Atonement by Ian McEwan
Reviewed by Monique Prince, Undergraduate Services Librarian
Atonement begins in England during the time period between the first and second World Wars. It is centered on three characters: thirteen-year-old Briony, an aspiring writer, her older sister Cecilia who recently returned home after three years at Cambridge, and their next-door-neighbor and Cecilia's childhood friend, Robbie. From an upstairs window, young Briony observes a surprising encounter between Cecilia and Robbie: they appear to fight and then Cecilia submerges herself in a large fountain. Briony feels threatened by this and wonders about Robbie's motives. Later that evening, she falsely accuses him of a crime, as she is convinced that he is a dangerous maniac. The story then jumps forward to World War II, as Briony tries to atone for what she now realizes was a case of mistaken identity, while struggling with the guilt she feels about forever altering the lives of Cecilia, Robbie, and the rest of her family.
Atonement was a 2003 ALA Notable Book and won the WH Smith Literary Award (2002) and the National Book Critics' Circle Fiction Award (2003).