Weep it and read

All of a sudden I can’t wait to read Ian McEwan’s novel Atonement, simply because of all the trouble it’s creating for one of my co-workers. One morning she was so caught up in the novel that she missed her PATH connection to Hoboken, and those of you who are familiar with the whimsically inscrutable scheduling of the PATH system will know that meant a long time cooling her heels in Journal Square and arriving late to work. On another occasion, her husband walked into the apartment to find her crying her eyes out over a certain passage. She’s a walking endorsement for the thing. I just hope nothing too bad happens before she reaches the end.