meh.Atonement by Ian McEwan
But seriously, how could a book so praised as Atonement meander for so many pages and still be considered worth my time? It was like everything was building up to something that already happened. It felt like climbing up a particularly steep flight of stairs only to realize there was nothing at the top but another flight going back down. And then, after the buildup of an “atonement,” the author created what I can only imagine to be his idea of a great literary slight of hand; he made the entire work of fiction a work of fiction—amazing! I’m sorry Mr. McEwen, but surprise endings are only acceptable when they enhance the rest of the text. I mean fiction is already, well, fictional, I don’t need to invest my time into something that really really didn’t happen. Maybe it’s one of those cases where I hear so much about a book and have higher expectations than I should. But for me, there’s gotta be a better book out there that teaches the valuable lesson of making amends.
But seriously, how could a book so praised as Atonement meander for so many pages and still be considered worth my time? It was like everything was building up to something that already happened. It felt like climbing up a particularly steep flight of stairs only to realize there was nothing at the top but another flight going back down. And then, after the buildup of an “atonement,” the author created what I can only imagine to be his idea of a great literary slight of hand; he made the entire work of fiction a work of fiction—amazing! I’m sorry Mr. McEwen, but surprise endings are only acceptable when they enhance the rest of the text. I mean fiction is already, well, fictional, I don’t need to invest my time into something that really really didn’t happen. Maybe it’s one of those cases where I hear so much about a book and have higher expectations than I should. But for me, there’s gotta be a better book out there that teaches the valuable lesson of making amends.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments