped me to understand some parts of the book and I would recommend that you both read the book and see the film, as they are both stunning.Although the beginning is awfully slow I would urge you to carry one as the ending is one that only a few authors can pull off in such a fantastic way. Due to the style of the book I would recommend this book to older readers.

Plot – 16/20

Characters – 14/20

Description – 15/20

Overall Enjoyment – 15/20

Total Percentage – 75%