Atonement Review

Atonement,as the title suggests is the making up for a mistake committed. In this novel,it is primarily about the guilt and the faint attempts to channelize the guilt.Briony Tallis,daughter of a rich aristocrat,develops feelings for Robbie Turner and is filled with vicious rage when she finds out Robbie and her elder sister,Cecilia making love in the library. A certain mishap occurs that night and the capricious Briony, in an attempt to avenge her disappointment,transfers the entire blame on Robbie leading to his imprisonment. Later ,a bigger catastrophe strikes-the second World War, where Robbie has to serve the army and Cecilia takes up the duty of a nurse. It is revealed that Cecilia and Robbie renew their romance before Robbie leaves for duty. We get to know about a different life of Cecilia,where she is married to Robbie,yet the myth is punctured as we find an old Briony struggling with vascular dementia,attempting to release the burden of guilt through her fiction.

McEwan's novel is a different experience altogether-the period of war,disillusionment-the breaking up of a family,the harrowing experience of the shattering of hopes in the final portions of the novel. The film however fails to create a strong connection within the characters and their surroundings. The story is carefully told but it lacks a soul. However,there are some pulsating images of historical events which keeps our attention intact.