I really liked this book and found it to be very different from other stories I've read. The biggest difference was that it wasn't extremely fast paced. It wasn't the book you can't put down, but it was the book that quietly prods you to pick it back up. The first part, the part with the "event" the whole story is based around, is told over the course of one day and lasts about 175 pages, which is about half the book. The rest of the story comprises the other half of the book, and so moves a good deal faster.
The other interesting thing was the third person, mostly omniscient point of view. You as a reader get to see what various characters are thinking and feeling. It isn't all the characters, and it isn't even all the characters who turn out to be important, but it is the characters who are most affected by the chain of events set forth.
At the age of 13, Briony Tallis witnesses a few scenes between her sister and the son of a servant. Straddling the line between childhood and adulthood, she doesn't understand what she sees and it prompts her to make bold accusations that end up tearing her family apart. She spends the next half of the book trying to make amends that aren't really possible.
I really liked the way the author paints his picture. You can picture exactly the vase he describes as a precious family treasure, the fountain Cecilia dives into, the "temple" where Briony makes her discovery and where their lives all change. You can almost feel the heat of the kitchen where the servants are preparing a roast dinner in the middle of the summer, or smell the hospital ward Briony works in during World War II as a young adult. He uses adult words, which add to the educated element of the characters. His characterizations are spot-on, and every action is fairly well explained. Even if the ending didn't wrap things up in the way I would've preferred, I would still recommend this book. I wouldn't be surprised if it became a classic, and if I re-read and find something new in the subtly drawn story that I hadn't noticed before.
My favorite line from the book came near the end.
The evasions of her little novel were exactly those of her life. Everything she did not wish to confront was also missing from her novella--and was necessary to it. What was she to do now? It was not the backbone of a story that she lacked. It was backbone.
Briony treats herself harshly for what she's done, but her thought is essentially true. Confrontation is the only way to deal with her childish actions. On the other hand, doing what she did took a lot of backbone, so we know she has one. It's just a matter of her willingness to use it in an effort to right the wrong she committed.
Perhaps the only thing I didn't like was that Briony's actions were, in part, due to a letter she read in which one of the other characters uses my least favorite word in the English language. It may surprise some to learn that I have one, but I do. And while it's true that the word is only written once and then vaguely alluded to afterward, and Briony receives it with what I feel is the appropriate amount of shock, I still think I didn't give it five stars only because of this. There are a couple of very brief examples of strong language, and some fairly graphic imagery (all three main characters are closely involved in World War II) including some sexual content, so if you are typically offended by these things you may want to steer clear. The one word was all that offended me, so it was easily overlooked on my part. If it weren't for two instances of graphic language, I would say the themes alone in the book were reason enough for it to be a classic worthy of high school reading lists. As it stands, it is probably not appropriate for that venue.
For more on what I've been reading or for recommendations from your friends, check out Good Reads. This slightly tweaked post is brought to you courtesy of the new "blog it" feature on their reviews.
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