- Hardcover: 270 pages
- Publisher: Doubleday; 1st edition (May 1990)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 038541370X
- ISBN-13: 978-0385413701
- Product Dimensions: 23.9 x 16.3 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,417,914 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Innocent
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Product Description
Review
"Never less than wholly entertaining." --"The Wall Street Journal"
"Deft, taut fiction. . . . Many English writers have been compared to Evelyn Waugh, often wrongly, but this book can stand with the master's best." --"Time"
"So exhaustively suspenseful that it should be devoured at one sitting. . . . McEwan fuses a spy-novel plot with themes as venerable as the myth of Adam and Eve." --"Newsweek"
"Has the spooky, crooked-angled, danger-around-every-corner feeling of a Carol Reid film. It reminded me often of The Third Man and that is no mean feat." --Jonathan Carroll, "The Washington Post Book World"
"Powerful and disturbing . . . a tour de force." --"The New York Times" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
"Deft, taut fiction. . . . Many English writers have been compared to Evelyn Waugh, often wrongly, but this book can stand with the master's best." --"Time"
"So exhaustively suspenseful that it should be devoured at one sitting. . . . McEwan fuses a spy-novel plot with themes as venerable as the myth of Adam and Eve." --"Newsweek"
"Has the spooky, crooked-angled, danger-around-every-corner feeling of a Carol Reid film. It reminded me often of The Third Man and that is no mean feat." --Jonathan Carroll, "The Washington Post Book World"
"Powerful and disturbing . . . a tour de force." --"The New York Times" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
London Review of Books
‘The sheer cleverness of the book is dazzling, and only fully to be appreciated as you turn the last page...'
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A spy story set in Berlin shortly after the end of the second world war - a romantic love story - a gruesome and revolting horror story (don't read whilst eating) - then the circle continues on back through spy to love story again. It was only after starting the book that I noticed another review recommended "don't read this as your first Ian McEwan". Probably wise advice; but I enjoyed it anyway and will certainly read more of his.
20 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The first time I read this I had to put it down unfinished as I could not bear to discover the foreshadowed doom of the main character. It took me a year before I could gather the courage to start again and read the whole thing. Exaggerating? If you found Enduring Love moving, it's nothing compared to The Innocent!
25 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is vintage McEwan. He describes the love affair with feeling and, I guess, from some experience. I liked the sharp contrast between the mechanics and bizarre logic of the Cold War and the unpredictability of human behaviour when it is allowed free reign. 50s Berlin is also beautifully evoked - Harry Lime's Vienna moved north. The novel has a neat and typically weird McEwan twist before its moving, sentimental denouement. Great reading - thoroughly recommended to fans and sceptics alike.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Starts well but loses the plot
Although this is loosely based on a true bit of cold-war history -- the building of a tunnel from West to East Berlin, for the purpose of tapping into Soviet phone calls -- it... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Phil O'Sofa
THE INNOCENT
THE PLOTTING IS GREAT, THE ATMOSPHERIC DESCRIPTIONS SUPERB...AGONY FOR THE UNEXPECTED END.
THE SENSE OF PACE IS VERY GOOD, AS THE SENSE OF MOOD.
THE SENSE OF PACE IS VERY GOOD, AS THE SENSE OF MOOD.
Published 3 months ago by FOTIADIS KONSTANTINOS
No Blurb
I had picked this up at a used book sale on the basis of the authors reputation as there was no "blurb" on this copy and I had no clue as to the storyline. Read more
Published 6 months ago by J. K. Wing
One of my favourite McEwan books
I love the clarity, eloquence and use of the English language in all Ian mcEwan books. But this one ranks among my favourites after Enduring Love and Saturday. You must read it!
Published 6 months ago by Rana Gediz
Not for the Faint-hearted
Ian McEwan's `The Innocent' is part East-West spy thriller, part love story, part coming of age novel, cleverly packaged into one. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Susie B
Really enjoyed it while on holiday
Holiday reading: bit of a risk for me as I hate choosing fiction books as I often find front covers are so misleading. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Guppy
A well told story....yet again
Starting at "On Chesil Beach" and working my way zigzag backwards, I arrived at "The Innocent" by Ian McEwan. Read more
Published 10 months ago by JohnEurope
Maria said, "I want you to stay longer."
Who are the innocent in this dark hypnotically compulsive thriller? Leonard Marnham is a minor employee, given a series of not very interesting technical jobs as the superpowers... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Eileen Shaw
Riveting.
The Innocent, is one of the most riveting books, I have read for a long time. It is also, without doubt, one of the most gruesome. Read more
Published 13 months ago by D. Norman
Excellent with a gruesome twist
I was put off a little by previous reviewers who mentioned the shocking middle section. However, reading quickly through this section, I did not find this too disturbing. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Shelldonia
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