Atonement by Ian McEwan

So, I finished this book last night. First and foremost, I LOVED it. It was a good read full of love and war and tragedy and lies. It had a "real" ending. Not the story-book ending I was furvently hoping for while reading the book, but a real life ending making the characters and events seem that much more plausible. For all we know, this is a true story. It isn't, but it could be. McEwan didn't compromise in this area and I like that a lot.

Secondly. I kind of fell in love with Robbie Turner. He's written so well. He makes mistakes - goofy, blind-in-love mistakes that every person has made, but the consequences of those mistakes are far more serious and disastrous than called for. Still, he never loses his faith in or his love for Cecilia. James McAvoy plays Robbie in the film and he said this about the role,

"I do really care about that character. I get angry about what happens to them in the way you would with a true story based on real events, y'know, and I have to remind myself it's made up and it actually didn't happen."

That pretty much sums it up for me. As I read, I knew what would happen (it's not a secret that Robbie Turner is falsely accused of rape) and I dreaded every moment leading up to it and the ease with which it was carried through. Then I was angry reading about the events following. They seemed like real things happening to real people. That's why McEwan is amazing.

Like I said, the romantic in me wanted the book to end differently, but I know it would have ruined the whole thing if it had. So overall, it was fantastic.