Book Awards Reading Challenge

Atonement
Ian McEwan

I remember buying this book years ago in National Bookstore. Years, yes. My copy of Atonement is old, probably from the first batch of trade paperback release. I didn't even have a blog, much less a book blog then! The reason I probably didn't read this then is because I needed the time to grow old and be floored by the story now.

Yes, it floored me. I never used that description before. It is a story that quietly builds up a crescendo, lulls you into a sense of comfort and then eventually pulls the rug from under you much, much later when you think you're safely ensconced in a pillowy softness of an almost-happily ever after. And I think I have to write this down now before I fall further into the depths of my disorientation and attempt to pick the pieces of myself in the process.

I already posted that I was deeply worried about Robbie and Cecilia earlier as well as my hate for Briony but that would make sense only to those who have read the book or have seen the film. I haven't seen the film yet which I heard from good sources a faithful adaptation of the book. Now I want to. Again, I digress.

In a nutshell: Briony Tallis, the thirteen-year old wannabe writer accuses Robbie Turner, the son of the Tallises' cleaning lady, of assaulting her cousin Lola Quincey one summer night in 1935 while searching for the missing siblings of Lola in the garden of the Tallises' house in Surrey. Cecilia Tallis, Briony's older sister is in love with Robbie. The events prior and leading to the twins' disappearance is the heart of the accusation and the heart of the entire book. I wouldn't know how to put all that into words without sounding like I'm writing a case digest of a crime - all cold facts and none of the raw emotions involved - when in fact everything about the book speaks of how emotions affect the decisions we make and the paths we take as we live through trying circumstances.

The accusation is what Briony is atoning for in the story. Because it destroyed Robbie Turner's future, incarcerating him up to the time he volunteered for an early release to join the English campaign against the Germans in France.

Obviously I will not speak further of the story. But I will heap praises to Ian McEwan, with a scowling "How could you?" thrown in for good measure in between. Oops, sorry.

The writing is excellent. Using perspectives of the different characters of the book we get a sense of who they are, what they are like and where they are coming from. The difficulty (and genius of using this voice is that) we also see the bigger picture; so when things start happening a voice in your head starts screaming "This isn't happening" or "This is so unfair" or even simply "NO!" all to no avail.

There is also a war element in the story that brings to mind the harshness of the bombing attacks, the long journey to reach the beach only to find none of the boats that would take the soldiers back to England. There is the same attention to detail when McEwan deals with the nurses' training in the hospital - the way the sisters drum responsibility to the probationers, the cleanliness of the floors, the whiteness of the sheets, chilblains on the nurses hands - all evoke images in black and white, or sepia, your mind's eye picturing scenes in vivid detail.

Objectively speaking it's also a book about writing; what the author chooses to do with the material at hand. This thought is there from the moment we meet Briony and her early attempts to stage a play called The Trials of Arabella from the very first pages of the book.

In the end it is Briony's story, Briony's atonement. She with the writer's mind, her head in the clouds, conjuring a story to suit her reality. I mentioned I was starting to hate her to bits. I realize that the reason for the hate is that I understand her so much, I relate to her a lot and it is a very scary thought. Because it entails accepting gullibility, guilt and cowardice as well. And I can be very gullible, guilty and cowardly too.

I don't know if I made much sense so my apologies, I'm still trying to pick myself off the floor. Maybe I can go back and post about the book again much later. One thing is certain, I'm turning into an Ian McEwan fan. Goodness, so much for torturing myself with this heartbreaking yet unbelievably beautiful story.

Holley’s Review #11 of 12
The School Among the Ruins: Poems 2000-2004 by Adrienne Rich
2004 National Book Critic’s Circle Award for Poetry

I’m always disappointed by modern poetry. I am the last person to be considered a poetry expert, but I know what I like and I’ve never found it in the newer material. Rich’s collection has a beautiful cover (I know, I know…don’t judge a book…) and some interesting poem titles but I just did not enjoy all the interpretive spacing and stream of consciousness. I was by turns fascinated and bemused, but mostly confused. My apologies go out to all those more proficient than I in the reading of poetry.

Happy Reading!
htw

Title: Atonement
Author: Ian McEwan
Pages: 351
Rating: 4.5/5

I had heard so many great things about this book in the blogosphere and then in looking forward to the movie, I was really wanting to read this book. I had a vague idea of what the premise was, but only little pieces. As I read through the first section of the book, I was pulled through each page with anticipation of what was going to happen. I was hooked to McEwan's beautiful and smooth prose and his subtle use of suspense.

Atonement is the story of a young girl, Briony, who is on the brink of young-adulthood, but still has so much to learn about life. She witnesses a number of events that revolve around her sister and Robbie during a summer afternoon and makes several assumptions that lead to Robbie's implication of a crime. That's all I knew going into the book, so I'll leave it at that.

The rest of the post is here on my blog.

I see that Petunia has read Atonement, by Ian McEwan, as her most recent Challenge book, and found the writing to be wonderful. I'll second that, as I kept reading for the pleasure of the language. My thoughts are posted here.

The line on the bottom of the front cover says "A beautiful and majestic fictional panorama." And it's true. This may be one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read. Which is not to say pleasant. The subject matter, adult themes and the violence of war, are certainly difficult to get through at times. But they are all a necessary part of the journey.

You can read the rest of my review here.

Holley’s Review #3 of 12
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
PEN/Faulkner Award
National Book Critics Circle Award
Southeastern Booksellers Association Award – Fiction

I have flirted with this book for years. I’ve watched its popularity wax and wane and said to myself at every turn, “I need to read that.” Well, now I have and I really don’t know what to say. I did not enjoy it and to finish it I had to absolutely gut it out like a Navy SEAL recruit. The way people raved about the beauty of the language I was just sure I would love it so imagine my disappointment with the tedious book I found it to be. There were beautiful passages, images, turns of phrase, descriptions of characters…it was all there, but this book just did not resonate with me.

One friend pointed out that it was a tedious situation for the hostages and I was just picking up on that but somehow I don’t think that was it. I’ve never had an ear for opera so perhaps that is some of it as well. The thoughts of people losing focus, forgetting allegiances and disregarding their own safety (not to mention a months-long hostage standoff complete with food, music and soccer) to hear someone sing surpassed my abilities at suspension of disbelief. I won’t spoil the ending for you here but to me it seemed slapdash and thrown together. Like the tediousness of the hostage situation, perhaps it was a literary device to parallel the same sudden brutality in the hostages’ rescue but, again, I doubt it.

I understand the theme of music being used to bring together people of different backgrounds and ethnicities. I understand falling in love with the wrong person at the wrong time. I’ve read and liked other hostage/terrorist novels. I did not like this particular book. All this being said, I think Patchett’s writing is beautiful even if I did not like the book and I look forward to finally picking up my ARC of her newest, Run.

Happy Reading!
htw

The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields made it on to my Book Awards Reading Challenge by accident, in a way. I was just interested in participating in the challenge so I went through a bunch of award lists and chose titles that seemed interesting to me. I am so glad that I accidentally chose to read this title. It just might make it on to my top ten list, that is, top ten novels I've ever read.

The Stone Diaries is the account of Daisy Stone Goodwill's life, as told by herself. She was born in 1905 and died in the 1990s and, so, her life also tells the story of the tumultuous decades of the twentieth century. I love that each stage of her life offers some truth about the decade in which it occurred. I love that she doesn't let any one event from her life be the whole definition of her life. Yes, she was twice widowed but she doesn't think about herself only in those terms. Yes, she was a mother, an author, a gardener, an aunt, a friend but no one facet of her life describes it all...she is just Daisy.

I'm just so glad I chose to read this book. I'm also glad that I was able to purchase a copy at the Friends of the Library booksale last week! This one is definitely one to be read over and over again.

Also posted on my blog, HERE.