Atonement - Ian McEwan

The significance of the title only really comes through at the end of this evocative and involving novel. Before that we are treated to McEwan's spin on the "family in the country house" story and an intense portrayal of soldiers involved in the British retreat to Dunkirk at the start of World War Two and the nurses in England receiving the casualties on their return to Britain. The writing is masterful and the perspective thrown on the rest of the book by the final scenes is thought provoking and affecting.

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