Book: Ian McEwans’s “Atonement” is the best book I read since Ken Follett’s “Pillars of the Earth”

I am not going to start this book “review” with information about Ian McEwan, nor about the circumstances this book was written. I am going to start with the conclusion, which is also the title of this article: “Ian McEwans’s “Atonement” is the best book I read since Ken Follett’s “Pillars of the Earth” (and that happened in 2012). PERIOD.

So, there’s been 3 years since I haven’t found any book that could compare to “Pillars of the Earth” until “Atonement”. It is true that there are some titles on my Goodreads Favorite list (such as “Great Gatsby”), that were read in this period, that worth a lot of recognition, but there is none to make me feel I learned something from it.

You might think about the criteria I chose to mention the two books in the same post. There is none. The two are different in length and in narrative speech. There is no similarity, except for the fact that I love them so much.

Ian McEwans novel it is, as I like to say, “well written”. Every word is at its place, every line is poetry. His characters are so alive and well shaped, that I had the impression it was another reality, as real as this one (I know the books should make me feel like this, but some simply don’t). I felt no rush in the process of writing it, no need to finish it sooner. This author put his soul and his time in the book and created jewelry.  I ENJOYED EVERY SINGLE WORD OF IT.

I learned that I should not be afraid of long phrases, descriptions and most of all the emotions of the characters. I tried applying McEwan’s methods in the first chapters of my book (chapters that were very childish) and saw them transforming before my eyes. I saw how my book gained consistency and more credibility.

I will buy more of his books. There is lot to learn from him as a young author.

I am sorry I don’t have enough words to applause this work of art. I will recommend it to others. I will use this novel as my ARS POETICA in prose.

Conclusion: Ian McEwans’s “Atonement” is the best book I read since Ken Follett’s “Pillars of the Earth”.

PRO: Everything.

CON: -

5 stars on Goodreads. 

P.S.: If you are lazy and don't feel like reading the book, you can try to watch the adaptation. It will probably change your mind, because the movie is amazing too. 

Sorry for bad English!