[guessing at the star rating / mining my old FB notes now that they are almost impossible to find]

would you believe my 3rd time reading it?! my bookclub choose it, and it's such a fine piece of work, i didn't want to simply remember it when we discussed it - i wanted it to be fresh.

i've not always enjoyed this author - but this book has virutally no throwaway lines or plot points. even the most off-handed comment is so true and bears a moment's wondering. cecilia is home from college - entirely transformed - but her family doesn't see her so, with their former expectations of her so habitual and strong.

briony is a whirlwind of drama at the age of 13, envisioning of the world removed from herself - like the novellas she writes - one moment, and impetutously throwing herself into the fray, the next.

you aren't supposed to love the story - it's a tragedy layered on tragedy. but the masterful telling of it, the utterly real characters and motivations for their actions makes it one of my alltime favorites.

this is a rare case when the movie (by the same name) actually strengthened the book. and it makes you want to read the book again, then see the movie again, then the book....