Atonement

Atonement is a 2001 novel by British writer Ian McEwan, first published by Jonathan Cape. Set across three time periods, 1935 England, the Second World War in England and France, and the present day, it follows the consequences of a young girl's mistaken accusation that destroys the lives of her older sister and the man her sister loves. The novel is also a meditation on the nature and morality of writing itself, since the story is eventually revealed to be the narrator's own attempt at atonement through fiction. It was shortlisted for the 2001 Booker Prize for Fiction and was named by Time magazine in 2010 as one of the 100 greatest English language novels published since 1923.