The World of Angy Wong

I just finished reading Atonement by Ian McEwan today and it was nothing short of brilliant, which is surprising since I found the novel difficult to get through in the beginning.

Generally, I’m a reader that prefers dialogue over descriptions. I’d rather read about the words that are exchanged between characters as opposed to the characters’ observations on their own surroundings and perceptions of the world before them. In a way, that makes me a rather lazy reader as I often skim through long passages of descriptive text in order to get to the verbal interaction between the major players. A quarter of the way into Atonement, I realized that my usual method of reading a novel would not apply with this particular book. Instead of giving up on it, I decided to take my time with the novel and slow my pace. In doing so, I discovered not only an amazing novel that is beautifully written but gained a different perspective on human self-awareness and understanding.

The story is told through the perspectives of three main characters: Cecilia Tallis, the eldest daughter who had just recently returned home from Cambridge; Robbie Turner, the Tallis’ charwoman’s son who had grown up with Cecilia and her older brother Leon, and also recently returned from Cambridge; and Briony Tallis, the 13-year-old sister of Cecilia and Leon. The plot revolves around Briony’s witnessing of a flirtatious moment between Cecilia and Robbie by the fountain. Lacking maturity and understanding of the implications behind sexual interactions amongst adults, she imagines her own reality in which Robbie is the villain, Cecilia is the victim and Briony assumes the role of protector. During the search for her missing mischievous twin cousins, Briony stumbles upon the rape of her 14-year-old cousin, Lola. Only seeing the shape of the attacker, Briony is convinced that it was Robbie and accuses him. What unfolds from her deceitful words is three lives that are forever changed – all wishing to undo the past and redeem themselves in the process.

The brilliance behind McEwan’s novel is definitely his use of psychological realism. The internal conflicts within each character is described so vividly that one could feel Cecilia’s anguish of losing her chance at happiness; Robbie’s struggle to keep his sanity in an environment that merely promotes the destruction of humanity; and Briony’s search for atonement for her actions which have condemned three lives to no real possible chance of redemption. McEwan’s mastery of prose and his depiction of the consequences of having an internal reality manifests into the physical world truly makes this novel a literary accomplishment.