Interesantísima novela que se apoya en algo que no conocía

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The Innocent is a psychological thriller set in Berlin in 1954/55 as the Cold War starts to get warmer in the city. For much of the book, there is no thriller element, with the tale an in-depth character study of a naïve British telephone engineer and a German divorcee who works for the British Army, and the anatomy of their relationship. Leonard and Maria meet and fall in love, but their insecurities and circumstances mean their love affair does not run as a smoothly as it might. McEwan is very good at excavating the psychology of their interactions and how ill-judged words and actions have consequences that can sour their friendship. He also does a nice job of portraying the distrust and paranoia of supposed allies as Leonard works of a top-secret intelligence project shared between the Americans and British. It is only towards the end of the tale that Leonard and Maria find themselves in a very difficult predicament and the thriller part kicks in – some of which is not for the faint-hearted – and they are not just in danger, but also the top-secret work Leonard has been conducting, spying on the Russians via a tunnel dug under their sector (based on a true case undertaken by American and British forces). McEwan wraps up the tale nicely, but it is the fraught love affair and loss of innocence that remains after the story closes. An intense tale of love and disaster, with a strong sense of characters, place and time.

All’inizio sembra di entrare dentro a un romanzo di genere (spie, servizi segreti) con parallela storia d’amore.
La vicenda è a suo modo semplice con pochi elementi cruciali cuciti assieme dalla prosa sempre chirurgica (letteralmente) e facile da seguire (per quanto qui un po’ sotto le righe) di McEwan.

Però molto poco coinvolgente, personaggi piatti e ingenui, qualche punto inverosimile.
E non aggiunge troppo di nuovo all’idea che abbiamo della Berlino anni ’50.

Fosse l’opera di uno sconosciuto passerebbe mediamente inosservata.
Autore altalenante. [58/100]

Этот роман, про любовь и шпионаж в послевоенном Берлине, я сейчас, в военном апреле 2022, перечитывала.

Странно, когда смотришь на книгу и из нового возраста, и из запредельно другой ситуации.

Раньше было интересно в принципе скорей про любовную линию (двадцатипятилетний дылда-англичанин и разведённая красавица-немка), и про шпионскую (копать туннели, ставить дешифраторы, никому об этом не говорить!)

Теперь, из нового возраста, зачаровывают детали этого их романа, запахи, ощущения, зубная щётка, стылая спальня. Про шпионов теперь становится интереснее, как вообще организовать всё так, чтоб не говорить лишнего, - и как он происходит, провал секретной операции, не в планах, а на самом деле, - гораздо, гораздо обиднее.

Из другой ситуации - ради чего, собственно, перечитывать и полезла, - вот это острое ощущение разрушенных берлинских домов, хотя прошло уже 10 лет с конца войны: стены открытых взрывами комнат напоказ, куски плиточной облицовки или обоев, призрачные образы разрушенных жизней.
Стройка с аккуратно сложенными кирпичами от предыдущих строений; их можно будет использовать снова. Угрожающие мужики в пивной, про которых тебе в этом гвалте никогда до конца не понятно, обсуждают они цены на пиво и хреновый урожай морковки, или вспоминают свои подвиги в минувшие кровожадные, военные времена. Возможность потом рассказывать в далёком Лондоне, как страшно в этом диком Берлине, где Советы выкрадывают людей и увозят в Восточный сектор.
Стена, наконец.

Из самого прекрасного и полного надежды - конец, когда ещё тридцать лет спустя жизнь это всё пережевала, и город, и люди совсем другие.

Короче, ещё одна книга, говорящая со мной про то, что происходит сейчас; в общем-то, скорей утешительная. И вообще - никогда не понимала и не понимаю сейчас, как Макьюэн это делает. Мне приходится напоминать себе, что это все-таки художественное произведение с допусками и выдумкой, а не самая что ни на есть святая правда. Но у него так везде, очень его люблю.

A cover with the Brandenberg gate, set in mid-1950's Berlin, cameos by one George Blake with the Berlin Tunnel prominently featuring, then yes this was always going to be up my Strasse.

The story includes espionage, the Cold War interplay between the Americans and the British, the Berlin Tunnel. It almost feels like a travelogue with its descriptions of a Berlin still suffering the effects of World War 2. This is not your traditional spy tale though, the hero is no James Bond, though he did win my sympathy yet there is a macabre twist, and because I do not want to lead you down Spoilerstrasse I will say no more.

Yes, this is literary, McEwan is a fine writer, I especially enjoyed how he lets us into Markham's mind to hear his thoughts, his worries, his joy, and his fears. Tim Shipman of the Sunday Times, in his list of the top 125 spy writers for Spybrary (google it) places McEwan at #77. Shipman explains that McEwan would have featured higher up the list had he written more spy novels.

He wrote two, Sweet Tooth is the other, so I need to get my hands on that schnell!

An early work and it shows. This was hard to see as anything but a movie plot. A pretty good one, for a thriller. Fascinating factual underpinnings as well.

Oh, la wawena.

Downright dogshit of a book

to expand on my initial reaction: what the fuck was this shit. the good parts weren't original and the original parts weren't particularly original either. despite its backdrop of Berlin at one of the most interesting periods in its history, it wanders off in increasingly predictable directions with its boring and obnoxious protagonist and shallow secondary characters. (the gore chapter makes it seem like McEwan realised this too...)

Excessive descriptions of telephone circuitry and outlandishly ridiculous murder

Hmmm... Looks like either I had too much expectation from the book or the book indeed was not upto McEwan's standards.

The story seemed to drag a little although it could have been an absolute racer with its setting of spying, espionage and clandestine decryptions. The story reeked of some inconsequential details, which can advance a story if used in moderation, but the over-usage here only tamed the rhythm. I also found the central character, Leonard, way too confused, not as much owing to his innocence as to his lack of focus.

It did contain a few good pages but just not enough to save the book.

interesanta. acum caut si filmul (am citit ca ecranizarea e chiar reusita) cu Anthony Hopkins, Isabella Rossellini si Campbell Scott.

It is an odd book and an odd story, with a beautifully written relationship shaped by its events.