Atonement (by Ian McEwan)

Q. Why did you choose this book?
A. I was intrigued by the commercials for the movie based on this book, so when I saw the book, I snatched it up.

Q. Did you like the story?
A. I might have liked it if it had been told in about 15 pages. The story was buried in fluff. (Let me acknowledge here that I've read a bunch of online reviews for this book and find that my opinion puts me in a minority. Ah, well, it is what it is.)

Q. Were the characters believable?
A. Believable, yes, but not particularly likeable.

Q. Did you like the writing style?
A. The writing in the last part of the book was crisp and sharp, and I liked it just fine. For the first third of the book, though, I felt as if I were slogging hip-deep through horse manure that had been liberally sprinkled with flowers. There's a point to the differences between the first and last parts of the book, but the point, to me, was the literary equivalent of a shaggy-dog story.

Q. Did you think about the book when you were doing other things?
A. Um...well, when I was brushing my teeth at bedtime, I'd think about whether I should pick up this book again or cut my losses and start a new one.

Q. Was there anything about the book that drove you nuts?
A. Yes, the verbosity of the first part.

Q. How did you feel when you finished the book?
A. As if I'd wasted hours of my life I could never get back.

Q. Will you keep the book to reread later?
A. No way.

Q. Any final thoughts about the book?
A. Pfffffttt!