by Ian McEwan
A single moment of poor judgment haunts a family for decades.
Reviewed by: Jennifer Santiago
About Jennifer Santiago
At the heart of "Atonement" is Briony Tallis, who at thirteen lives in a world
of lush and fantastical stories and plays of her own making, always dealing with
tragedy, redemption, and love. In her misguided quest for real-life drama and
passage into what she imagines to be adulthood, Briony supplies false evidence
about a crime she has witnessed. In the process, Briony destroys the lives of
her entire family. When she is old enough to realize the damage she has
wrought, she embarks on a quest for atonement that is as self-serving as her
original sin.
To say, "I loved this book" would lump it in with Jackie Collins novels and
volumes of Shel Silverstein poetry that I have also loved; would trivialize the
awe-inspiring brilliance of McEwan's masterpiece. Every word in this book is
perfectly chosen, without a single misstep, a single instance where the reader
can imagine a sentence or phrase turned any differently. The reader can only
marvel that there exists in the universe someone who can write like this, who
can make the English countryside circa 1935 and war-torn France seem so vivid,
so believable. You'll be utterly convinced that you, the reader, not main
character Briony Tallis, have labored for 14 hours straight tending to wounded
soldiers in a London hospital; that you, the reader, not hero Robbie Turner,
have trudged hundreds of miles across France, stepping over disembodied limbs
and surviving fever-induced hallucinations. McEwan cannot possibly have amassed
his vast stores of sagacity and insight, not to mention talent, in the span of
just one lifetime.
This novel is not about the horrors of war. It is about the astonishing
resiliency of the human spirit. It is about the unknowable inner lives of the
people you love. It is about how differently a group of people can experience
the exact same event. It is about infinitesimally tiny decisions, choices, and
words that can radically alter lives in mere seconds. It is about the baggage we
carry and the mistakes we pay for with our souls.
While McEwan masterfully wrestles these daunting, lofty themes, the real charm
of the book is his deft description of the small details of daily life that
really define our existence- the random memories of childhood, sensory
impressions of a lovely summer day, familiar locations from the past viewed from
the window of a cab.
"Atonement" is a triumph from beginning to end, and can rightfully be described
as a masterpiece, and arguably the best novel of 2002.
Click here to buy this book, or read more about it at Amazon.com: Atonement
Copyright © by Jennifer Santiago, 2003
Reviewed by Jennifer Santiago:
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