Atonement

(Originally Posted Jan. 13, 2008)

Atonement By Ian McEwan

Gah! I hated this book. I only read it cause the preview for the movie looked so good, and the paperback was like $5 at Walmart (that should have been the first sign). It was so depressing and frustrating. The first quarter of the book was okay, it dragged a little (the writer seems to go on and on about dumb things...boring!) but I wanted to find out what happened so I kept reading. It seemed every time the story got good and interesting, it stopped, switched to a different time, and a different persons point of view. The ending was horrid and sad...but I was glad it was over....so so glad.
So April, why did you watch the movie if you hated the book so much? Who knows? I have never watched a movie that followed a book so word for word. Most of the time I pick through everything that is different from book to movie versions (drives people crazy). So maybe I thought that the movie would be more exciting, less depressing and a little romantic. Well...wrong. The score to the movie was so obnoxious that I literally wanted to plug my ears. And since I already hated the book, and knew the ending, I wasn't excited about anything going on. Although I do have to say that the actors portrayed the characters very well, perfectly in some cases. And if I hadn't read the book, I might have actually liked the movie (seriously, I have never said that sentence before...isn't always exactly the opposite!).
In conclusion...don't read the book, and only rent the movie if there is nothing else to watch (and you don't mind being depressed).
On a positive note. I GOT TO GO TO THE MOVIES! It was amazing and everything I remembered it to be. I treated myself to some Butter-finger Bites and a Slurpee. When the previews came on I was so excited I almost cried a little. I am sure my friend Carol thinks I am a giant freak now. It reminded me how much I have been missing (7 long, cold, lonely months) and I am gonna make more of an effort to get a babysitter and go to the movies. Like maybe tonight!