Without fully understanding how the chronological order contrasts with the narrative, you don't understand how events truly unfold. Because there is no explanation for the reader on how to interpret the narrative events, as there is in Atonement, it can be easy to accept narrative order as the way events unfold, when this is not the case. In Atonement, although there are time gaps between character changes and a collection of flashbacks, the novel is not as confusing as “The Late Colonel's Daughters.” The ending reveals the truth behind these flashbacks and how it all connects. This leaves the deciphering up to the story, and not the reader, making it less of a guessing game. Both Atonement and “The Colonel's Daughters” use the passage of time, in their own way, to build their stories. “The Late Colonel's Daughters” seems slightly more dependent on the passage of time, forcing readers to interpret the events of the story, as the narrative of the entire tale is a jumbled mess of chronological order. Atonement, on the other hand, seems simple, as the chapters deal with the points of view of certain characters. The flashbacks feel like memories, however there are some mysteries surrounding the fragments in the future. Eventually we come to realize how all these events occurred through the mind