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b_austridge's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
irene_mer's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
tsehai's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-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? Yes
3.5
kuritsahreads's review against another edition
1.0
I hate this book. Unfortunately, I was forced to read it for school, so stopping after the first two chapters wasn't an option.
The Cold War is a very interesting topic, but this book is merely set in it, so it didn't give me any new and interesting information about how it was to live during that period. All it said was "the USA hates Russia, Russia hates the USA, the USA only works with the British because of political reasons" and so on. (Where's France in all of this, by they way?) The whole tunnel thing didn't mean a thing to me.
The relationship between Marnham and Maria is pathetic. I mean, are the explicit and disgusting sex scenes supposed to mean something?
Overall, the pace was too slow and the plot was horribly boring, until Maria's ex-husband, Otto, finally came to save some of it.
There seems to be a great number of people who like this kind of stories, and that's good. I'm just not one of them, sorry.
The Cold War is a very interesting topic, but this book is merely set in it, so it didn't give me any new and interesting information about how it was to live during that period. All it said was "the USA hates Russia, Russia hates the USA, the USA only works with the British because of political reasons" and so on. (Where's France in all of this, by they way?) The whole tunnel thing didn't mean a thing to me.
The relationship between Marnham and Maria is pathetic. I mean, are the explicit and disgusting sex scenes supposed to mean something?
Overall, the pace was too slow and the plot was horribly boring, until Maria's ex-husband, Otto, finally came to save some of it.
Spoiler
His death wasn't that much of a surprise, but the hole in his face definitely was. I also wasn't surprised when they cut him up and put him in the cases. While I hated the details in the sex scenes, I oddly appreciated how the author described how they cut the corpse in pieces.There seems to be a great number of people who like this kind of stories, and that's good. I'm just not one of them, sorry.
bamairi's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
cofetty's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the plot twists and the characters in this book. It got me totally hooked. I like McEwan's narration style that is not always chronological. The book could've done with less disgusting details in my opinion.
pipjean14's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.0
alexandramiller's review against another edition
3.0
I'm calling the cops on Ian McEwan for that one chapter
diwataluna's review against another edition
3.0
The Innocent is one of McEwan's earlier works. It's the fourth of 13 novels from 1978 to 2014. It's not as affecting as Atonement, which also had parts covering a war, or as suspenseful as Enduring Love. It's not as meditative as Saturday either. But in The Innocent, the reader gets a glimpse of the future McEwan themes.
The Innocent takes place in Berlin, Germany. An engineer from England, Leonard, is assigned for a special task in Berlin. At first, the reader expects a spy-war kind of suspenseful story. But then Leonard meets a beautiful girl named Maria. And our innocent engineer begins to learn more about the underlying missions in warfare as well as the subtleties and passions of love.
We then witness the breakdown of personal protocols because of unexpected turns of events. Leonard experiences changes in his moral character, and yet never fails to think of himself as innocent. In the process, everyone else, including his beloved, becomes tainted in his mind.
The Innocent is not as shattering or compelling as McEwan's more popular works. It still is a good read (I finished in one night) and is a mild initiation to McEwan's writing. That's 8/13 for me for his novels.
The Innocent takes place in Berlin, Germany. An engineer from England, Leonard, is assigned for a special task in Berlin. At first, the reader expects a spy-war kind of suspenseful story. But then Leonard meets a beautiful girl named Maria. And our innocent engineer begins to learn more about the underlying missions in warfare as well as the subtleties and passions of love.
We then witness the breakdown of personal protocols because of unexpected turns of events. Leonard experiences changes in his moral character, and yet never fails to think of himself as innocent. In the process, everyone else, including his beloved, becomes tainted in his mind.
The Innocent is not as shattering or compelling as McEwan's more popular works. It still is a good read (I finished in one night) and is a mild initiation to McEwan's writing. That's 8/13 for me for his novels.