The Booker Prize Podcast

Back to School with Ian McEwan's Atonement

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🚨 An advance warning that this episode features spoilers for Atonement.


September is here, which means it's the start of another academic year. So get out your brand new stationery and settle down as we head back to school... no polyester uniforms or exams though, don't worry. This week, we're taking a look at Booker-nominated books that feature on school syllabuses in the UK and, particularly, we're diving into Ian McEwan's Atonement. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2001, the novel explores how a young girl’s imagination runs riot with far-reaching and devastating consequences.


In this episode Jo and James discuss:

  • Their favourite Booker-nominated books that feature on school syllabuses
  • A brief history of Ian McEwan's writing career
  • The plot of Atonement
  • The characters and themes of the novel
  • How Joe Wright's film adaptation of Atonement compares to the books
  • The Booker Clinic: books to help quell homesickness


    • Reading list:

    • Atonement by Ian McEwan
    • Amsterdam by Ian McEwan
    • Joseph Andrews by Henry Fielding
    • A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh
    • A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr
    • The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
    • The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
    • Saturday by Ian McEwan
    • Spies by Michael Frayn
    • Brick Lane by Monica Ali
    • Waterland by Graham Swift
    • Love and Summer by William Trevor
    • Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman
    • Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
    • True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey
    • Oxygen by Andrew Miller
    • number9dream by David Mitchell
    • Hotel World by Ali Smith
    • Now We Shall Be Entirely Free by Andrew Miller
    • The Dark Room by Rachel Seiffert
    • Black Dogs by Ian McEwan
    • On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
    • Enduring Love by Ian McEwan


      • Further Resources:

      • Ian McEwan on BBC Radio 4's This Cultural Life
      • Ian McEwan on his novels as A-Level set texts via The Guardian


        • A full transcript of the episode is available at our website.


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