Atonement by Ian McEwan

Atonement is a brilliant exploration of the consequences of a single lie told by a young girl, Briony Tallis, which destroys the lives of her sister and her sister's lover. The novel spans decades, moving from a country estate in 1935 to the horrors of the Dunkirk evacuation during World War II. McEwan uses the narrative to examine the nature of storytelling, the possibility of forgiveness, and the burden of guilt. It is a technically perfect novel that keeps the reader engaged through its suspenseful plot and its devastating emotional payoff.