Simply stated, this is
the story of how a misdeed - motivated by the perpetrator's
misunderstanding of a situation and a misguided desire to do good -
impacts on the members of an upper-class English family during the
1930s and beyond. But nothing is quite that simple, and other
people's needs and misdeeds are skilfully woven into the main story
to produce a multi-layered and thought-provoking tale where one can
question who was actually responsible and whether or not the
resulting need for atonement was limited to only one person.
Briony, the character at
the centre of the story, is introduced at the beginning of the novel
as a naive, self-centred thirteen year old with a vivid, if somewhat
immature, imagination. Although life attempts to teach her that the
real world is very different to the one she harbours in her
imagination, I feel that the grown-up Briony never completely
relinquishes her thirteen-year-old self.
McEwan's writing is
impeccable with an obvious understanding of the social class of which
he is writing. There are some beautiful descriptive passages, and the
story - of the misdeed and the eventual atonement - develops without
fanfare, similar to a creek becoming a brook before becoming a
fully-fledged river. That the lead up to the actual deed occupies
almost half of the book can be frustrating at times given the fact
that it is obvious that something is going to happen; however, these
pages become more provocative when later viewed alongside the
happenings of the second half of the book.
Whether or not atonement
was actually made by the right person or persons is something that
only the reader can decide for him/herself. A book that is definitely
worth reading.