To Forgive is Devine – but can it Atone?

ATONEMENT

Ian McEwan , Londoner, has done it again. He has put together a powerful book that expands from 1935 to the end of the twentieth century. I avoid most modern day British authors – (I hope my British Son-In-Law doesn’t read this) for the simple fact that I often find them boring and stilted. McEwan is one of the exceptions. I found that this book moved right along, and I could hardly bring myself to put it down.

Sometimes the book became a bit redundant, but that didn’t really bother me. I usually scan-skip those parts. That was a mistake. With McEwan you need to read it all for he does have a tendency to slip a bit of vital information in when you least expect it. Outside of that, I found it a compelling read and only quit reading when my vision became blurred.

McEwan has written over ten best sellers and a number of plays for television, He was twice a winner of the Booker Prize, winner of the Whitbread award, and winner of the Somerset Maugham Award. He has written numerous stage plays, television scripts, a children’s book, and the libretto for an oratorio.

This story starts in 1935, and, as it says on the back cover of my paper back ,it is a novel of “childhood and class, guilt and forgiveness, love and war.”

I found it to be provocative and interesting.

The Plot: The Tallis household

The estate was purchased by the Tallis grandfather,a sailor, who tinkered in locks and security systems. His inventions caught on, and he became wealthy.

He purchased an Island estate – complete with chapel, kissing gate, bridges to the mainland, a stable block and space enough for an enormous swimming pool. When the main house was destroyed, the Tallis grandfather built a sturdy brick colonial house to replace it – which would be condemned by one architect as ugly, and another as charming and ahead of its time.

Jack, the father of the Tallis household inherited the property, and it was here he bought his bride, Emily, and it was the home of their three children.

Briony Tallis, thirteen years of age when we meet her, was the youngest. She was a precocious child – talented with words, and constantly and easily producing stories. She had an unusual obsession for order and neatness. Everything had to be in place – and she loved nothing more then to be honored by her family and to be the center of attention.

Her older sister Cecelia (about 20) had just completed her education and returned home. She was discontent – disgruntled because- as a female- she couldn’t be honored by a degree from Cambridge.

The son, Leon, was about to finish his schooling in London. He was a “good guy” sort of man, gregarious, open and would often bring classmates or friends home with him.

Emily, the mother, was a nervous woman. She kept to herself, suffering from migraine headaches. She knew that Jack, her husband, spent most of his time at the Ministry, and claimed to be sleeping at his club. She also knew that he had a mistress who claimed most of his free time. She accepted his duty call once a day – and wasn’t too unhappy with the arrangement.

And then there is Robert. Robby was the son of the cleaning woman, Grace. Grace’s husband had left when Robby was but three weeks old, and never returned. Grace was convinced he was dead. She became the cleaning lady for the Tallis household. Jack became so impressed with her calmness during troubled times in his household, and her unfailing kindness to his wife, that he deeded the caretaker’s cottage to her for life. He also took an interest in Robby, and paid for his schooling. Robby grew up as a playmate of the Tallis children.

Into this mix came the three cousins, whose parents were in the prospect of divorce (shocking). They were the children of Emily’s sister. There was Lola, 15, and more sophisticated then Briony, and the ten year old twins.
Briony had written a play, and cast parts in advance of the cousin’s arrival, However she found herself being maneuvered out of the lead by Lola, and torn by jealousy decided not to do the play after all. The twins, who hated it there, were bored and disappointed.

To skip to the chase, Robby and Cecelia discovered they were in love. By watching them from the third floor window, Briony misunderstood what she saw. Being young and almost obnoxiously precocious, she was convinced that Robby was some kind of a sex monster. She also misinterpreted a note Robby gave her for Cecelia (which she read anyway).

In the meantime, Lola, bored, had been having problems too. She appeared with ugly bruises on her arm, claiming the twins had done it. Suddenly Briony felt mature and protective. That night the twins ran away, and the whole group set out to find them. Briony, searching by herself, came across something that made her cry out. She came upon a couple – it was very dark, but she saw that they were DOING IT. The man pulled away and ran. The girl was Lola. Briony “knew” she had been raped, and the man was Robby.

Lola didn’t have to say a word, for Briony was eager to tell what she “saw”. At home she was praised for helping Lola, and being told of what a courageous girl she was in positively identifying the rapist. Lola didn’t have to say a word, “traumatized” as she was.

So when Robby came home after finding the twins, he was met by the police, arrested, and sent to prison.

Cecelia was broken hearted. She turned her back on her family, and refused to have anything to do with them, although she stayed connected to Robby through letters. She knew it wasn’t true, she said, and promised to love him and wait for him always. Cecelia turned to nursing, and was training vigorously to prepare for the upcoming war. After Munich, it was apparent that war was going to happen, and Robby was given an early release so he could join the infantry. Before he had completed the basic training, war was declared and Robby was off to war.

They also learned that Briony - now seventeen - had bypassed Cambridge, and had entered nursing. Briony, older, was now repenting her testimony for she was becoming unsure of what she had seen. She was pretty sure that the culprit was her brother’s friend, and that Lola was a willing participant.

This is where I lost it a bit with McEwan’s narrative. I don’t know how it was in England, but in America nurses were trained much the same way as they are trained now. Of course there is a lot more technical training now, and specialized training, but basic nursing is pretty much the way it was always.

In England, McEwan portrays nurses as being under a rigid code in person as well as in the hospital. They are allowed very few breaks, and the charge nurse is the ultimate rule. They are called Sister, and must maintain a persona at all times. In fact, in the pre war scenarios, I feel that McEwan portrays the times before WWI more then he does the times before WWII in my opinion.
For instance, McEwan portrays divorce as being a scandal – it wasn’t really, especially by the wealthy. The nursing profession is shown as a rigid and almost brutal regime for the nurses, hailing back to the times of Clara Barton or Florence Nightingale, rather than 1936. However, I wasn’t in England so I don’t really know. Nurses were called Sisters there. I don’t know if they still are or not.

Anyway, the story takes us through the horror of war in detail – the agony of being apart – the hope that Briony will recant her story – the possibility of reuniting with family – etc. It ends when Briony is an old lady of 76, and is remembering her life and what has happened to her. There is a surprise ending. I won’t tell you if Briony atones for her error, or whether Cecelia and Robby ever got together, or what happened to poor Lola.

It may not be for everyone, but I thought it was an excellent narrative – with just enough questions to keep it interesting.