Atonement by Ian McEwan A Review

I amnot having good luck with good books lately. Isn't there anything good out there to read that isn't trash?

Anyway, I read this book on a suggestion from another person. (I am going to go back to finding my own books, thanks.) The premise of the story is a good one - set in 1935, a girl witnesses a crime that change the course of her, and many other people's lives. The story has three parts, first the crime in 1935, second the effects that this crime has on a man that serves in the second world war, and the third part about the girl at 18. The story line was great, but the execution, in my opinion was poor. It was long and drwan out, a lot of detail without the need for it. The tone was set in the first few sentences, we don't need 6 more paragraphs about it!

I continued to read this book, again, because I thought it would have a great ending. It didn't. The main characters lives are summed up in one sentence. ONE sentence! He can go on and on about a house and the lawn, but gives one sentence to fill us in on what happens? Not my idea of a great ending. I have to admit that I skipped a lot of this book, not whole pages, but a lot of the long winded explanations. I did not like this book. I found the plot compelling, very interesting facts on the war, and the characters had the opportunity to be very in depth. But they didn't get the chance. I highly doubt that I will read another book by this author - maybe if he came up with the idea and let someone else write it.

I'm going to have to read ANOTHER trash book! Is it too much to ask for a good book that doesn't include murder, infidelity or sci fi? I'd like to learn something from a book, I'd like to immerse myself in a world that I am unaccustomed to. Will I ever find another thought provoking author? I guess I'll have to keep trying.