Ian McEwan (Ian McEwan, 1948— ) is one of the most popular contemporary British novelists.He graduated from the University of East Anglia in 1972 with a master's degree in writing. In 1975, he published his first short story collection "First Love and Last Ritual", which won the Somerset Maugham Award, and later published his second short story. Collection "Between Beds". In 1978, he published his debut novel "Cement Garden", which described the violent thoughts and almost pathological criminal behaviors of adolescents. After 1981, he successively published "The Consolation of a Stranger", "The Child Who Comes in Time", "Innocence", "Black Dog", "Daydream", "Forever Love" and "Amsterdam", among which he discussed the British "Amsterdam" on social ethics and public life won the 1998 Booker Prize.

Critics unanimously agree that McEwan has a free and strange imagination and a remarkable talent for storytelling, showing extraordinary sensitivity to the cruel and depraved aspects of human nature, but at the same time carrying them with beautiful and precise language. Disgusting, scary, yet derived from ordinary life themes.As a result, keen perception coupled with indifferent narration makes these cool-toned works produce an unexpected black comedy effect.Therefore, his works can be said to be the product of the combination of precise description and black humor.Some people even say that the calmness and precision of his writing are like the instruction manual of an art workshop.

As a popular writer as famous as Martin Amis, although McEwan is over half a century old, his creativity is still very vigorous. In 2002, he published a novel spanning more than half a century.The novel is written by the Tallis family, senior civil servants of the British government, who live in the countryside. The eldest daughter, Cecilia, graduated from Cambridge University and just returned home from school. Obsessed with writing.The story begins in the midsummer of 1935. Leon, the eldest son of the Tallis family, is going home. Briony specially wrote a play to welcome her brother's return, and arranged for her cousin and twin cousins ​​who came to her house to rehearse the roles. , but the performance plan eventually fell through.Annoyed, Briony accidentally saw her sister take off her coat and jump into the fountain in front of Robbie.Although Robbie is the son of the maid at home, he is very good. Briony's father has sponsored him to complete his studies at Cambridge University.Unfortunately, later, the careless Robbie mistook the scribbled note with his lovesickness and sexual fantasies for Cecilia as an ordinary letter and forwarded it to her sister Tobrione, who was already suspicious. Peeking at the letter unceremoniously, seeing the "filthy language" on it, her imagination swelled rapidly, and she didn't realize that her sister and Robbie were already in love, but she thought he was a nymphomaniac, and she needed to Take on the responsibility of protecting your sister.Coincidentally, her cousin Laura was raped on the way out to find her younger brothers that night. Brioni connected many incidents during the day and believed that the criminal was Robbie, and even testified in person.Robbie, who was innocent, was found guilty and imprisoned for three and a half years.Cecilia didn't listen to the lies, she cut off contact with her family in grief and indignation, and continued to love Robbie in prison, which brought him great spiritual comfort.Three and a half years later, Robbie was released from prison and immediately went to France to participate in the war against Germany.Supported by Cecilia's love, he lives tenaciously.At this time, Briony had grown up and felt deep regret for her actions back then. In order to get rid of her past self, she went to the front line as a nurse like her sister, and even planned to go to the court to withdraw the lawsuit and return Robbie. clean.Because of the impact of the war, Robbie and Cecilia love each other with difficulty, looking forward to the end of the war and the beginning of a new life.However, the war is ruthless, Robbie did not wait for that day, and Cecilia was also killed by the German army, leaving only Briony to live in endless regret forever, unable to atone for her sins.The last part of the novel is already in 2001. Briony, a well-known novelist in her nineties, recalls her childhood with a lot of emotion.

After it was published, it was once again shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Although it was not selected in the end, it won the American Book Critics Association Award of the Year, which is enough to prove the overall high level of McEwan's novel creation. "My dear Miss Moran, just think about it, how horrible you are to be so paranoid. Why do you make such judgments? Don't forget the country and the times we live in. Remember that we are British: we are Christ You might as well use your own reason, your own sense of probability, your own indifference to what is going on around you. Is our education leading us to commit such heinous acts? We Will the laws of the United Kingdom acquiesce in such atrocities? In a country like Britain, where social and cultural exchanges are firmly established, everyone is under the watchful eyes of their neighbors, and everything is exposed to the light of day. Can an atrocity go unnoticed? My dear Miss Morland, what are you thinking?"

They had come to the end of the verandah; she ran back to her room with tears of shame. — Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey