Atonement by Ian McEwan

This book combines a reasonably entertaining story about a little girl's mistake and its consequences with a meditation on the nature of authorship and what writing can and cannot do. I think the story is reasonably well-done (although the beginning is much stronger than the end), and the meta-fiction aspect is not bad, but overall, it might be trying to do a little much. Booker shortlisted, 2001.