Atonement
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $25.99
Publisher Description
Ian McEwan has received prestigious awards and international praise for his novels, including Enduring Love. In Atonement, three children lose their innocence--as the sweltering summer heat bears down on the hottest day in 1935--and their lives are changed forever. Cecilia Tallis is of England's priviledged class; Robbie Turner is the housekeeper's son. In their moment of intimate surrender, they are interrupted by Cecilia's hyperimaginative and scheming 13-year-old sister, Briony. And as chaos consumes the family, Briony commits a crime, the guilt of which she shall carry throughout her life.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Romance, class tensions, the evils of war, struggles with the past—Atonement is a modernist masterpiece. During a heat wave in 1935, 13-year-old Briony falsely accuses her sister’s lover of sexual assault; the effects of her lie ripple for years to follow. Ian McEwan conjures scenes with such sensory nuance that we weren’t just imagining the languid, sunbaked afternoon at Briony’s family estate—we were diving into the pool, feeling the bracing water on our faces. McEwan’s level of detail translates beautifully into the film starring Kiera Knightly.