Isa
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Post by Isa on Feb 2, 2008 9:32:19 GMT -5
Shall we move on to Part 2?
I have to admit, I didn't really enjoy Part 2. After the exciting scenes at the end of Part 1, I thought Part 2 was a little flat and very long. To me it almost felt like a different novel stuck between Parts 1 & 3, and I think I would have enjoyed it more as a separate novella. But anyways, I thought that Robbie's idea that Briony had acted out of jealousy was ludicrous, and couldn't understand why he and Cecilia were so determined to turn this 13-year-old into a god awful villain (but now that I've read the entire novel, I can understand what's going on). I was also shocked to find out that it was Cecilia who had sworn Robbie into secrecy about what happened in the library. As I wrote before, I'd assumed it was Cee's parents who'd wanted to keep the affair a secret, and I don't understand why Cecilia wouldn't come forth with the fact that they were lovers, thus discrediting Briony's "evidences". Sure, her reputation would have suffered, but you'd think her love for him would be more important. She does go on to wait for him throughout the war and severe all ties with her family - she clearly loves him, so why didn't she say anything?
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Post by bookaddict on Feb 2, 2008 10:27:58 GMT -5
I know I felt like Cecelia could have done more. I felt like she only made the effort after he was in prison. I also thought part two was dry, because I just wanted to story to continue. I felt like it paused a bit. The jealousy I didn't get either, I think he was just looking for a reason. However, Briony really wanted to save her sister. They make her out to be a horrible monster, but she was a kid. A kid who had no experience in life.
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Post by Carma on Feb 2, 2008 12:39:34 GMT -5
I liked part two actually.. it was a bit long though, but I liked how everything was described. I really had the feeling I was walking around there... That jealousy part was weird, and I also agree that Cecilia could've done more.. I'll try to remember a bit more of the second part.. I read it last week or so.. and It's already getting a bit blurry.. maybe that means it didn't really 'stick', or I have a terrible memory..
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Lu
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Post by Lu on Feb 4, 2008 5:31:01 GMT -5
As carma, I liked part 2. I don't think Briony acted for jealousy, I agree that he was just looking for a reason. Anyway I liked that part about her and Robbie, it was interesting to see a view of a younger Briony. I wonder how she could forget about that episode, she didn't even mention it. I agree that Cecilia could have done more and I can't understand why she didn't, I didn't felt her as a character so concerned about her reputation...but maybe I was wrong.
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Kristie
Novel turned into BBC miniseries
"If a book is well written, I always find it too short."
Posts: 7,214
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Post by Kristie on Feb 4, 2008 13:08:44 GMT -5
I have to agree with Isa on the idea of Part 2 seeming like a different story within a story--it would've been better as a separate novella. Maybe if it hadn't been so focused on Robbie it would've been more connected to the rest of the story. I liked it, but it felt a little random in the middle of the book. I don't really think that Robbie's foundation of Briony's love for him was very credible. For a young girl to say "I love you. Now you know." isn't very stable (for lack of a better word). While I don't think Robbie's idea is right, I still think that Briony might be acting out because of a little jealousy. I haven't read the whole book like Isa, but I've gone into the third part and am seeing some things to help me better understand what's going on. I did actually like the scene of Robbie teaching Briony how to swim. I didn't write much in the margins for this part, so I obviously didn't get too gripped by anything that happened. It was a good part, however random it may have seemed, but I don't think there's a lot to discuss because of it's focusing on a different plot line (needing to return to England for love rather than the whole mess of stuff that happened in the first part).
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bookworm
Collection of short stories published by an independent editor
"Everything you can imagine is real" - Pablo Picasso
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Post by bookworm on Feb 4, 2008 16:45:53 GMT -5
I actually liked that this part was focused on Robbie... And I liked the way we saw his thoughts and memories as he walked to the seaside... I only saw the part about Briony saying 'I love you' and the whole swimming incident as just another proof of what a drama-queen she was... I don't think she meant it... Just like jumping in the water for Robbie to save her, it was just another thing to make her life more like something out of a story...
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Post by bookaddict on Feb 4, 2008 17:37:15 GMT -5
I was wondering if in the book they mention that he had the choice to go to war or stay in prison. I don't remember it in the book, but it was stated in the movie.
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Post by Dominique on Feb 4, 2008 21:20:29 GMT -5
I was wondering if in the book they mention that he had the choice to go to war or stay in prison. I don't remember it in the book, but it was started in the movie. I think they did, but I'm not sure! I think that Briony could have been acting a little bit out of jealousy, without realising it. You know how some people do things without looking at or realising their motives sometimes? But I still think it would have only been a small factor and that the main thing would have been her dramatic tendencies etc. Robbie probably played this I love you thing up a little bit though because like bookaddict said he was probably looking for a reason. When horrible things like that happen to people they often feel the need to find or create a reason for it. I thought Cecilia could have done a bit more too..
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Isa
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Post by Isa on Feb 4, 2008 21:44:47 GMT -5
Yes, he does get to choose between going to war or staying in prison, although you could say it's not much of a choice... Kristie, I also really liked the scene where Robbie teaches Briony how to swim, I thought it was the most interesting scene in all of Part II. To me, because of that scene and the other scenes in Part I, it's pretty clear that Briony is a child, not a teenager, and that explains most of her behaviour. lol, I remember once when I was about 10 years old, I wrote a letter to my parents because they'd made me really sad but I couldn't bring myself to cry so I got my hand wet and let a few drops wet the sheet I was writing on, and then I wrote something like "I'm sorry I couldn't fight back the tears"!! I mean, that's what kids do - at least, that's what kids with a lot of imagination and a flair for drama will do No wonder Briony becomes a writer and I've got a degree in literature, lol! As for the whole jealousy thing, I can't say more about it now because not everyone has finished reading the novel, but let's just say that I was satisfied with the explanation that's given in Part III because that's how I felt about the whole thing all along.
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oureternity
Collection of short stories bought by Random House
bam.
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Post by oureternity on Feb 5, 2008 7:56:15 GMT -5
Haha you're right Isa. I also liked the swimming scene, the first part of the book made me very skeptic about Robbie and Briony's relationship, it looked almost fake, I mean he's been living in their house since forever and they seemed like they weren't getting along. After reading the swimming-scene I felt both more confirmed of their relationship but also more understanding of Briony's jealousy. She was both jealous in my opinion of her sister and Robbie. On one hand she doen't want her sister taken by another man from her, but on the other hand she likes Robbie too. Maybe she did what she did not for her sister but for Robbie. (She'd rather have him in jail alone than with her sister, or maybe she wasn't quite aware of the consequence).
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Isa
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Post by Isa on Feb 5, 2008 8:55:39 GMT -5
You guys, memccart came up with a great idea: we could add live chat discussions to our book club! For Atonement, we thought we could do a trial run when we're done discussing the entire novel, but if it all goes well, for the next book club we could have a chat session every weekend. So here's the schedule for the Atonement chat session (and I really hope I got the time differences right!):
America: Friday, Feb. 15, 8:00 pm EST (NYC time) Australia: Saturday, Feb. 16, noon EDT (Sydney time)
America: Saturday, Feb. 16, noon EST Europe: Saturday, Feb. 16, 5:00 pm GMT (Greenwich time)
Europe: Sunday, Feb. 17, 9:30 am GMT Australia: Sunday, Feb. 17, 8:30 pm EDT
Let's hope it works!
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Lu
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Post by Lu on Feb 5, 2008 9:41:24 GMT -5
It sounds great!! I really hope it works.
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Post by Carma on Feb 5, 2008 11:18:42 GMT -5
Great idea.. I just need to figure out what 'am' is and what is 'pm'.. haha (I'm more into the 24 hour thingy..)
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oureternity
Collection of short stories bought by Random House
bam.
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Post by oureternity on Feb 5, 2008 11:20:44 GMT -5
That sounds really great! I hope it works!
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Kristie
Novel turned into BBC miniseries
"If a book is well written, I always find it too short."
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Post by Kristie on Feb 5, 2008 11:54:02 GMT -5
That sounds really cool! Even if I can't talk at those times, I think it'll be great for future book discussions!
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