A Review of Atonement by Ian McEwan

The title of the novel, Atonement, by Ian McEwan should strike readers instantly and leave the impression that there is a secret hidden inside. At first glimpse, this could seem like a very complex novel, but after reading its entirety, it becomes very simple. In the last section of the book, entitled "London, 1999,” a turn is taken, and shock is left amongst the readers. The young lady we met at the beginning of the novel, Briony Tallis, is actually the author of this story. After finding this out, our entire “reality” of this story changes. In this section of the book, we see the trials Briony faced during the writing of this story and how she feels about her work now. Should readers actually be shocked, though? Hindsight is always 20/20, but McEwan does, in fact, hint to his readers that this twist is coming.

The last section of Atonement, "London, 1999," is basically a letter from Briony Tallis, explaining what is going on in her life right now, and ultimately confessing that she wrote the novel we have just read. The last three pages are focused on her confessions and her consequences during the course of the novel. She confesses everything without holding back. She explains that the book could not be published before Paul and Lola are deceased, though, because there was a crime committed and they did not approve of their names being announced in public with connection to such crime.

In the waiting period, Briony Tallis wrote “half a dozen different drafts” (349) of Atonement. This draft was the only draft where Cecilia and Robbie ended up together. She suggests that in “real life,” they did not end up together, but instead they both passed away. But who would want an unhappy ending to such a happy story? Lastly, she suggests that when this story finally gets published, everyone will be deceased. How will readers know what really happened? Anything is possible. But, Briony didn't write this last section to explain to her authors what really happened. This was her confession. This was her way of becoming guilt free. This was her atonement.

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There were several clues, looking back, that McEwan used to hint at Briony actually being the author. First, Briony was a young, aspiring author. She was always writing stories and making her family play the roles of her characters. Obviously, this doesn't mean she has to be the author, but she enjoyed storytelling. She was always telling a story. Secondly, just about every experience in the book, Briony was there in some way. Why is she everywhere? Because if she wasn't there, she wouldn't know what happened to write about the situation. She had a huge imagination, that's quite obvious, but it is still just ironic she was everywhere she needed to be while this story was being told. Lastly, it seems as though everything went in Briony's favor. When she needed pity, she got pity. When she needed praise, she got praise. Everything happened just the way Briony wanted it. That, in itself, should've been a clue to an active reader.

This leads to the big question: "What is 'reality,' then?" If Briony wrote this book, how do we know she didn't alter everything to change the entire situation? We don't. Our sense of “reality” has now become Briony's perception. If this book had been introduced as such, it would've been a great story. Now, we do not trust Briony because she has hidden herself as the author. She has contorted our view of reality. She has made us wonder what was really "real" and what was only a figment of her imagination.

These points go along with the themes set in place by postmodern literature. Postmodernism focuses heavily on the question of reality. What is real? Who decides? In this case, Briony does. We have no idea what happened throughout this story, except from Briony's point of view. Postmodernism is all about telling a story and including a lot of imagery. McEwan did a great job in exhibiting imagery throughout the entire book. Everything was very vivid and went along perfectly with the story being told. Lastly, metanarratives were popular during this time. A metanarrative is a story being told inside of a story. Obviously, this is exactly what Atonement is; Briony's story inside of Ian McEwan's book.

This novel clearly fits into the postmodern era in many ways. Briony Tallis fooled every reader of this book. There's no question about it. An active reader is in for a great surprise when he/she realizes she is the true author, though. By the end of her life, she felt guilty and finally gave up her act. Her time was up. Even when she knew she was wrong, she still confessed. She didn't want anyone to get hurt, she only wanted to tell her story. Her imagination got the best of her, but she finally got the story she wanted, out. That's all that mattered to her.

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