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Atonement

ian mcewan

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Ian McEwan’s symphonic novel of love and war, childhood and class, guilt and forgiveness provides all the satisfaction of a brilliant narrative and the provocation we have come to expect from this master of English prose.

On a hot summer day in 1935, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis witnesses the flirtation between her older sister, Cecilia, and Robbie Turner, the son of a servant. But Briony’s incomplete grasp of adult motives and her precocious imagination bring about a crime that will change all their lives, a crime whose repercussions Atonement follows through the chaos and carnage of World War II and into the close of the twentieth century.

351 pages, Paperback

First published September 20,2001
Literary awards
booker prize, james tait black memorial prize, whitbread award, wh smith literary award, los angeles times book prize, exclusive books boeke prize, deutscher buchpreis (german book prize), national book critics circle award, commonwealth writers prize, premi llibreter de narrativa, dublin literary award, 
Places
england, france, london england, united kingdom, 

This edition

Format
351 pages, Paperback
Published
March 1, 2003 by Anchor Books
ISBN
9780385721790
ASIN
B00A2M6OLU
Language
English
Characters More characters
  • Briony Tallis

    Briony Tallis

    The younger sister of Leon and Cecilia Tallis, Briony is an aspiring writer, who commits a big mistake with only 13 years- old and spends the rest of hers life trying to fix - it....

  • Emily Tallis

    Emily Tallis

    Emily is the mother of Briony, Cecilia, and Leon. Emily is ill in bed for most of the novel, suffering from severe migraines....

  • Cecilia Tallis

    Cecilia Tallis

    ...

  • Leon Tallis

    Leon Tallis

    The eldest child in the Tallis family, Leon returns home to visit. He brings his friend Paul Marshall along with him on his trip home....

  • Lola Quincey

    Lola Quincey

    A 15-year-old girl who is Briony, Cecilia, and Leons cousin. She comes, along with her twin brothers, to stay with the Tallises after her parents divorce. Lola was supposed to assume the main role in Brionys play, until it was cancelled....

  • Jackson Quincey

    Jackson Quincey

    ...

More editions

About the author

Profile Image for ian mcewan

ian mcewan

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Ian McEwan studied at the University of Sussex, where he received a BA degree in English Literature in 1970 and later received his MA degree in English Literature at the University of East Anglia.

McEwan's works have earned him worldwide critical acclaim. He won the Somerset Maugham Award in 1976 for his first collection of short stories First Love, Last Rites; the Whitbread Novel Award (1987) and the Prix Fémina Etranger (1993) for The Child in Time; and Germany's Shakespeare Prize in 1999. He has been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction numerous times, winning the award for Amsterdam in 1998. His novel Atonement received the WH Smith Literary Award (2002), National Book Critics' Circle Fiction Award (2003), Los Angeles Times Prize for Fiction (2003), and the Santiago Prize for the European Novel (2004). He was awarded a CBE in 2000. In 2006, he won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his novel Saturday and his novel On Chesil Beach was named Galaxy Book of the Year at the 2008 British Book Awards where McEwan was also named Reader's Digest Author of the Year.

McEwan lives in London.

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Community Reviews

Rating(4 / 5.0, 99 votes)
5 stars
32(32%)
4 stars
39(39%)
3 stars
28(28%)
2 stars
0(0%)
1 stars
0(0%)
99 reviews All reviews
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niabv
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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I always have a problem with Ian McEwan's novels. On the one hand, I am impressed by the expert writing, the elegant flow with never the least snag in the language to trip me up. On the other hand, I cringe from his stories, full as they are of treacherous snags to trip me up at every turn. I read them with a terrible anxiety hovering near my heart. Am I the only one who is so sensitive to their exaggerated aura of menace? Friends who like McEwan's writing don't feel this at all. Why have I read so many ? Partly because of the critical acclaim that welcomes each new novel, partly in the hope that this time the story will be as satisfying as the writing. I continue to live in hope...
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Towerbox12
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Atonement opens in 1935 at an English country estate, continues in rural France during the retreat to Dunkirk during WWII, and moves to a hospital in London in 1940. It mostly takes place during WWII, though it is not about the war itself. It is a story of the lives of Briony Tallis, her sister, Cecilia, and her sister’s beau, Robbie. Briony makes a terrible mistake that devastates the lives of these young people and their families. At the time of her error, Briony is thirteen years old. She is an aspiring writer with a vivid imagination, which is, in part, the cause of her misjudgment. Her mind is filled with the stories in her head, and her ambition to be a writer influences her judgment, so she “sees” events that coincide with what she believes to be true. This is the story of Briony’s atonement for her grievous error, trying to overcome almost unbearable remorse and guilt.

It is a literary novel containing many levels of complexities, which the reader gradually discovers. Some of Briony’s lessons will be imparted to the reader through this multi-layered structure. It is difficult to describe this process without spoiling. The writing is elegant and insightful, containing beautiful descriptive passages as well as an in-depth portrayal of human nature while under duress. The final section contains an epilogue set in 1999, and as with many epilogues, it may have an adverse impact on the reader’s enjoyment. I felt the epilogue was critical to impart the full picture and reveal all the complexities referenced above. I found it exquisitely written and brilliantly crafted. Recommended to fans of modern classics and lyrical writing, providing the reader is able to handle a good deal of sorrowful content.
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smurfdude
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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This was the favourite novel of a friend of mine who died suddenly a few years ago. She loved it so much that she refused to see the film adaptation because, she said, it couldn't possibly be as good as the novel. I, on the other hand, saw the film without having read the book because when the film was released I was still in the won't-read-McEwan stage of my life that lasted from 1988 or 1989 until two or three years ago.

Anyway, I quite liked the film, or at least it made an impression on me at the time. Although I've only seen it once, I can still see images: Cecilia's green dress and the beach at Dunkirk particularly come to mind. I also remembered the plot, and therefore its twist. So when I read the novel, there were no suprises. Knowing what was going to happen, I paid attention to see if I could pick up the clues and yes, they were there in the text. Not that I think a reader who didn't know the plot could work it all out just on the basis of the clues, but at least McEwan wasn't cheating.

Anyway, while I don't think McEwan is ever going to be my favourite novelist. There's a brittleness to him (or something, I'm not quite sure what it is) that I find unappealing. However, in this novel he poses important questions about love, guilt, redemption, truth and the nature and purpose of fiction. McEwan writes excellent prose and he does the meta-fiction thing extremely well. I doubt I'll be reading this again, but I'm glad that I've read it once. Now I understand why my friend loved it so much. I just wish she was still here so we could talk about it.
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psygremlin
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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I will first tell you what I liked about the book. Ian McEwan writes beautiful prose. Every word and line is written so you can place yourself right where he wants you to be. The description of the house, the surrounding yards and field. Everything is vivid and has meaning. He goes in to great length describing things. That's it.

We start out with the Tallis family's upper class English home. It's the hottest day of summer in 1934 and Briony sees something and lets her imagination run wild. This is how the book continues, seriously. How many lives can you change ?

As I was reading this book, other friends told me,"it takes awhile to get in to" so I kept reading. It was a struggle. I gave this book more of a chance than I have others. I am not afraid to put a book down after giving it a good chance. This family had no leadership, except for that of a very spoiled child. They were dysfunctional to say the least. It drove me crazy !! I can't say much more because I don't want to put spoilers in here.

Briony never got atonement for what she did, but maybe she was asking the wrong person.

I know others loved this book and gave it 5 stars. I love that for them. I don't want you to read my review and not read the book if you are wanting to. It just didn't work for me, and I know I am not alone.

Now I'm going to go do something more pleasant than read this book, like a root canal maybe.... just kidding
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TripleGoat
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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4,5⭐

Mi segundo acercamiento a este autor. Anteriormente había leído de él "La ley del menor", que me gustó, pero también me dejó con la sensación de que faltaba algo. "Expiación" me ha convencido mucho más. No será el último suyo que lea.

Mis impresiones:

Estamos ante una novela que se mueve en torno a tres ejes, una historia de amor, la devastación de la guerra y una novela dentro de la novela, que uno de los personajes escribe a modo de expiación.
Muy bien escrito, es un libro que va a más a medida que avanza. Todos los pequeños detalles tienen su razón de ser y todo va a encajar en algún momento de la narración. El ritmo es pausado. Es un libro para deleitarse tanto en lo que cuenta como en la manera que lo cuenta.

Se divide en cuatro partes. En la primera, situada en la Inglaterra de 1935, McEwan nos presenta a los personajes. Por un lado, tenemos a la familia Tallis, los padres, las dos hijas, Cecily y Briony, Leon, el hijo y tres primos por parte materna, recién llegados, y que durante un tiempo residirán en la casa de sus tíos. Por otro a Robbie Turner, hijo de la criada de la familia y protegido de esta y Paul, un amigo rico de Leon. Además, nos cuenta una historia de amor condenada ya desde sus mismos comienzos. El desenlace de esta parte pone los pelos de punta.
En la segunda, el autor nos hace una de las narraciones más duras y descarnadas de la guerra que he podido leer. La fecha 1940, el escenario el desastre de Dunkerque y las condiciones en las que muchos soldados volvieron a casa para morir como consecuencia de sus heridas en terribles condiciones.
En la tercera, toma el protagonismo Briony, la hija menor de los Tallis, que ya con dieciocho años, toma conciencia de lo que realmente sucedió aquel día de 1935. La cuarta en 1999 a modo de epílogo, me dejó con la boca abierta. Encajan las piezas en un final que, al menos a mí, me dejó desolada. No cuento más. Es uno de esos libros a los que conviene acercarse sabiendo lo menos posible.

La construcción y la evolución de los personajes es brillante. Los más destacados, los tres protagonistas, Cecily, Robbie y Briony. La ambientación y recreación de la época, así como del clasismo imperante antes y después de la guerra igualmente buenas.

En conclusión. Una novela dura y bien escrita, que merece la pena leer. Recomendable, aunque no para todos ni para cualquier momento.
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SentientWaffle
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Atonement is one of my favourite films. I've seen it several times but never read the book. No great surprise then that I loved it. The film is very true to the book, unlike say the English Patient, another of my favourite films, where the author's important subtext about racial prejudice is left out. The film excludes nothing of importance of the novel. That MacEwan writes as a woman also makes him more lyrical than usual, an aspect I greatly enjoyed.
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ezeban
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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4,5. Estamos en 1935 y la casa de campo de la familia Tallis está llena de expectación, pues el hijo mayor del matrimonio regresa a casa desde la universidad junto a su buen amigo Marshall. Emily, su madre, con sus terribles achaques, la pequeña e imaginativa Brionny, y Cecilia, la hermana mediana, están deseosas de reencontrarse con Leon. Robbie, el hijo de la limpiadora o los deprimidos primos de los Tallis serán otros personajes que se sumarán a esta reunión. Lo que empieza como una inocente y dulce pasión, provocará un desastre que afectará a la vida de todos los presentes.

"Expiación" tiene un algo que engancha desde las primeras hojas, esa sensación de que algo va a ocurrir, de que algo está a punto de desatarse, crea la adicción propia de un una novela de suspense. La ambientación es uno de sus puntos fuertes, esa casa de campo que se describe como poco atractiva, pero que constantemente es protagonista de la historia, ayuda a crear ese aura tensa, donde estás constantemente esperando que ocurra el "incidente" que la narración promete. Me flipan esos libros donde parece que no pasa mucho, pero pasa de todo.

Una cosa que me ha pasado con esta novela es que los personajes van evolucionando continuamente en cuanto a lo que me inspiraban. Los ejemplos más claros son Robbie y Cecilia, que pasan de resultarme interesantes pero sin más, a hacerme empatizar de una forma increíble hasta el punto de emocionarme, o Brionny, personaje al que amé mucho en la primera parte y que acabé no soportando. Hablaría mucho más del personaje de Brionny, porque es digno de analizar en profundidad porque sus acciones son dignas de ello, pero entraría en el spoiler con facilidad, y mejor no destripar nada y que todo el mundo se acerque a ciegas a la historia.

Quizás lo que más pesado se me ha hecho es esa segunda parte que rompe totalmente con la primera, y pasa a trasladarnos a un campo de batalla bélico, que no me esperaba en absoluto y se me hizo algo cansino y repetitivo. Por lo demás es una obra impecable, narrada de una manera absorbente y con muchas reflexiones sobre la condición humana que me han cautivado por completo. El final es simplemente magistral. Ian McEwan, ha sido un placer conocerte. La pregunta ahora es ¿con qué obra del autor continúo?
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