IAN MCEWAN

“I like to think that it isn't weakness or evasion, but a final act of kindness.”

Old Briony finally admits that she controlled the ending for her own comfort. It makes you wonder if every memoir is just a way to hide from the past.

“It was a situation that Briony found herself in, and she had to deal with it as best she could.”

The fountain scene shows how a simple misunderstanding can spiral. Two people see the exact same thing and walk away with completely different realities.

“A world could be made in five pages, and one that was just as real as a world of three hundred.”

Briony Tallis tries to control everything with her stories. She ruins lives because she can't tell the difference between her imagination and the truth.

“He was a man of some education, and it was hard for him to believe that he could be so misunderstood.”

Robbie Turner ends up in a living nightmare because of one misunderstood letter. It shows how easily a decent life can be erased by a single mistake.