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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.
jennjohnson's review against another edition
3.0
An espionage novel for the first half, and a crime cover-up for the second. It may have flowed better if the first half hadn't been entirely dropped in favor of the events of the second. It's a story of loss, but without any direct consequences.
A certain level of paranoia, of not knowing who everyone truly is around you, was introduced, and then went nowhere. Our hapless main character suffered a severe head injury and seemed to be making poor decisions and falling asleep a lot as a result, but that also never materialized into anything.
Maria becomes a prominent part of the story, but we don't ever get to know her well until the very end, long after it's too late to make amends.
It's odd to say that a book was well-written while the pacing and plot were both lacking. The horror of the circumstances came through, but not the gravity. Too much was thrown in and then never came up again. It may have been better as two different books, one about the CIA/MI6 operating in Germany post-WWII, and the other about a budding new relationship in peril.
A certain level of paranoia, of not knowing who everyone truly is around you, was introduced, and then went nowhere. Our hapless main character suffered a severe head injury and seemed to be making poor decisions and falling asleep a lot as a result, but that also never materialized into anything.
Maria becomes a prominent part of the story, but we don't ever get to know her well until the very end, long after it's too late to make amends.
It's odd to say that a book was well-written while the pacing and plot were both lacking. The horror of the circumstances came through, but not the gravity. Too much was thrown in and then never came up again. It may have been better as two different books, one about the CIA/MI6 operating in Germany post-WWII, and the other about a budding new relationship in peril.
brianw's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
nuclearpasta's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
imogencbird's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
katylang's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to like it, and I did enjoy reading it, but I came away a little confused. Not a lot of empathy for the main character, and the theme of "innocent" was a little forced for me. I would have called the book something else. Great portrayal of Berlin in that era though.
ms_matou's review against another edition
4.0
A bit slow to start but then it took off like my dog off a leash. The ending was predictable, IMO. Nevertheless, I always enjoy a good spy story told in post-war Germany. Before the wall even!
eowyndoodles's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not sure about this book. It was enjoyable to read about, even though I never really liked Leonard, he was interesting, the processes of his mind and the work he was doing. Mostly the setting, though, honestly. I haven't read anything set in 50s-ish Berlin, so I found it really interesting to see an English point of view of Berlin post-war. Also with the divisions of Berlin (but before the wall?). The spying stuff was cool, even is Leonard is a major dweeb. Also I think it is interesting to see Americans from British point-of-view because I mostly see the opposite. I liked the feeling of routines and daily life and order that got set up in the relationship between Maria and Leonard, in the writing.
But also I liked I figured that there would a twist at some point because that's what Ian McEwan does. It was later than I expected though and once it got there, the book really went off the rails.
Like they seemed like sort of not-great people, but ok I guess and at least interesting, and then all of a sudden. The book goes off the rails. STABBY STABBY. Oh no, we have a dead body! (Even if maybe he attacked us after hiding in the wardrobe because he is the crazy ex-husband so it was mostly self-defense?) The only way to solve this problem is to cut the body up and put in suitcases. But instead of leaving them in the anonymous bus-locker (or like dropping in a river or something?) let us bring them into the room that only you have security clearance for, Leonard. Smooth move. Also, then to cover up your crime, tell the Russians all about this secret mission so that no one discovers them. It doesn't really matter, international spy scheme, diplomatic relations, whatever.
This book would have been rated higher if not for the last third (from stabby-murder-onward) which just seemed full of improbably options and twists. Although, as someone who has never murdered my fiance's drunk ex-spouse who we discovered hiding in a wardrobe watching us have sex, you know, maybe it is entirely realistic and I'm just not aware of what someone's state of mind would be in that case. I liked the earlier set-up a lot better and found that to be much more interesting.
But also I liked I figured that there would a twist at some point because that's what Ian McEwan does. It was later than I expected though and once it got there, the book really went off the rails.
Like they seemed like sort of not-great people, but ok I guess and at least interesting, and then all of a sudden. The book goes off the rails. STABBY STABBY. Oh no, we have a dead body! (Even if maybe he attacked us after hiding in the wardrobe because he is the crazy ex-husband so it was mostly self-defense?) The only way to solve this problem is to cut the body up and put in suitcases. But instead of leaving them in the anonymous bus-locker (or like dropping in a river or something?) let us bring them into the room that only you have security clearance for, Leonard. Smooth move. Also, then to cover up your crime, tell the Russians all about this secret mission so that no one discovers them. It doesn't really matter, international spy scheme, diplomatic relations, whatever.
This book would have been rated higher if not for the last third (from stabby-murder-onward) which just seemed full of improbably options and twists. Although, as someone who has never murdered my fiance's drunk ex-spouse who we discovered hiding in a wardrobe watching us have sex, you know, maybe it is entirely realistic and I'm just not aware of what someone's state of mind would be in that case. I liked the earlier set-up a lot better and found that to be much more interesting.
naomi_hyde's review against another edition
4.0
I love Ian McEwan's style of writing, and so I was not disappointed when I read The Innocent. McEwan is a genius at creating suspense within the book and the plot has been cleverly crafted to generate moments of surprise at completely unexpected places within the novel. The only thing I did not really like about the novel was the complex plot - I am ignorant to the background history of the time period which this book is set in, so at times I did not fully understand what the characters were talking about. However, the main storyline was a typical McEwan plot - odd, quirky and compelling.
I really liked this book because it follows the protagonist as he journies from innocence to corruption and the story is brilliantly told.
I really liked this book because it follows the protagonist as he journies from innocence to corruption and the story is brilliantly told.