A review by beloved_bridget
Atonement, by Ian McEwan

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I have to stop reading reviews, they made me very scared to read this book. A friend recommended this book to me, and I'm glad I gave it a chance. the first half was a bit weird, I am really not a fan of how the romance between robbie and cecilia was presented. I felt that I wasn't supposed to root for them, and felt very disoriented with the major jump-cut to WWII and we're just supposed to believe that their romance is perfect. even before that, I just didn't really feel that cecilia's feelings for robbie made sense. 
I was really surprised that the second half of the book was dedicated to the war, felt like I was reading a completely different book. it was still a good book, but felt that the second half was very disconnected from the first.
overall, the language can sometimes feel a little much at times, like he's writing just for the sake of writing. but I really liked it
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