The Innocent (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
At a glance:
- Author: Ian McEwan
- First Published: 1990
- Type of Work: Novel
- Time of Work: 1955-1956, 1987
- Setting: Berlin and London
- Principal Characters: Leonard Marnham, Maria Eckdorf, Bob Glass, Gito Eckdorf, John Macnamee, George Blake
- Genres: Long fiction
- Subjects: Freedom, Communism or communists, Politics, Love or romance, Sex or sexuality, Murder or homicide, Science or scientists, Guilt, Rape, Violence, London, Espionage or spies, Diplomacy or diplomats, Berlin, Telephones, Tunnels
- Locales: London, England, Berlin, Germany
Ian McEwan has long been considered one of the best of the English novelists born after World War II, but his first three novels and two collections of short stories have not brought him the widespread recognition he deserves. With The lnnocent, his most accessible novel to date, that neglect may change. The Cement Garden (1978), The Comfort of Strangers (1981), and The Child in Time (1987) are dark, often depressing, contemplations of innocence, freedom, sex, violence, guilt, and responsibility. The Innocent takes all these themes and interweaves them...
[The entire page is 2412 words long]
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