I bet i tricked some of you! ok, this is the first time in my life that i have ever posted anything on a blog. so it is pretty intimidating. i wanted to go for a less-courageous comment on someone else's post, but i thought, what the heck, you only live once. so here i am. and, to make matters worse, i thought my first-ever post on this blog would be an engaging and intellectual discussion on the topic of perspective in part one of atonement. but since i am at work with one and a half hours left and deadlines to meet, my procrastination only allows me this hint of the brilliance that is certainly to come. i wish i had the novel with me so that i could at least add a quotation.
that being said, here is a rambling, unplanned, disorganized series of thoughts so far (not what i had intended and a bit disappointing, but it's a start): i LOVED part one. i thought it moved quickly and was really engaging -- the overall feeling was mysterious but not haunting and very real/relatable. it created a whole enclosed world of these people and this place (kind of like wuthering heights), the home, which is something i love most about novels. it felt more like reading a classic late 19th or early 20th century novel than something written by a contemporary author. it just was good literature, like something you read in english class but still really enjoy on your own.
most of all i was struck by how rich, specific and relatable each character was. i loved how we got a chapter from the many POVs, including Briony's, Emily's, Cecilia's and Robbie's -- was there also one from the cousins? each time the POV changed, i felt completely in the mind of that character and i felt like i understood him or her completely, with a full sense of personality. I also loved the idea of Briony's boredom matched with her wild creativity/imagination/intelligence/need for attention all contributing to the tragic turn of events. it's a really interesting theme to me -- the idea that when there is not enough of engaging, positive outlet for creativity, especially female (as that is more often the creativity that is stifled), things can turn destructive.
anyway, i flew through part one and now have been at a stand-still. i think it's because part one was contained, character-driven, intimate and enclosed in the world of the home and the mind of the characters. i know that in part two i have to venture out into the world, meet war, meet new people, leave the comfort of the quiet country-side, confront aging, and witness waiting and pining amidst the back drop of a major social/political world conflict. i think i will still like it, but it takes a bit more motivation and bucking up and i think that's why i've been reluctant to start (which is pretty lame). One thing i know for sure (hint erin): i will NOT allow myself to see this film until the novel is completed. a lot of will power, but i will do it.
4 comments:
I totally agree with you. I felt very attached to Briony as she reminded me of, well, me as a child. I remember creating these new worlds and then disappearing into them. I could especially relate to how upset she is to let her cousins act out her play because it's not exactly how she wanted it. I often write things and have it in my mind EXACTLY how I want it to be. Then when others take over, things get...messy. I guess this can even be related to the whole Robbie incident. She sees one thing and if it was just kept to herself and perhaps simply written down, nothing would have come. Instead, others get dragged in and there are huge repercussions.
Having read the whole book, I will say that Part 1 was my favorite section.
I recently read an article in the New York Times about the woman who owns the estate where they filmed that section of Atonement (e.g. the Tallis household and grounds). She now gives these small tours of it. Maybe I'll find it and post a link to it on the blog.
I also felt a certain kinship to Briony, but she does also remind me very much of Jamie and Erin.
Hey! I would NEVER tear you apart from James McAvoy Lindsay! That would be way to cruel, even for me.
I haven't even started the book (I did borrow it from the library and then never had the opportunity to read it), but I liked your post a lot and I liked your picture. I wanted to contribute even just a comment to the blog to let people know that I still want to be an active blog book club member even though pleasure/book club reading has somehow been replaced by work/school reading and trashy television.
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