zimtschnecke's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
barb97's review
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
stellamckenna's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kelleyannelyse's review against another edition
5.0
2018 Reading Challenge [2/100]
Ok so we've all (have we? I'm assuming that everyone reads books but I know thats not true hahaha, let's just pretend in a well ordered universe ok) made the mistake of watching a movie before reading the book. Now there are movie-adaptations of books that you see and then decide, well I'm never going to waste my time reading that, until someone assures you that the movie has greatly failed their standards for a translation of a exceptional book. And then there are movie-adaptations that you love so much you decide to read the novel and then after reading you wonder why you were so dumb, this book is amazing, why did you watch the movie first, therefore giving away the entire thing, spoiler alert, what is wrong with you, why did you do that, you KNOW you hate it when you do that.
Atonement is one of the latter for me, joining the only book previously on that list: Fight Club. And for those of you who know how much I love Fight Club to say that this book toes a damn equal playing field is high praise from me:
Here are things that Atonement and Fight Club have in common:
1) some of my favorite actors/actresses (Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter, James McAvoy)
2) Beautiful cinematography ("You've met me at a very strange time in my life" / the fountain scene in Atonement)
3) A REALLY, REALLY GOOD MIND-BENDING TWIST
Here are the thing Atonement and Fight Club diverge on:
1) Me after the twist in Fight Club: HOLY FUCK. What? How ? WHAT?
Me after the twist in Atonement: NOOOOOOOOOOO. NO?? what is hope? what is anything ? My heart is broken and there's nothing to be done.
Anyways, so my main take aways are this (somehow this turned into a join review for Fight Club as well) - ABSOLUTELY read these books first, and after you've done that absolutely watch the movies, this is definitely going on my Indie Faves list.
Ok so we've all (have we? I'm assuming that everyone reads books but I know thats not true hahaha, let's just pretend in a well ordered universe ok) made the mistake of watching a movie before reading the book. Now there are movie-adaptations of books that you see and then decide, well I'm never going to waste my time reading that, until someone assures you that the movie has greatly failed their standards for a translation of a exceptional book. And then there are movie-adaptations that you love so much you decide to read the novel and then after reading you wonder why you were so dumb, this book is amazing, why did you watch the movie first, therefore giving away the entire thing, spoiler alert, what is wrong with you, why did you do that, you KNOW you hate it when you do that.
Atonement is one of the latter for me, joining the only book previously on that list: Fight Club. And for those of you who know how much I love Fight Club to say that this book toes a damn equal playing field is high praise from me:
Here are things that Atonement and Fight Club have in common:
1) some of my favorite actors/actresses (Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter, James McAvoy)
2) Beautiful cinematography ("You've met me at a very strange time in my life" / the fountain scene in Atonement)
3) A REALLY, REALLY GOOD MIND-BENDING TWIST
Here are the thing Atonement and Fight Club diverge on:
1) Me after the twist in Fight Club: HOLY FUCK. What? How ? WHAT?
Me after the twist in Atonement: NOOOOOOOOOOO. NO?? what is hope? what is anything ? My heart is broken and there's nothing to be done.
Anyways, so my main take aways are this (somehow this turned into a join review for Fight Club as well) - ABSOLUTELY read these books first, and after you've done that absolutely watch the movies, this is definitely going on my Indie Faves list.
cam_go_loud's review against another edition
Us finishing this book
Still better than Rosemary’s Baby tho
So proud of us for finishing this buddy read AND on time!!!
That sure was a good read
Still better than Rosemary’s Baby tho
So proud of us for finishing this buddy read AND on time!!!
That sure was a good read
regitzexenia's review against another edition
4.0
I am at such a loss with what to do with this book. I really, and I mean really, liked it.
I knew of the crime for which the main character tries to atone, it's hard not to and moreover, I've read the passage with the vase and Cecilia and Robbie in one of my classes. And that part, the first part of the book, was by far my favourite part of the story. I never really connected to the third part, it seemed to up in the air and though she's supposed to be trying to atone for her great crime against her sister and the sister's friend, I never really felt like she was. The Briony of the first part seemed so far from the Briony of the third part and in some ways that works in the books favour, showing how she's grown up and such. But for me, there was just too big a disconnect.
I knew of the crime for which the main character tries to atone, it's hard not to and moreover, I've read the passage with the vase and Cecilia and Robbie in one of my classes. And that part, the first part of the book, was by far my favourite part of the story. I never really connected to the third part, it seemed to up in the air and though she's supposed to be trying to atone for her great crime against her sister and the sister's friend, I never really felt like she was. The Briony of the first part seemed so far from the Briony of the third part and in some ways that works in the books favour, showing how she's grown up and such. But for me, there was just too big a disconnect.
ikuo1000's review against another edition
5.0
I was torn between rating this book 4 1/2 stars or 5 stars. Had the book ended after Part Three, I would have had no qualms giving it 5 stars. Unfortunately, there followed an afterward, and I wasn't crazy about the content; when I put down the book, I didn't have that final sense of satisfaction that I would expect from a 5-star book. That said, I can appreciate the inventiveness of the ending, and as a piece of writing - as opposed to entertainment - I can see its value.
In my opinion, Ian McEwan is easily one of the most talented modern writers of fiction I have read. He writes beautifully. His prose is clever, at times humorous, always full of imagery. Sentences are well-constructed around carefully chosen words, and I frequently found myself re-reading excerpts just to appreciate the full effect of his writing.
McEwan creates interesting, well-developed, complex characters. I was impressed with his convincing ability to get inside the head of his characters, and his keen insight into the different perspectives of a young girl, a middle-aged mother, or a grown man, even as they all experienced the same events.
Early on, I thought I would certainly not give the book 5 stars because of the constant anxiety I felt for an impending doom. While a bit of "Oh! I wonder what will happen next!" type of suspense is desirable in a good read, this book instead gave me a "Oh, no! Something terrible is going to happen! I can't stand it!" feeling of dread. Ultimately, when unfortunate events finally did unfold, I forgave the author the uneasy tension he caused in me - after all, the fact that he could elicit such strong emotion, pleasant or not, while keeping me thoroughly enthralled in the story is surely a sign of good writing.
In my opinion, Ian McEwan is easily one of the most talented modern writers of fiction I have read. He writes beautifully. His prose is clever, at times humorous, always full of imagery. Sentences are well-constructed around carefully chosen words, and I frequently found myself re-reading excerpts just to appreciate the full effect of his writing.
McEwan creates interesting, well-developed, complex characters. I was impressed with his convincing ability to get inside the head of his characters, and his keen insight into the different perspectives of a young girl, a middle-aged mother, or a grown man, even as they all experienced the same events.
Early on, I thought I would certainly not give the book 5 stars because of the constant anxiety I felt for an impending doom. While a bit of "Oh! I wonder what will happen next!" type of suspense is desirable in a good read, this book instead gave me a "Oh, no! Something terrible is going to happen! I can't stand it!" feeling of dread. Ultimately, when unfortunate events finally did unfold, I forgave the author the uneasy tension he caused in me - after all, the fact that he could elicit such strong emotion, pleasant or not, while keeping me thoroughly enthralled in the story is surely a sign of good writing.
fiekegra's review against another edition
5.0
Never did a book end in such a mouth-opening and mind-blowing way