Michael’s Reviews > Atonement > Status Update
Michael
is on page 322 of 351
Want to get this down b4 I 4get.
The prose? Enviable. To say McEwan is a great writer seems, to me, pretty banal. This is a book that came out in 2001 and it's already hailed as one of the greatest literary works ever. I would never deny this book that honor.
However, its aspirations towards a certain literary exactitude have been exhausting. I actually crave a fart joke or two. Something of the like.
— Mar 09, 2026 05:30PM
The prose? Enviable. To say McEwan is a great writer seems, to me, pretty banal. This is a book that came out in 2001 and it's already hailed as one of the greatest literary works ever. I would never deny this book that honor.
However, its aspirations towards a certain literary exactitude have been exhausting. I actually crave a fart joke or two. Something of the like.
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Michael’s Previous Updates
Michael
is on page 162 of 351
like 3rd leg of slow read (?). Incredibly elegant and impressive prose, but still sloggy. I can't point to a particular passage or anything, but the overall effect here is one of total malaise despite an incredibly engaging and subversive story.
I think it just might be that some characters appeal to me more than others. Whenever we reach a Briony stretch of chapters I feel compelled to put the book down.
— Feb 09, 2026 12:55PM
I think it just might be that some characters appeal to me more than others. Whenever we reach a Briony stretch of chapters I feel compelled to put the book down.
Michael
is on page 68 of 351
section #1 for a slow read. definitely a sloggy start but--having been spoiled by the film--there's really no other place to begin a story like this. breezy read otherwise. loving mcewan's command of scope here. feels like it could go subatomic to forest fire in a sentence.
— Jan 27, 2026 07:53PM
