# Reading > Write a Book Review >  Atonement By Ian McEwan

## Niamh

I was recently convinced to read this book by people i worked with and i'm kind of glad i did. Although its not spectacular, and i thought i was missing something(first time i've ever openly criticised a book for lacking something) I still enjoyed reading it. It was something different from what i normally read. They way it was written reminded me of the way East Of Eden was; a series of events as opposed to twists and plots and subplots, equalibriums, disqualibriums and new equalibriums etc.
7/10

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## Virgil

I've been meaning to read that too Niamh. Without spoiling the story, what is the novel about?

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## Niamh

Well its mainly about a young girl who is so caught up in her fantasies, she mis-interpets events that happen, over emphicising them in her head, making them into wild stories which ends up ruining peoples lives because she couldnt really see reality. Does that make any sense to you? I'm trying not to tell the story.

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## Virgil

> Well its mainly about a young girl who is so caught up in her fantasies, she mis-interpets events that happen, over emphicising them in her head, making them into wild stories which ends up ruining peoples lives because she couldnt really see reality. Does that make any sense to you? I'm trying not to tell the story.


Thanks. That makes sense.

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## Nossa

I'm planning on reading this book as well, as soon as I find it anyways. I read about it, and I liked its story very much.
I also thought about watching the movie, but I think it's better to wait and read the book first.

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## ampoule

I liked this book very much and am looking forward to seeing the movie. It won't be released here in the United States for awhile yet. It was one of our book club selections, last year I believe.
I like reading the book before I see the movie.

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## Niamh

I saw the movie there recently. Its good.

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## blazeofglory

> I was recently convinced to read this book by people i worked with and i'm kind of glad i did. Although its not spectacular, and i thought i was missing something(first time i've ever openly criticised a book for lacking something) I still enjoyed reading it. It was something different from what i normally read. They way it was written reminded me of the way East Of Eden was; a series of events as opposed to twists and plots and subplots, equalibriums, disqualibriums and new equalibriums etc.
> 7/10


Please give some accounts of the book.

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## *Classic*Charm*

I read Atonement as an independant study in grade 12 english. I was actaully really disappointed by it. When I read reviews, the plot and charaters sounded so intriguing. 

This is difficult to explain, but I didn't like the format in which it was written. I'll try to clarify. The novel is divided into four parts, with large time gaps in between. The first part is written in the first person point of view of four or five characters over one day and one specific sequence of events. This part I really enjoyed. I liked getting each character's perpective on the whole shebang. 

The second part was my least favourite. It was written third person omnicient and focused on only one character and I found that not alot was accomplished in this section, which took up about a third of the novel. 

The third part was also third person omnicient, but focused on a few certain characters. This part was more interesting again, but I thought using the first person format for each character as was used in the first part would have been far more effective. I was a little let down, simply because I thought it had the potential to be better. 

The fourth part was one character's first person, which I found to be a very fitting conclusion. 

The change in perspective made the novel a very interesting read, but I didn't think that the perspectives McEwan chose were always the most effective. 

I hope that makes sense, and doesn't spoil it for anyone reading. Anyone who has read the book have an opinion?

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## Joreads

The movie comes out in Australia on the 26th of December so I am going to try and read it before then. I have read the book Saturday by the same author and I really enjoyed that so I am hoping this one is as good

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## kelby_lake

I have just finished it and I really liked it.

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## Scheherazade

I read this book couple of months ago. 

When I read the blurb, I was sure that I would like it but what starts as a very promising story falls apart after the first quarter of the book, in my opinion. Also, the fact that I could not sympathise with the main characters did not help either.

*6/10 KitKats!*

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## kelby_lake

I didn't like the bit with Robby at war

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## AmericanEagle

I liked the novel, and I thought that the movie was just as good.

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## curlz

I'm afraid I have to disagree with you AmericanEagle. I read the book first (it was part of my undergraduate thesis) and then went to see the movie. I was actually quite disappointed, since I thought there were several scenes in the book that would have looked great on screen but were, for some reason, omitted. An example that comes to mind is towards the end where an exhausted Robby is chasing a pig near the beach.

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## Virgil

> I was recently convinced to read this book by people i worked with and i'm kind of glad i did. Although its not spectacular, and i thought i was missing something(first time i've ever openly criticised a book for lacking something) I still enjoyed reading it. It was something different from what i normally read. They way it was written reminded me of the way East Of Eden was; a series of events as opposed to twists and plots and subplots, equalibriums, disqualibriums and new equalibriums etc.
> 7/10


I'll be reading this in August. First finish The maltese Falcon, the Austen's Persuasion, and then Atonement.

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