In three separate episodes that take place on three different days (plus an epilogue), McEwan tells a sweeping story, one of love, betrayal, fatal mistakes and the futility of atoning too late. The book opens on an English countryside estate not long before World War II. On one significant night, a mismatched couple - Cecilia, the privileged Minister’s daughter, and Robbie, the housekeeper’s son - realize their love for each other due to her receiving the wrong note from him, a note with a very erotic P.S. That note was delivered by Cecilia’s over-imaginative younger sister, Briony, but not before she had read and misinterpreted it, which sets in motion a chain of events that leads the young girl to tell a lie so enormous that it separates the lovers irrevocably, and sends Robbie to jail.

In the second section, Robbie has traded prison for a place in the retreating British army, fleeing from the Germans through the French countryside and witnessing the horrors of war along the way. The only thing that keeps him going is the hope of being reunited with Cecilia when he returns to Britain and the memory of their brief meeting before war tore them apart again. Robbie is wounded when he reaches the coast, and his fate is unclear.

In the third section, Briony, now a young nurse caring for the initial flood of wounded soldiers, reunites with her estranged sister and her lover. She finally finds a way to ask their forgiveness and to atone to them for what she has done. But is her attempt enough to overcome the far-reaching consequences of her betrayal?

The brutalities of war and of life are both vividly portrayed in this novel, but it still feels and reads like a carefully crafted conceit, a not-quite-true-to-life three-act play similar to the melodrama that the young writer Briony attempts to stage when the story opens. The themes are grand, but my criticism would be that the three extended scenes go on a bit too long, the point being made perhaps a bit too strongly to be truly effective. But since this book was shortlisted for the Booker Award and named one of the all-time greatest novels by Time magazine, I may be in the minority on that opinion. In any event, it is still a book that is worth reading.

I cried too, much to the amusement of my boyfriend. I agree with the first section dragging slightly up until the arrival of Robbie at the house but it all fits in perfectly once you’re finished (if that makes sense!)
Such a good read and I’m glad I read it before I see the film!! One I’ll probably reread again at some point.

Despite the fact that it made me cry on the bus when I was finishing it (or maybe because of this), I loved this book.

a fine thing. the first part seems to drag a little (that was expected though), but with the second, the pace increases gradually, and the narrative moves on smoothly, jarring the reader’s senses and making him or her think all the time.

A beautiful multi-perspective narrative with an act of illicit sex as its driving force. Taking a page from Freud and Leda and the Swan, McEwan asks how the repression of sexual desire can shape us personally and culturally, psychologically and politically. McEwan’s ability to narrate this story through the questionably innocent eyes of a nine-year-old girl, and a collective society torn by the ravages of World War is utterly entrancing. You will wonder, you will learn, you will think, and you will bawl your eyes out at the end. Just the way I like it.

I absolutely adored this book. Wasn’t very fond of the ending though. However, it did surprise me not only story-wise, but also because it suddenly made me realize how much work went the writing of the book. The author is a very talented man. Other than that, I loved the writing style, loved the attention to detail, loved the characters and the settings. Great novel.

My book club’s current pick

A well written novel that takes an introspective look at the art of writing novels and provides some rare insights into topics like love and war along the way. The character interaction is very enjoyable and the changes in perspective between the main characters works quite well. I recommend it to anybody looking for thought-provoking fiction.

Fantastic stuff. Satisfying in every way. Highly recommended.

For the bookclub.