Friday, May 11, 2007

Atonement

I came late to Ian McEwan. I read Enduring Love last year & was enraptured. I bought The Innocent (paying retail price!) and was left gasping for breath (in a good way.) Each McEwan I read become my favourite, and so it is with Atonement. The story is involved and the characters complex, yet he writes with such utter simplicity. This is a superb book on the nature of ourselves as flawed human beings. I cried at the end - not only for the lives of these imaginary people (ain't it strange?) but also because the book was finished & I would never again read it for the first time.

After finishing Atonement, I picked up and put aside four books after reading a page or two. I was restless & hungry for more transporting writing. Luckily I've landed on Blndsight by Maurice Gee, a delicious follow-on.

4 comments:

Joey Polanski said...

WOW!

This is one o th few book reviews that atchualy has me considerin readin th book.

Have you evr read any Somerset Maugham, Ciss?

Cissy Strutt said...

Oh yes - old W. One of my favourites is the short story set on a boat. The acursed man starts hicoughing once he loses sight of land and nothing can save him.

I also vividly remember first reading the phrase "Dutch wife" in the context of a man "lying in bed with a Dutch wife between his legs". My adolescent mind was enflamed!

AngryMan said...

Why would you be reading Blindsight? I mean, it seems like it would be hard to do . . .

Cissy Strutt said...

These modern authors and their fancy-schmancy po-mo ur-titles.