Atonement is not a book for children, but has a child as the major focus of the story. It is her story we are seeing and paying attention to, with a child's flaws and insecurities. Ian McEwan does well to make this novel a child's perspective, because it is her innocent hold on what is good and evil that changes the people around her forever, and causes her life to never be the same.
Why did Briony choose to read the letter Robbie sent to Cecilia? Was this further incentive to label him as a "maniac" and change their lives forever? These are the questions I've pondered as I read this book. On the one hand, I agree with Briony that he is somewhat perverted in his thinking and just wants to get with her older sister, which I can imagine is traumatizing to any young girl at 11. Yet, there's the love that is supposed to happen between two people but fails miserably to one mistaken identity. It wasn't fair to Briony to label him as the attacker of her cousin, when she was doing it out of blind (it was dark :) judgement. The novel does well to examine both sides of this incident, and see the reasons for both points of view. Atonement isn't just a novel about the redeeming cause of forgiveness, but the point in which we accuse, and live without guilt. It could be the Catholic in me, but I think that our actions determine lives. It may not seem that way to begin with, but the great linear equation of life balances on little pins, little judgement calls.
Although I saw the movie before I read the book, there was new information that added more sympathy toward Briony than if I just viewed the movie. It was very clear that her family was a troubled one, and this would make sense to a girl who just wanted to keep her family together to blame the trouble on an outsider. It paints a picture perfectly of what a young girl thinks she must do, and her hopes shattered when she realizes what she did. Could any of us make major decisions when we were 11? And regret them later? Or is it all in the present that we make our lives worth living? This book gave me a lot to think about, and I could never look at kids becoming teenagers the same way again without knowing they are experiencing the pain of separation, with living with something alien waiting for us. Briony was waiting to blame Robbie, and in turn blame herself for her alienation to the world.
2 comments:
So, um, I wasn't a big fan of Atonement. I liked the themes and all, but it just didn't cut it. Perhaps it would have if I hadn't read Saturday first. Because I thought Saturday was infinitely better.
Many people have told me that Atonement doesn't compare with his other books, which I need to read more of them to have my own opinion.
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