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    The Atonement
    The Atonement
    The Atonement
    Audiobook8 hours

    The Atonement

    Written by Beverly Lewis

    Narrated by Christina Moore and Rachel Botchan

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    About this audiobook

    The mistakes of the past haunt Lucy Flaud, who years ago stopped attending the activities for courting-age young people in her hometown of Bird-in-Hand. Now twenty-five and solidly past the age of Amish courtship, Lucy has given up any hope of marriage, instead focusing her efforts on volunteering in both the Plain and fancy communities of Lancaster County. Yet no matter how hard Lucy strives, she feels uncertain that she'll ever find redemption. Dale Wyeth has a deep mistrust of modern-day "advances" and the dependency they create. The young Englisher's interest in living off the grid is fueled further when he meets Christian Flaud, Lucy's father. Dale appreciates the self-sufficient ways of the Old Order Amish, and Christian invites him to learn more about them by staying at the family farm. As Christian and Dale grow closer, developing a father-son rapport, Lucy begins to question what Dale's being there might mean for her. Could God be testing her? Or is it possible that even the most unworthy heart--and two people from very different walks of life--can somehow find a new beginning?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateMar 29, 2016
    ISBN9781501911293
    Author

    Beverly Lewis

    Beverly Lewis (beverlylewis.com), born in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, has more than 19 million books in print. Her stories have been published in 12 languages and have regularly appeared on numerous bestseller lists, including the New York Times and USA Today. Beverly and her husband, David, live in Colorado, where they enjoy hiking, biking, making music, and spending time with their family.

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    Reviews for The Atonement

    4/5

    7,627 ratings257 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Thank you for writing such a great story with soooooo much great Biblical truth in it. Very well read too.
    • 4/5
      Not my favorite McEwan but still good. Not as much edge as his earlier novels
    • 4/5
      In 1935, 13-year-old Briony is witness to a sexual assault, but thanks to a series of bad assumptions, her limited child's viewpoint, and a willingness to let herself express more certainty than was actually justified, she identifies the wrong man, only admitting her mistake to herself years later. The result is a novel about guilt, but also about human fallibility, the art of writing, and war.I can't say it's my favorite of the McEwan novels I've read so far -- that might be Enduring Love, actually -- but it does remind me of a thought I've had about McEwan's writing before: that his characters are so realistically human that they make me realize, with a sense of startlement, just how fictional everyone else's are.
    • 5/5
      This was objectively an excellent novel but fair warning: if you watched the movie (even if you only watched it once when it came out, over a decade ago) reading the book is absolutely spoiled by already knowing the big reveal at the end. I thought after all this time it wouldn't matter, but it did! I'll look forward to reading an Ian McEwan book that I haven't seen in movie form as I like his characters and style very much.
    • 5/5
      When Bryony - a fanciful girl who considers herself a writer - is thirteen, she witnesses a handful of small but to her traumatic vignettes all in one day that lead her, for various reasons, to wrongfully accuse someone of a shocking crime. This awful act has all sort of consequences for many members of her family, and we watch those consequences play out during the first years of WWII.Welp, I *loved* this novel. I have strong feelings about all the characters, both positive and negative (I love that I love the ones I love and love to hate the ones I hate), and I thought the writing and the pacing of the story was perfect. It wasn't a happy story, but somehow it didn't put me in a funk, which typically happens with darker books.
    • 4/5
      The cover makes this look gothic, but aside from not being so, it is a wonderful story of a wrong and the subsequent, well, atonement.
    • 5/5
      A lovely book. The pre-war story of Briony, her siblings, parents and the people that work on their estate is wonderful. The crime and misunderstanding that takes place is shattering because of how much you care for the characters and the little world they have created. As the story expands during WWII, the book shifts and almost becomes a war action and romance novel. Many people felt betrayed by the ending, to me it's ultimately a testament to the power of storytelling.
    • 3/5
      what a miserable way to live
    • 5/5
      Wish I had written it!! That's my highest compliment. I loved the writing style and the cleverness of the story line. Even the varied (somewhat emotional) reviews say a lot about the impact of this novel on the reader. Personally I loved the twisted ending the most.
    • 3/5
      I had a hard time with this book - it just didn't grab me. I wanted to root for the characters but they just didn't do it for me. I especially felt the middle section dragged. Just not my type of story I guess.
    • 3/5
      I was looking for a good example of metafiction to read, and McEwan's work satisfied my curiosity. The author's thoughts as writing define metafiction, and I appreciate its value, but I find that the flow of the story is interrupted too much for my reading pleasure. That said, I loved Briony. Her aspirations to be a writer are admirable, and her imagination certainly gets its exercise when she misinterprets her cousin's affair as a sexual assault. I appreciated the letter from an editor included as part of the story, and I truly marveled at the ending where she affirms an author's right to play God.
    • 1/5
      I have tried on three separate occasions to finish this book, but have not been able to make it past page 66. I also tried to watch the movie, but also quit halfway through. I officially give up an declare this book a lost cause.
    • 5/5
      Still one of my favorite books of all time. If you like the meta-cognitive examination of the novel and its power, this book is for you. If you don't, you'll probably think this book is pretentious. I'm interested to see what my book club will think. Full review to follow.
    • 5/5
      An amazing novel about the consequences of a youth's ignorance. This is just a lovely book that is written so well. The book can be slow, but the writing prose sucks you in to every sentence. The book is in 3 parts, the first with lovers at a young age, second during WWII, and the third for the atonement. The 3 main characters are great and the story is amazing. I highly recommend this book.
    • 3/5
      I like Ian McEwan's writing style but I was confused about the point of this book. The narrator didn't seem to really doing any real atoning... Was that the point?
    • 3/5
      I really enjoyed it, but I kept expecting to get sucked in like the movie, and that didn't happen. Both followed most of the same plot, I just didn't feel as much emotion from the book.
    • 1/5
      I have heard good things about this book and really wanted to like it. Three chapters in, I gave up. It simply did not hold my interest. It is no longer in my collection. I set it free via Book Crossing.
    • 3/5
      Oh good, this has lots of reviews, so I will only comment on why it didn't work for me and I quit reading it at chapter twelve. The telling of the tale is tortuously slow. When you see that all paths lead to misery in a book, and yet each scene is repeatedly told from each character's point of view, well, let's just say that I don't have enough reading time left in my life to spend on stories like that. The prose was excellent, and the characters were interesting, I even liked the way the author was telling the tale, so if I were in a different place in life I might have enjoyed wallowing in this story. I'm just not there.
    • 4/5
      The mark of a good novel is knowing how it's going to end, but still being shocked and heartbroken when you get there.

      I'm sure everyone has already said everything there is to be said about Atonement, a novel my mother proclaimed "the movie made me cry!" Well, mother, the book made your daughter cry. And I knew. I KNEW how it had to end, because there could be no other ending, and I still cried a river.

      This book is incredibly human. I think every single person will relate to it, because we all make mistakes we wish we could atone for and sometimes...

      we can't.

      And we're forced to live with our guilt forever.

      Is there anything sadder than that?
    • 5/5
      A great book, really, the more I revisit it the better it becomes. The account of the retreat to Dunkirk was very gripping and the ending has a magnificent twist. Brings things into focus very well.
    • 5/5
      Normally I would give a book I enjoyed this much a fuller review, but I only just finished it and I'm still crying. Suffice to say it's good, really good, the characterisation captivated me and the slow, lingering atmosphere and remorse it builds is staggering. But it doesn't crawl either, it's not an action packed book at all, but there is so much richness in its slow-moving time. I suspect many people find this book just-so and I'm not saying it's perfect, but something about it caught me. (Part of that is definitely war-time Robbie. Call me easy, I don't care)
    • 5/5
      This book completely captivated me from the beginning. I think I cycled through every possibly feeling for Briony in the course of reading this novel. Gorgeous writing, even though this was a 370-page gut punch.
    • 5/5
      Simply brilliant!
    • 2/5
      This book is SOO descriptive! I honestly thought it pulled away from the story a bit. The first third of the book dragged on and on and I was bogged down with the descriptive details of every outfit, thought, vase, drink, and more. It definitely picked up in the second part but I wanted to quit reading long before I got there. In essence, this book is about a young sister who is a total jerk and joy-kill. She does something unforgivable and awful that impacts those closest to her and it has a ripple effect throughout the whole book. I wanted to like this, but I just couldn't get past the flowery pose. I bet the movie is better!
    • 4/5
      The pace was actually sluggish for me at the beginning; however once I was into part 2 it picked up nicely. Really enjoyed the characters; and while I don't usually enjoy "switched" endings; this one worked really well and made the book more authentic as well as compelling. What I found interesting was that I saw the circumstances of Briony as tragic while my wife, who watched the movie (I have not yet) thought she was a brat.
    • 4/5
      The first part is rather difficult to follow, but it is worth sticking with this book. The title is perfect for the story ... but that doesn't become obvious until the last part of the book. A masterful job of weaving first person perspectives from multiple characters. Near the end, this feels a bit awkward when the characters are in the same room - but only one POV remains.
    • 5/5
      During the summer of 1935 at the country estate of the Tallis family, one event changes the lives of almost everyone present. The novel itself is framed as a literary confession it has taken Briony Tallis a lifetime to write.
    • 5/5
      What a great author. Great writing. This is a story that will hold your interest and engage all your senses at various times, and will elicit many emotions. In 1935 in England, a family is revealed to the reader with all the intricacies of families anywhere. A young girl makes a false accusation that changes lives forever. Her age and non-understanding of adult issues is part of the problem. The characters seem so real we can touch them, talk to them. Some of the scenes are unforgettable. The story will have the reader's imagination working overtime. The end is eloquent and poignant.

      If you want to read spoilers, you can do that elsewhere. I'd guess that more sophisticated readers may enjoy the book more with its many nuances and layers and stages of life.
    • 5/5
      Fuck this. Sad as the movie and Briony is still a bitch.
    • 5/5
      I was right: it is better than the overrated Amsterdam!