Atonement
A thirteen-year-old misreads what she sees between her sister and the housekeeper's son, and spends the rest of her life trying to undo it.
On a hot day in 1935, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis sees something between her sister and the housekeeper’s son that she does not understand, and tells a lie that destroys them both. McEwan follows the consequences through the retreat to Dunkirk and a wartime London hospital, then turns the novel back on itself to ask what fiction can and cannot repair.
Recommended by 1 Person
Ayelet Waldman
This is also a book about regret, and about shame. It is, like Persuasion, about the need to rewrite history, to expiate one's mistakes.
Source · May 2026
As an Amazon Associate, bookstoread.org earns from qualifying purchases. Links to Amazon on this page may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Spotted an error on this page? Tell us and we will fix it.