This story has an "unbalanced" structure that one would not have expected if you know very little of the story or the movie. The first part happened entirely in 1 day, whereas the second part is a long journey of war time stories and descriptions. The last part jumps to where Briony was 77 years old, and all things are now past.
The style is not what I normally would take to, given that I cannot relate to the intensive "discovery" of the world that little Briony was going through in Part I. As the events unfold, I began to form impressions that Briony is very self-absorb little girl who believed that the world needs to revolve around her and her tightly controlled world of make-believe.
A single stroke of jealousy was my thought, when Briony finally got the chance to punish the Robbie for choosing her sister rather than her. It was a very subtle theme well hidden until revealed only in the second part, amidst the war time horrors that Robbie was undergoing. I ran out of patience half-way through the narration. A pity to miss the more intricate part of Robbie's growing up but, nonetheless, the style really isn't one that captivates me enough to sustain the whole section.
"The writer is God". This is essentially the essence of the last part, the point to put across by Ian McEwan. This is a reflection that great novels are written where real tragedies lack. In the world of Robbie and Cee, they may very well be reunited and lived happily ever after. However, that would quite plainly make this novel very much less that extraordinary. Fairy tales leave no long impressions as tragedies do. So yes, in the world of make belief and master pieces, the write is God.
Shared during the monthly book club discussion 29 July 2012, and published in Goodreads.
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