Atonement by Ian McEwan

I didn't see the movie so I thought I'd read the book. As always, Mr McEwan writes with a gorgeous style that seems to come entirely effortlessly to him. He also manages to rattle me like no other writer. This time, perhaps in his attempt to write from a female --- and a novelist's --- perspective, he spends much of the book on minute detail descriptions instead of discussions on ideas. The book is beautifully crafted, yet it's also a suffocating read. I wonder what the movie is like...