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The
2003 Award
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Atonement by
Ian McEwan Nominated by:
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Publisher of Nominated Edition: Jonathan Cape ISBN 0224062522 |
| the complete A-Z listing of nominated authors. |
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ABOUT
THE BOOK
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| On
the hottest day of the summer of 1935, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis sees
her sister Cecilia strip off her clothes and plunge into the fountain in
the garden of their country house. Watching her is Robbie Turner, her childhood
friend, who, like Cecelia, has recently come down from Cambridge. By the
end of that day the lives of all three will have been changed for ever.
Robbie and Cecilia will have crossed a boundary they had not even imagined
at its start, and will have become victims of the younger girl's imagination.
Briony will have witnessed mysteries, and committed a crime for which she
will spend the rest of her life trying to atone. Atonement, with its depiction of childhood, love and war, England and class, is a profound - and profoundly moving - exploration of shame and forgiveness, of atonement and the difficulty of absolution. |
| ABOUT THE AUTHOR |
| Ian McEwan has written two collections of stories, First Love, Last Rites and In Between the Sheets, and eight novels, The Cement Garden, The Comfort of Strangers, The Child in Time, The Innocent, Black Dogs, The Daydreamer, Enduring Love and Amsterdam. He has also written several film scripts, including The Imitation Game, The Ploughman's Lunch, Sour Sweet, The Good Son and The Innocent. Amsterdam won the Booker Prize in 1998 and Atonement was shortlisted in 2001. |
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Reader
Review
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Atonement tells the story of a day in the life of the Tallis family and their friend Robert Turner, which changes their comfortable lives in a way they could never have imagined. Briony, a budding writer with an active imagination, observes her sister Cecilia and their friend Robert together during the day and misinterprets Robert's intentions. As a result of this Briony swears he is the one she sees running away when her cousin is raped. Does she really believe that Robert is the attacker? Is she accusing him because of what she thinks he is doing to her sister? Lola, the cousin, does nothing to save Robert and allows the law to take its course. Cecilia stands by Robbie. She loses contact with her family. She becomes a nurse. Briony also becomes a nurse. She realises the awful mistake she has made and tries to make amends. Robert joins the army after his release from prison. Part two tells of his awful experiences. I would like to have heard about the rest of the family, the mother and father, Leon the only son and the cousins, Lola and the twins. Ian McEwan's beautiful descriptive writing is a joy to read. I really liked it. Raheny Library Readers' Group Member |
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Find out more about the author on the following websites:
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