Atonement by Ian McEwan

c Waterloo Public Library 2007

You know the old joke about not reading a book because you're waiting for the movie? I've learned that the book is often very different than the movie, and for that reason I am glad that I haven't seen Atonement yet. However, I had seen it advertised and was intrigued by its premise--that something a young girl sees and misunderstands has profound consequences for all three people involved. Set in England in the 1930s and then into the start of World War II, the novel has a great deal of description that takes the reader back in time. However, so many of its themes have to do with families, relationships, the struggle for independence and the push/pull between parents and children and sometimes siblings--and those seem curiously modern.

Other themes have to do with the differences in social class, and the misunderstandings relate to the difference in status between two of the main characters. Briony and Cecilia Tallis are the daughters of a wealthy family; Briony is just 13, imaginative, and a writer of short stories. Her older sister Cecilia has just returned from college and at 19 is feeling uncertainty about her future. She finds herself stepping back into her old role: her mother has frequent headaches and her father works too much and is often absent, so Cecilia serves as hostess when they entertain. The Tallis family lives on a large estate, and has several household servants, including a cleaning woman who lives nearby in her own cottage with her son Robbie. Robbie has grown up with the Tallis children, and since Robbie's father left many years ago, Mr. Tallis has made a point of helping Robbie get an education.

Robbie is a remarkably intelligent young man who finds himself seeing Cecilia not as his former playmate and friend, but as an attractive and desireable young woman. What happens between them begins on a sunny afternoon: Mrs. Tallis asks her daughter to prepare a bouquet of flowers for a guest coming with Leon--the oldest child. When she goes out to the fountain to fill the vase, she meets Robbie, who offers to fill it for her. They tussle a little playfully at first and then it happens--the vase gets broken and parts of it fall into the water. When she sees Robbie prepare to go in to retrieve the pieces, Cecilia impulsively takes off her clothes and jumps in to get the pieces of the vase.

What seems to be a minor incident is misinterpreted by Briony, who witnesses it from a second floor window. She feels protective of her sister and convinced that Robbie is a threat. As a group of three cousins arrives and becomes part of the household, and then her older brother brings home a friend, the dynamics of the family shift, and even as Robbie and Cecilia are trying to come to grips with their changed relationship, Briony is struggling with her own emotions.

To say more about the plot would be to reveal too much; however, the book does a skillful job of presenting the events through the eyes of a child, who later realizes her mistakes. It also gives insight into the experiences of the nurses caring for wounded troops, and the struggle for survival of the soldiers retreating to Dunkirk. All in all, it is a satisfying read. You can find Atonement in several formats, including hardcover, large print and as an audio book.