Scan barcode
stanro's review against another edition
funny
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I am enjoying this. Ian McEwan wrote The Innocent in the mid-90s, setting it in Berlin in the mid-50s.
Leonard is a British technician sent to Berlin to assist in American spying operations on the USSR forces based there. The trope of the largely passive central character being pushed and pulled by those around them is not one I find appealing. But with McEwan as author, and with the excellent narration of this audiobook, I’m enjoying it.
I savour the delicacy of Leonard’s seduction and laugh out loud at the way he seeks to avoid premature ejaculation.
Later, an American character attempts a Cockney accent and I marvel at the narrator’s skill in speaking in that dual way.
Having started as it did, the surprising turn the tale takes, and the details of its having taken that path, are both enjoyable and repulsive - even macabre. With about 20% of the book remaining, Leonard is a much-changed man, even if still mainly caught up by circumstances. Until he isn’t.
Recurringly, there is a dry, wry humour that I greatly enjoyed in this excellent book.
#areadersjourney
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Body horror
veronicatabor's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Moderate: Physical abuse, Murder, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Rape
Minor: Domestic abuse and Death
annavonwillingh's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, and Sexual violence
More...