Prior to reading this book, the only things I had ever read by Ian McEwan were two essays he wrote for the Guardian. One essay was written in the wake of September 11 and one essay was about his mother, who had Alzheimer's. Both essays made me cry, which in turn led me to kind of avoid reading any of Ian McEwan's novels for fear that I would just be depressed for days afterwards.

After Jeremy bought, read and thoroughly enjoyed Atonement, though, I decided to take the plunge and read the book for myself. I'm so glad that I did. This book is fantastic, an absolute marvel of suspenseful storytelling and gorgeous prose. It's a fast read, not because it's short or simplistic, but because it's very, very difficult to put down. It's certainly not all happy-happy joy-joy in the literary world that Ian McEwan creates, but his writing is beautiful and his stories reveal the type of insight into the human condition that is lacking from the vast majority of popular fiction.

I read a lot of books. Most of them are thrilling or fun, and I finish them with a feeling of having been amused, entertained and distracted. Atonement, however, left me feeling amazed and enriched, changed even. It's the type of book gets under your skin and stays there for a very long time, and it absolutely should not be missed.

Further reading…