Atonement

By: Ian McEwan

Narrated by: Jill Tanner

Length: 14 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

National Book Critics Circle, Fiction, 2003

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.

©2001 Ian McEwan (P)2003 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

• Book Sense Book of the Year Award Finalist, Adult Fiction, 2003

"A tour de force. Every bit as affecting as it is gripping." (The New York Times)
"Enthralling...With psychological insight and a command of sensual and historical detail, Mr. McEwan creates an absorbing fictional world." (The Wall Street Journal)
"A beautiful and majestic fictional panorama." (The New Yorker)

Well written; well read.

Atonement is a beautifully written but ultimately very sad piece of serious literature. Days after finishing it, I find myself thinking about the lead character and the questions that she raises. The reading was also well done. Some listeners may find that the story moves too slowly for their tastes. For example, the first half (seven hours) of the book covers just one day in 1935 and is full of nice description but little action.

Tedious

The first 13 or 14 chapters were tedious, and I almost gave up before the story redeemed itself.

Good but so is the Movie.

Most people know that this novel was made into a movie with the same name. I watched the movie long before I listened to the book. I would recommend reading/listening to the book before watching the movie. A huge amount of the suspense was taken away from the listening experience and I would argue that the surprising events that take place in the story are really what makes the novel so great. The author is very detailed in his descriptions which make the main events of the story very well flushed out and easy to visualize. The great detail as well makes the not-so-important events of the story especially boring and difficult to get through. I give the book 3 stars because it is a good story but I would probably just recommend watching the movie and skipping the book.

Engrossing, beautiful prose

Where does Atonement rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This may be one of the best I've listened to so far, if not the best, though I haven't listened to too many.

What did you like best about this story?

I really love all the detailed descriptions and beautiful turns of phrase. Really good character development and the author has a real insight into the varying degrees of the human condition as exemplified in all the characters.

Which scene was your favorite?

I really enjoyed the first half of the story which is solely dedicated to character development and framing the narrative from the sides of every major character, it was really engrossing. I would go back and listen to parts over again.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I think there already was a film of this book.

Memorable!

This is one of the most intricately written,
fascinating and emotion evoking novels I've ever read. The war scenes are so well written they're traumatic. One may need to take some deep breaths after reading. The narration is excellent.

Will always be a classic

The story is one for the ages. Jill is a great narrator with regards to enunciation and even emotion, though it is admittedly hard to discern when there are multiple characters in any given scene - more likely to make inferences based on the content than the sound of her voice. Overall, highly recommend.

Literature with a capital L

Favorite novel of all time, no contest. It hurts so good. No notes. Perfection all around.

Stellar selection

I am a big consumer of recorded books, and I have rarely been moved to write a review. This book was so intriguing, so beautifully written, I couldn't resist singing its praises. It also has one of the most satisfying endings I've ever encountered. A lovely reading of a brilliant book.

I loved this book

Like other reviewers I wondered where we were going for the first six hours. After I finished the book I went back several times and realized that every sentence in the first half describing a day in the life of the characters had a purpose.

What seemed to be meandering was actually taut and direct. The writing hovers between literature and prose. This one stayed with me for days after I finished it.

Dissapointing

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Not really. It was just sad, sad, sad from beginning to end

What could Ian McEwan have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

A happy ending would have been nice.

Have you listened to any of Jill Tanner’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not listened to any of her other books, however, she was very good.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No