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The Innocent

3.66 of 5 stars 3.66 · rating details · 3,299 ratings · 290 reviews

Psychological thriller set in Berlin during the Cold War, based on an actual (but little known) incident which tells of the secret tunnel under the Soviet sector which the British and Americans built in 1954 to gain access to the Russians' communication system. The protagonist, Leonard Marnham, is a 25-year-old, naive, unsophisticated English post office technician who is...more

Paperback, 226 pages

Published 2005 by Vintage (first published 1990)

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Feb 02, 2009 Martine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: british, film, modern-fiction, psychological-drama, thriller

'To innocence. And to Anglo-German co-operation.'

This is what Leonard, a stuffy English engineer who has been sent to post-war, pre-wall Berlin to assist in an attempt to tap Soviet landlines, and Maria, a mysterious German divorcee who initiates him in the art of love, say to each other at their engagement party. Just a few pages later, they lose their innocence in the most gruesome fashion imaginable, after which Anglo-German co-operation takes a back seat and confusion and paranoia take over....more 'To innocence. And to Anglo-German co-operation.'

This is what Leonard, a stuffy English engineer who has been sent to post-war, pre-wall Berlin to assist in an attempt to tap Soviet landlines, and Maria, a mysterious German divorcee who initiates him in the art of love, say to each other at their engagement party. Just a few pages later, they lose their innocence in the most gruesome fashion imaginable, after which Anglo-German co-operation takes a back seat and confusion and paranoia take over. What ensues is one of the most filmic and vivid descriptions of a descent into nightmare in all of English literature -- eighty pages of wall-to-wall gore, horror and fatigue-induced bad decisions and betrayals, all the way to the surprise ending. It is these eighty pages which elevate what could have been a dullish spy novel into an Ian McEwan masterpiece.

For make no mistake about it, The Innocent (first published in 1990) is a McEwan masterpiece. It may stand out in his oeuvre for being a spy novel (or at least an attempt at one), but it bears all the hallmarks of the McEwan classic: a dark and twisted love story, a sexual encounter with far-reaching consequences, tremendous psychological insight, great descriptive power and a powerful sense of impending doom. Right from the get-go, one has the sense that something is going to go horribly wrong, and when it finally does around page 130 or so, the effect is startling and spell-binding. Such is the hypnotic quality of the writing in the second half of the book that I stayed up late at night to be able to finish it despite some pretty hefty jet lag. I just had to know how the story ended, and I can't think of a greater compliment to an author than that.

As a spy novel, The Innocent may disappoint fans of the genre. While there is definitely some second-guessing of the characters' identities (Maria, for instance, remains a shady character right until the last few pages), the book doesn't feature any gadgets, spectacular chases or double crosses, or other things we have come to associate with the spy novel. And while the Berlin setting and the Cold War atmosphere are well drawn (at times the mood is reminiscent of The Third Man, which is a good thing in my book), the book is less about political games and intrigue than it is about first love, the joys and hardships of making love in a cold house, sexual awakening, obsession, possessiveness and jealousy. It's a tale of love found and lost, and of innocence lost and found again (to some extent), and as such it's quite brilliant -- up there with McEwan's more famous works. If it hadn't been for the somewhat slow start and the rather pat ending, I would have given it five stars.(less)

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Oct 16, 2008 brian rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

depalma should direct the film version. that terrific fucking final set piece all slowed down and stretched out over 60 pages, all gory and demented... shit yeah! i'd also like to dig up hitchcock's grave and have depalma cockslap him a few times across his pale jowly cheek. the fat bastard deserves it.

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Feb 15, 2008 Tripp rated it 5 of 5 stars

With Ian McEwan. Atonement remains one of my favorite books, but when I tried Saturday I just couldn't connect with the book. When I saw his book the Innocent, set in one of my favorite periods, the mid-Cold War, I just had to try it. The setting turns out to be relatively unimportant. This isn't really a Cold War thriller, but is a classic McEwan exploration of the inner life of a few people.

In this case, we have the inexperienced British civil servant, Leonard , who is sent to work on a joint...more With Ian McEwan. Atonement remains one of my favorite books, but when I tried Saturday I just couldn't connect with the book. When I saw his book the Innocent, set in one of my favorite periods, the mid-Cold War, I just had to try it. The setting turns out to be relatively unimportant. This isn't really a Cold War thriller, but is a classic McEwan exploration of the inner life of a few people.

In this case, we have the inexperienced British civil servant, Leonard , who is sent to work on a joint US-British spy operation in mid-50s Berlin. While there he falls in love with a young German woman named Maria. This is his first love affair, and his internal monologues are perfect. Even in this relatively early novel ( 1990) he has mastered the little foibles and mental tricks we play on ourselves. The relationship between them is lovingly rendered, but this is a McEwan novel so you know something is going to go wrong, most likely horribly.

And oh does it ever. McEwan keeps you guessing as to how things will go wrong, as there are a number of characters through which catastrophe might rear its ugly head. Speaking of ugly, the book features one chapter that is flat out disturbing. McEwan shows an act, often used a joke in films and describes in grotesque, lengthly, nearly vomit inducing detail.

While that might seem gratuitous, it ties into the theme of innocence and its loss. For some characters innocence is well and truly lost after that event. But McEwan plays, not unlike William Boyd in a Good Man in Africa, on just who the Innocent in the title is. It would appear that every character is far from it, but that turns out not to be true.

Many authors can conjure up a good wistful, stare thoughtfully into the distance novel, but McEwan goes a step further by arguing, with his ending, that life, despite all its horror and our mistakes, is well worth living and there is still time to do what we must. This ties the book to Atonement as I think McEwan was saying something similar in that book.

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Dec 06, 2012 catcarlo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Come una vecchia pubblicità di una grappa, un romanzo dal cuore molto bello, ma con una testa ed una coda non del tutto convincenti. All’inizio, la puntigliosa descrizione del progetto di spionaggio antisovietico risulta in molti tratti macchinosa: poi Leonard incontra Maria ed iniziano duecento pagine travolgenti come la storia d’amore tra i due personaggi. Il loro rapporto cresce pagina per pagina, contrappuntato dal lavoro di lui per il progetto suddetto, senza che ci sia alcuno scadimento di...more

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Sep 02, 2012 Laysee rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Innocent by Ian McEwan is a psychological thriller set in West Berlin, 1954, during the cold war. Leonard Marnham, a 25-year-old British post office technician, was employed by the Americans on a joint British-American surveillance project to install signals in the tunnel they were building to tap the phone lines of the Soviet High Command.

Leonard was well brought up and shy but quickly lost both his physical and political innocence. His love interest was a blond German divorcee, Maria Eckd...more

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Feb 23, 2012 Schmacko rated it 3 of 5 stars

I wish I knew what this 1990 novel was trying to be, because as well written as the prose is, The Innocent feels all over the place. It’s a post-WWII Berlin spy novel, but it’s mostly about politics – not so much between the Russians and the west, but between Germany, the Americans, and the British. It’s also a coming-of-age story, in a way; though the protagonist is 30, he’s still a bit naïve. Finally, there are small turns in the plot that seem unlikely and then seriously improbable, and fille...more I wish I knew what this 1990 novel was trying to be, because as well written as the prose is, The Innocent feels all over the place. It’s a post-WWII Berlin spy novel, but it’s mostly about politics – not so much between the Russians and the west, but between Germany, the Americans, and the British. It’s also a coming-of-age story, in a way; though the protagonist is 30, he’s still a bit naïve. Finally, there are small turns in the plot that seem unlikely and then seriously improbable, and filled with unnecessarily detailed gore. Yet I have to concede that McEwan is an engaging, easy-to-read author.

1955: Leo is an English engineer. He’s sent to Berlin to work on and American/English project of digging under the Berlin Wall to tap into Russian phone lines. As a technician, Leo wires the recording devices. The Americans have a system for decoding secret Communist messages, and Leo is also sent to find out what he can about their methods. While in Berlin on this project, he meets Maria, a beautiful German divorcee with a violent, drunk ex-husband. Leo gets embroiled in romance and love, yadda yadda yadda, etc.

Part of this feels light and satirical, the stuff that Evelyn Waugh turned out early in his career. Yet I’m not sure McEwan has much new or comical to say about American/British relationships, the Cold War, or post-war Berlin. He does a lovely job at describing environments – I could draw a map after his prose. However, his characters are slightly flatter, a bit more like caricatures. Where they go, how they change – their arcs – seem a bit on the far-fetched side.

Other parts of the book, as I’ve said, are supremely macabre and gross. My biggest problem was that certain elements of the plot and of this gore seemed introduced to give the story somewhere to go. In the end, the plot is unexpected, but in a ridiculous, unbelievable way – as if Clive Barker or Stephen King took over a dull espionage story that wasn’t going anywhere on its own.

McEwan, however, does avoid going to typical Mata Hari areas, as he does also steer clear of obvious spy-versus-spy twists. However, in missing these potholes, his somewhat-satirical novel goes to gore and silliness – not the most interesting place to go, unexpected, but also a bit off-kilter.

I have to give McEwan credit for his wonderful ease of writing, but I’m looking forward to Atonement and his other later novels with a feeling he probably got way better than this plot, with more detailed character changes.
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Apr 09, 2010 Mark Gromko rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-fiction

Leonard Marnham is a reserved Englishman, doing electronics work on a surveillance project in Berlin, during the cold-war years when Berlin was divided into sectors, with the French, English, and American sectors walled off from East Germany and the Russian sector of Berlin. That story becomes entangled with a second story, a love affair between Leonard and a beautiful German woman, Maria Eckdorf.

McEwan excels at revealing details of character; in this case, both main characters are deeply flawe...more Leonard Marnham is a reserved Englishman, doing electronics work on a surveillance project in Berlin, during the cold-war years when Berlin was divided into sectors, with the French, English, and American sectors walled off from East Germany and the Russian sector of Berlin. That story becomes entangled with a second story, a love affair between Leonard and a beautiful German woman, Maria Eckdorf.

McEwan excels at revealing details of character; in this case, both main characters are deeply flawed. It is at times uncomfortable, almost painful, to read about Leonard’s reticence, his inability to act, his “innocence,” and to watch that flaw blossom into failures in his relationship with Maria. Similarly, Maria has been damaged by the brutality of her first husband, Otto, and by other brutalities including the war and the police. In his sexual explorations, Leonard mistakes force for an erotic device, playing into Maria’s greatest vulnerability. That mistake changes, but does not undo, their relationship.

On the night of their engagement, Otto has stolen into their apartment and is passed out – drunk – in the closet while Leonard and Maria begin to entertain one another in bed. Leonard fails to take control of the situation, so that by the time Otto comes to, it is too late. Otto is practiced at violence, where Leonard is not. In the fight that follows, Maria and Leonard kill Otto. Although it is in self defense, and by mistake, Otto is nonetheless dead, and in their apartment. Maria feels they must not go to the police, and so they develop a plan to dispose of the body. The plan succeeds, in a bizarre and unintended way. But Leonard is so shaken by these events, which have become entangled with his surveillance work, that he uses his military reassignment as an opportunity to escape from Maria.

The final chapter leaves me full of wonder and doubt. Thirty years later, a letter reaches Leonard, from Maria. It holds open the possibility that love, or something like love, might survive. Leonard, still innocent, decides to pursue that possibility, and McEwan leaves it open ended – possible that something loving and good might still enrich the lives of these two deeply flawed characters.(less)

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Apr 05, 2010 Margaret rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-books, thriller-mystery-suspense

First, this is a terrific audio / reader performance by John Franklyn-Robbins, who is called upon to use British, American, and German accents in this novel, which takes place in mid-50's, post-war Berlin. His reading held me gripped. That said, I'm not as taken with the actual story - a young, naive man (the apparent "Innocent" of the novel) arrives in Berlin to take a civilian job related to a joint espionage project of the West versus the Soviet Union. This is before the wall was built, and s...more

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Dec 27, 2010 Lauren rated it 5 of 5 stars

I love-love-love Ian McEwan, and I'm going to remember this holiday season as the time I "rediscovered" Ian McEwan. I read a lot of books by him a few years ago, but not ALL of his books. And I read everything new he publishes. But I ended up reading this book rather inadvertently. It just came out on the Kindle in December, and I stumbled across it and "preordered" it thinking that it was a new publication -- only to later discover that he had written it in '89 and it was only the Kindle versio...more I love-love-love Ian McEwan, and I'm going to remember this holiday season as the time I "rediscovered" Ian McEwan. I read a lot of books by him a few years ago, but not ALL of his books. And I read everything new he publishes. But I ended up reading this book rather inadvertently. It just came out on the Kindle in December, and I stumbled across it and "preordered" it thinking that it was a new publication -- only to later discover that he had written it in '89 and it was only the Kindle version that was new. Well, I was happy to discover a vintage McEwan that I ended up thoroughly enjoying. Like all books by McEwan that I have read, "The Innocent" was perfectly written style-wise *and* had a fascinating plot on top of that. I don't ask for plot usually -- or not jaw-dropping plots like his at least -- but McEwan always comes through with literary writing that has great characters, nuanced descriptions of situations and emotions, themes that give you pause for thought, and plots and plot twists that keep the pages turning.

Rough description: The novel is an espionage novel based on an actual event in Berlin during the Cold War. The espionage aspect is the backdrop for a personal drama, but personal and public do intersect to a very interesting end. Disclaimer: The book is not for the faint of heart, as there is some seriously gruesome stuff in here!

Reflection on why I haven't read all of McEwan's novels: It's funny, given how much I like him, that I haven't read everything by him (I'm now on my 8th book by him, but there are a couple more that I haven't read). But I think the reason is that I like him so much that I'm almost afraid to read his very earliest fiction because I'm afraid it will disappoint... And I can't say that I have uniformly loved everything I have read by him, and so, I have reason to be a bit wary. That said, I am now planning to fill in the holes, because after rooting around unsuccessfully for something to read after the high of finishing "The Corrections," I realize that I just want to sink into more amazing writing like McEwan's, and fortunately there are a few more novels out there by him that I haven't read!

All time favorite McEwan is "Atonement," which was also my introduction to him...(less)

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Jan 19, 2011 cam rated it 4 of 5 stars

having now read a handful of his novels, i find ian mcewan to be masterful. he moves between and among fiction genres adeptly and with supreme confidence, resulting in a widely varied catalog united under his accessibly intelligent prose and innate sense of character and voice.

the innocent is billed as a suspense novel; a thriller. i found it both thrilling and suspenseful. and yet, owing to mcewan's emotional and psychological engagement of his protagonist, it is a more fulfilling read than yo...more

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Jul 24, 2007 Sean rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

McEwan does the Cold War thriller. An excellent read by one of the best living English language authors. And for the record, I had sufficient testosterone to get through, in one go, the gut-wrenching scene located amidships. It was graphic, but don't let the namby-pamby reviewers telling you they had to set down the book, overcome by revulsion and fear as they were, steer you in the wrong direction. To them I say, there's always Maeve Binchy.

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Apr 01, 2013 Jonny Mott rated it 4 of 5 stars

Because of the description in the blurb of it 'crackling with suspense' and being a 'spy novel' I was expecting something rather different. It's a really great bit of McEwan with his trademark socially awkward protagonist, but it does take a little while to get going. It's best to go in to it expecting a story about relationships - friendships, romantic relationships, and a very extreme example of the difficulties of the work/life balance!

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Aug 31, 2009 Ann rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book you think you're starting is utterly different from the book you finish. That is a compliment. First half is a Cold War thriller written by a more reserved John le Carre, second half is a black comedy of the most high-macabre, queasily tense variety. The Innocent doesn't quite reach the (ridiculously high) bar set by Amsterdam, and part of me misses the sustained sensitivity of books like Saturday (what? I liked it.), but there is plenty of the fine-grained observation we know and love...more

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Aug 16, 2009 Guy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Na The Comfort Of Strangers, The Cement Garden en The Daydreamer al het vierde uitstekende boek van McEwan dat ik de voorbije maanden in handen kreeg. The Innocent start aanvankelijk als iets dat John Le Carré en Graham Greene samen hadden kunnen schrijven als ze Steven Soderbergh’s The Good German gezien hadden: een vrij conventionele spionageroman in het naoorlogse Berlijn, waar Britten en Amerikanen het gemunt hebben op De Rus en diens geheimen. Er komt ook een love affair bij kijken, en natu...more

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Sep 19, 2012 Marge rated it 4 of 5 stars

Another favorite author - Ian McEwan. And he did not disappoint with this book.

He writes stories that start mellow enough to make one feel that you are reading a good-feel book. He is stickler for details, describing the characters with precision that you actually form a picture, and probably an accurate one, in your mind. It's not just the characters, it's also the description of places, inanimate objects, events that will make you feel that you are not only reading but you're also seeing in y...more

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Jun 13, 2009 Nathan Hobby rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: britain, read-in-2008

Graham Greene-ish. A 25 year old British man who has lived with his parents up until now is sent to work on a secret tunnel in 1950s Berlin, a joint project between the British and Americans. He falls in love with a divorced German woman who introduces him to sex and love. Their relationship is threatened first when he rapes her (having tasted power and wanting more of it) and again when her ex-husband turns up and he feels pressured to be the strong man he has never been. The prose only sometim...more

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Nov 07, 2010 Revti Gupta rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: flight-reads

The rather misleading blurb for this book calls it a "psychological thriller", but I counted on the "thriller" part being an exaggeration by an overenthusiastic copywriter.
The book a terrific flight read for those who like their "psychological thrillers" heavy on the psychology and low on the thrills. Don't be put off by the Cold War setting, Leonard Marnham is a character that could walk through the pages of any contemporary McEwan book- complete with awkwardness, uncertainties, and glorious o...more

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Aug 28, 2010 Slávek Rydval rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2010, british-authors

Jméno Ian McEwan jsem již párkrát zaslechl, ale protože dávám přednost irským autorům před těmi ostrovními, nechával jsem jej bez povšimnutí. Až náhoda způsobila, že chtěv si pořídit nějaké mapy, zakoupil jsem i čerstvě vydaný překlad románu Nevinný (The Innocent, orig. 1989).

Asi nejvíc mě na knize lákal popis poválečného Berlína ještě před postavením proslavené zdi. To ostatní, tedy vyhloubení tunelu do sovětské okupační zóny kvůli odposlouchávání telefonních hovorů a šifrovaných zpráv, tomu dá...more Jméno Ian McEwan jsem již párkrát zaslechl, ale protože dávám přednost irským autorům před těmi ostrovními, nechával jsem jej bez povšimnutí. Až náhoda způsobila, že chtěv si pořídit nějaké mapy, zakoupil jsem i čerstvě vydaný překlad románu Nevinný (The Innocent, orig. 1989).

Asi nejvíc mě na knize lákal popis poválečného Berlína ještě před postavením proslavené zdi. To ostatní, tedy vyhloubení tunelu do sovětské okupační zóny kvůli odposlouchávání telefonních hovorů a šifrovaných zpráv, tomu dávalo špionážní nádech. Hlavní postavy románu jsem pak bral pouze jako vypravěče příběhu na pozadí. Ale nakonec to bylo celé jinak.

Hlavní linie vyprávění je založená na mladém Leonardu, který jakožto britský technik přijíždí pomáhat s odposlechy. V Berlíně se seznámí s půvabnou Marií, do které se zamiluje. Ta jeho city opětuje a tak nebrání nic tomu, aby spolu žili šťastně až do smrti. Ne, kecám. Nejde o žádnou červenou knihovnu. Jejich vztah dostává pár trhlin, které se zkraje zacelí (i když…). Tedy až na tu poslední, která se jejich pak jejich životy vleče bez možnosti vrátit se zpět.

Upozornění: následující dva odstavce sice nevyzrazuje rozuzlení knihy, ale obecně poodkrývají události, které se stanou. Můžete tedy být na ně připraveni a při čtení čekat, kdy se stanou a co jsou vlastně zač. Mohlo by vám to ale zkazit pocity ze čtení.

Mariina zpověď, kterou Leonardovi po letech nabízí, ukazuje, jak moc oba ztratili. Hlavně Leonard, který byl jejich vztahem značně zmítán. Místy se zdá, že Marie byla vypočítavá mrcha/blbá kráva (nehodící se škrtněte). Ale není to tak černobílé. V každém případě je v jejích slovech něco, co mi zabraňuje jí věřit. A je to něco, co prohlubuje depresi z promarněných životů, které mohly (ale nemusely) být prožity úplně jinak.

Název románu má v češtině tu výhodu, že odpovídá hned třem významům. Leonard je panic (Innocent). Je to také životem nezkušený, naivní mladík (a vlastně to, jak to nakonec skončí, je především vinou jeho nevyzrálosti). V závěru knihy si pak sám Leonard pohrává s významem nevinný ve smyslu "not guilty".

Pokud se vrátím k hlavnímu důvodu, proč jsem knihu začal číst, tak vězte, že se o životě v Berlíně padesátých let minulého století dozvíte mnoho drobných střípků. Čekal bych sice více, ale i to, co autor nabízí, napomáhá udělat si vlastní obrázek. Co se tajné operace týče, beru ji jen jako pomocný prvek, který určoval důvod pobytu Leonarda v Berlíně. Nečekejte, že byste se dozvěděli něco ze zákulisí CIA nebo SIS (MI6). Už třeba popis, jak Leonard získává prověrky na vyšší stupeň bezpečnosti, je směšný.

S hodnocením mám problém. Kniha v první půlce byla místy až zbytečně rozvláčná, ale to, co Ian McEwan provedl na konci, to na mě silně zapůsobilo. Po dočtení jsem si říkal, že je to skvělá kniha, ale asi se k ní již nebudu chtít vrátit. Teď už vím, budu.(less)

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Sep 06, 2010 Tatiana rated it 3 of 5 stars

One of McEwan's obvious trick is at the heart of the intrigue. how a detail can change your life forever? (see Chesil Beach, Saturday, Atonement among others)
like other of his earlier novels, the situation gets really grim, though for some readers from the Waterstones bookclub definitely funny).
What I liked about the Innocent is the psychological portrayal of his evolution, though he is not totally sympathetic to my eyes. The love story is touching, of course, but the ending is all the stronger...more

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Nov 08, 2012 Ranjana Gupta rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Innocent in the book is a 25 year old Briton, Leonard Marnham, who is sent to post war Berlin to work on an Anglo-american project, that involves digging a tunnel and equipping it with radios that can tap into Russian lines. In the afterword, McEwan tells us that the tunnel and the tapping did happen and except for one character, all the other characters are fictitious. But, they are well-sketched with hidden aspects that surprise you from time to time and nowhere more than at the end.

So, Ma...more The Innocent in the book is a 25 year old Briton, Leonard Marnham, who is sent to post war Berlin to work on an Anglo-american project, that involves digging a tunnel and equipping it with radios that can tap into Russian lines. In the afterword, McEwan tells us that the tunnel and the tapping did happen and except for one character, all the other characters are fictitious. But, they are well-sketched with hidden aspects that surprise you from time to time and nowhere more than at the end.

So, Markham comes to Berlin. He used to live at home in Tottenham with his parents and to him, this job is the first flight of independence and adulthood. when we see him initially, he is exploring Berlin and his new apartment. He feels mature and wise beyond his years. Unfortunately, for him as the story progresses, you watch with some amusement and some dismay, how naive he actually is. As Maria, the beautiful German divorcee (older to him by five years) he falls in love with, tells him in a playful but honest manner that he is such "an innocent."

He is a shy, gentle man, who likes to think that he is confident. He wants to start an affair with Maria but he's never had one before. She approaches him first but even then he agonizes over the first note that he writes to her, suggesting a meeting. She initiates him into the world of physical relationship. He is tentative at first but slowly begins to think that he has the power. As you read about these thoughts of power, you realize he is delusional because he is so simple. But he learns and how.

And one terrible evening, which was supposed to be the start of a wonderful, happy new life for him, he loses his innocence finally. Then, we see him quickly adapt to the unexpected volleys that fate throws at him and though he does not know it yet, his innocence had won him friends he thought he had lost.

We live most in Leonard's head in the book but we also get glimpses into Maria's. She is a woman, practically alone in the post-war world, seeking security and comfort of the mundane. She is drawn to Leonard because of his innocence - a precious commodity in her world. When that is threatened, she is lost, before learning to trust again. Even when we do not see things from her POV directly, McEwan uses evocative descriptions of movements and routine to tell us what she feels.

Most other characters seem rather caricaturish, which I had not expected of McEwan but since they are mostly fleeting, I did not mind them so much.

This seems like a straightforward story. Trust me, it is not. There is a surprise at the end, when one of the characters I barely paid any attention to, shoots into startling focus.

Not as good as "The Atonement" but definitely worth a read.(less)

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May 29, 2009 Beverly rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: audio, spy, literary, historical-novel, british

Leonard Marnham, a young British electronics technician, is sent to Berlin in the mid-fifties to work on an elaborate Soviet spy operation. A virgin, he meets a German lover, Maria; their affair leads to a gruesome and graphically described murder. There is a coda set in 1987 Berlin where the horrors of the past are laid to rest.

The atmosphere of post-war Berlin is described perfectly. The atmosphere of impending doom throughout the novel is palpable. Although Leonard starts out innocent and en...more

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Jan 19, 2011 Frank rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook

Bello questo libro con le sue tensioni legate a vicende di spionaggio e con la sua storia romantica.
Non una vera spy story, ma comunque una vicenda con molta suspence.
Se si riesce ad immaginare come poteva essere la vita nella Berlino degli anni cinquanta, pochi anni prima della costruzione del muro, si entra in un contesto pericoloso dove i dubbi e i sospetti sono all’ordine del giorno e dove nessuno può mai sentirsi sicuro al cento per cento.
E’ in questo contesto che nascono legami più o meno...more

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Apr 25, 2013 Simona rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Caro S.gr McEwan,
devo ammettere che dopo un inizio difficoltoso, ho adorato il suo libro in cui ha dimostrato anche questa volta il suo grande talento.
Ho amato tutto di questo libro. Ho amato l'ambientazione Berlinese, una Berlino distrutta a 10 anni dalla Seconda Guerra Mondiale,una Berlino che cerca di ricostruirsi dopo le macerie e ritrovare la sua anima di città moderna e cosmopolita. Ho amato il personaggio di Leonard, così ingenuo e innocente (non è un caso che il titolo originale sia "Th...more

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Jul 10, 2012 Arwen56 rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romanzi

Questo romanzo l’ho letto nel 1997. Poiché dubito molto di acquistare altro di lui, oltre ai tre libri che già possiedo, tanto per chiudere il discorso, dato che mi è recentemente capitato di occuparmene, riassumo in brevi, riduttive e trascurabili note, peraltro già riportate altrove, quel che ne ho pensato.

Non mi ha per nulla entusiasmato. I personaggi sono assai poco delineati, spesso agiscono in contrasto evidente con le caratteristiche che sono loro state precedentemente attribuite, la stor...more

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Mar 07, 2013 Stuart rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: espionage, fiction, europe, historical-fiction, thriller

A deeply dysfunctional love story in the guise of a Cold War spy thriller, "The Innocent" is a mediocre psychological drama told by an exceptional writer. It races through its brief 200 pages, which makes it easier to overlook it's occasional dull moments. It also helps to be a fan of Ian McEwan, which I am, because it doesn't satisfy on any genre levels. Rather, McEwan skirts the plot points and focuses on getting you inside the heads of his flawed, often dislikable, yet entirely believable cha...more

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Sep 22, 2011 Patrick McCoy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-fiction

I recently read one of Ian McEwen’s earlier novels, The Innocent, and it seems to reflect some of the common trends of McEwan's writing. It is the story of a British intelligence officer who is involved in a spying project based on a real life project, which McEwan has meticulously researched to give proper background details to the story. There’s a sort of looking back that often happens in McEwan’s work-books like Atonement and On Chesil Beach for example. I was also reminded of those two work...more

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Feb 19, 2010 F.R. rated it 4 of 5 stars

A young virginal Englishman is sent to cold war Berlin to work on a top secret operation. There is layer after layer of security so he is never sure how far his task goes, but he takes solace in the arms of a German lady he meets – until one night something dreadful happens.

At first I thought this was an unsatisfying concoction, a literary novel which wanted to be a thriller but was too literary to really thrill. However the tension slowly builds until you are turning the pages in-between biting...more

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Nov 16, 2010 Luci rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 01, 2012 zespri rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book. In fact I was so absorbed in the story that I wanted to read it in one sitting, but time just does not allow for that luxury!

The story is based on Operation Gold, which I had never heard about until reading this book. A young innocent englishman is thrown into this world of intrigue and secrets, and slowly becomes more and more drawn into a situation from which he has to extricate himself. And at a terrible cost. I kept wanting to say to him - don't be so stupid - which I gue...more

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Jun 01, 2013 Chadwick rated it 4 of 5 stars

Very good book, although a bit slow to get going like I find most McEwan books. Still, he takes great pains to create characters who are complex, real, and relatable in some way, which invariably makes him an intellectually and emotionally satisfying storyteller. I knew nothing of this book picking it up and it took two separate tries to make it to the scene that essentially defines the book. Once you get there, the shock and graphic detail is enough to completely change what you think about The...more

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About Ian McEwan

Ian McEwan was born on 21 June 1948 in Aldershot, England. He studied at the University of Sussex, where he received a BA degree in English Literature in 1970. He received his MA degree in English Literature at the University of East Anglia.

McEwan's works have earned him worldwide critical acclaim. He won the Somerset Maugham Award in 1976 for his first collection of short stories First Love, Last...more

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