A Book in Brief: Atonement

So in yesterday's post, I mentioned Atonement, by Ian McEwan, as one of the incredible books I am hesitant to see in movie form. One of my dear readers asked whether the original was worth reading, and I felt like--as the one and only blogger of Noveltease--it was my responsibility to give an answer slightly more informative than an ardent "yes."

This winner of the National Book Critics Circle award and a Booker Prize Finalist is at once sweeping and unbearably intimate. Told in four parts, the novel explores the irrevocable consequences of one child's misunderstanding of a tragic and violent event. How can thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis possibly atone for so drastically altering the trajectories of her family and friends--for causing the innocent to suffer, for allowing victims to remain vulnerable and the guilty to go unpunished? Major themes here include atonement (obvi) and the line that divides truth from imagination. Interestingly, McEwan explores how the act of writing itself relates to the above motifs--how creating a story can at times be a form of condemnation and at others a type of redemption.

In summary: yes, dear Saranade07, this particular juice is definitely worth the squeeze! And once you read it, let's both take the plunge and watch the movie!