Atonement: A Book Review

Atonement is a novel published in 2001. Written by Ian McEwan, the book challenges the traditional novel’s linearity with its unique portrayal of the protagonist, Briony Tallis.  

The story is an autobiography of the fictional character, Briony Tallis. The first part starts with Briony when she was 13. The story is first set in the summer of Britain in the 1930s before the Second World War where Briony, an innocent girl in her teens, witnessed a horrible crime on her cousin Lola, who was visiting Briony’s family at the time. Before the crime, Briony has misinterpreted the interactions between her sister, Cecelia and the house keeper’s son, Robbie. Her suspicion of Robbie as a sexual predator intensifies when she is tasked to deliver a love letter to Cecilia: in the letter that is not intended to be read, Robbie uses a strong word to express his desire and love for Cecilia. The story climaxes when Briony discovers Lola being raped by a man somewhere outside their home. Briony is adamant that it is Robbie who is the rapist despite not being able to see the face of the rapist. Part 1 ends with Briony testifying against Robbie and the latter is sent to jail.

Part 2 is set in France during the Second World War, where Robbie is released early on a condition to join the British army. Robbie continues to exchange letters with Cecilla, who has cut ties with the Tallis family. The part follows Robbie through the war and describes how Robbie misses Cecilla and he couldn’t wait to go home to live with her.

Part 3 follows Briony who has become a trained nurse in London. She now realizes that the rapist is not Robbie after all, but a man named Paul Marshall, a visitor on that tragic night. Regretting her false accusation, she goes to visit Cecilla to try and make things right, only to find that Robbie is now with Cecilla. Robbie is outraged upon seeing Briony, but Briony promises both Cecilia and Robbie that she will make amends and right her wrong.

The final part is set in London in 1999 where Briony, now 77, narrates her life. She confesses to the reader that the previous three parts are mostly true except when Robbie and Cecilla unite. In reality, both of them died during the war and never had the chance to meet each other. Briony concludes the book by stating that the novel ultimately is her attempt to atone her wrongdoings. 

The book is skilfully crafted with incredible character development. McEwan takes advantage of different perspectives of the characters he has built upon, and includes a confession of Briony when she is 77, as if we were reading a book inside a book; as if we were all the way reading a novel written by Briony rather than McEwan. This metafictional ending adds an extra layer of complexity for the readers. It could create difficulty to readers, but it is also what makes the story a fascinating read. 

Though some may find its pacing slow, I think this helps the readers to understand the complex development of the characters. Geoff Dyer, a reviewer of the book from the Guardian, says the following:

The opening is almost perversely ungripping. Instead of the expected sharpness of focus, the first 70 or so pages are a lengthy summary of shifting impressions. One longs for a cinematic clarity and concentration of dialogue and action, but such interludes dissolve before our - and the participants' - eyes (Dyer, 2001).

I believe the slow pacing does more good than harm to the book. For example, we can see how Briony has always been looking for a sense of control in her life: 

The self-contained world she had drawn with clear and perfect lines had been defaced with the scribble of other minds, other needs; and time itself, so easily sectioned on paper into acts and scenes, was even now dribbling uncontrollably away (McEwan, P.36).

Notice how the extracted passage pairs words intricately: “self-contained world” versus “other needs / other minds”, showing us how naïve Briony is as she thinks the world evolves around her beliefs and control, and that she is always correct, yet things often derails in an uncontrollable manner.

After the devastating night, as Briony slowly pieces together the truths, she tries to create  as much discomfort to herself as possible to achieve her “atonement”. As she had said “it was important to her that her parents, especially her mother, knew as little about her life as possible” (P.278). It was as if she were embarrassed to be in contact with her family. The same thought is echoed in the latter part of the writing where she “only wanted to work, then bathe and sleep until it was time to work again” but deep down, she knows “she would never undo the damage” (P.285). Her chance for achieving atonement comes when she learnt Lola was going to marry Paul Marshall, the real rapist. Briony attends their wedding, thinking she can stand up to “proclaim in public all the private anguish and purge herself of all that she had done wrong” (P.325), but she ultimately “lacked the courage” (P.327) and let her only chance slip.

It seems to me that the contrast McEwan brings in the character of Briony forces the reader to develop hatred towards Briony. It is hard not to hate her when we know she has many chances to correct her mistakes and yet she chickens out every time. The writer creates a false sense of feeling that Briony has matured. When Briony accuses Robbie as the rapist based on her own assumptions, it shows how simple minded she is; similarly, she does not have the courage to confront the newly-weds. Does Briony truly mature? Does she truly want to have her atonement? We as readers are not really sure. 

The epilogue of the book is surprising and refreshing to read. To a certain extent, it feels like the writer is setting a trap all along; that his exquisite writing allows the readers to develop their own deep feelings towards Briony. I, for example, thought Briony is an immature kid who acts way too cowardly to face her own consequences, so it is frustrating for me when Briony refuses to take the extra step to make things right. As an invested reader, I find it hard not to develop profound hatred towards Briony because she is the one who breaks her family. What I find interesting is, the more feelings I have developed and the more I invested myself in the plot, the more I was drawn into the storytelling. When I read Briony’s confession at the end of the book, I almost believed that it is an autobiography, a part of true personal history. 

Atonement is a great book. Though some might think this was way too complicated to comprehend, I find that this complexity has added an extra layer for the readers to work on and to enjoy. McEwan draws his readers into the story in an unconventional way. I am not surprised at all that it is considered the best novel he has written in his career. 

References:

Dyer, G. (2001, September 22). Review: Atonement by Ian McEwan. The Guardian. 

Mcewan, I. (2001). Atonement. New York: Everyman’s Library.