“I'm a member in a very conservative Book Club. We're interested in reading this book but want to know about content. Knowing that the movie was rated R, what is in the book that some people might find offensive? Is there language or sensual scenes?Thanks in advance for any answers!!Debbie”
“i have watched the film,sooooooo nice”
“ive watched the film.. absolutely loved it.. so i think im gna love the book more..”
“PS I also preferred the first two parts of the book to the last.”
“One of my all time favourite reads. I felt a little cheated by Briony (and McEwan) at the end. I shan't say why except it was in a good, thought-provoking way! But I like that Briony/McEwan made me feel that way and it got me thinking about the power an author has over the outcome of his/her story and characters, and also over us, the audience. I enjoyed the book from beginning to end and didn't find it slow at all. I savoured it, not wanting it to end. Superb writing, very descriptive, particularly the Dunkirk scenes. A great novel.”
“I have to say, after reading the novel three times that it really is one of the perfect novels. I have a "ate least 60 pages" rule, so that keeps me safe with a more sophisticated, aimed at a less "American" audience novel. And this one of those. I think this is a perfect novel. I agree with David and the truth that is too painful to tell. The movie was great and couldn'tt have been more perfecty cast or well done. Very Austenian/Forester.”
“when I first read it, I almost got angry after the narrative shift. It felt like McKewan was copping out of providing an ending. Like he wanted to have a novel with both a happy ending and a tragic ending, and it felt almost like introducing the writer in the first person was a gimmick. But then I began to reflect on the whole thing it felt like he had achieved something profound, and that this was the point of the novel, about why we tell stories. To me, the part that moved me so much was how the truth was almost too painful to tell, that you needed the happy ending to help you bare the pain of the truth. That was a wow moment. The way they handled this in the film, I thought, was terrific.”
“To me this book provides a perfect counter example to idea that great novels have to grab you and hook you and keep you riveted to every page and at the end of each chapter -- the idea that if you're not hooked in the first few pages the novel is bad. I stuggled through this and the payoff really didn't come until I reflected on the story and the characters. I do think it's one of the greatest novels I have ever read, but like a piece of classic music, it took work to really find what it is great in it. It was worth the work, however. Did anyone else feel this way?”
“ian mcewan has this unique style of describing the the setting and the characters in details. there were merely no conversations, only words to describe what is happening. at first, it was hard for me to get hooked in this book because he was too descriptive. but then you get used to it and you'll eventually love it (as i did). it was such a clever idea how he narrates the story in three POVs - cecilia's, briony's and robbie's.now i can't wait to read his novel, On Chesil Beach!”
