The Innocents
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4.0 • 3 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Winner of the Costa First Novel Award, the National Jewish Book Award for Fiction, the Sami Rohr Prize and the Betty Trask Award; longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction
At the age of twenty-eight, Adam is newly engaged to Rachel, his girlfriend of twelve years, and can see a brilliant future unfolding before him: partnership in his father-in-law’s legal firm, holidays with their extended families on the Red Sea, evenings out with the friends they’ve known since childhood in the well-heeled London neighbourhood they’ve shared since birth. It’s a perfect match: sanctioned by both their families, it’s the fulfillment of the desires and expectations of everyone Adam knows and loves.
But then Rachel’s reckless, beautiful cousin returns from New York to the family fold. Ellie represents everything that Adam has tried to avoid—and everything that is missing from his world. Adam is torn between duty and temptation, security and exhilaration, and must make a choice that will break either one heart or many.
In her dazzling recasting of Edith Wharton’s classic novel The Age of Innocence, Francesca Segal brilliantly explores the age-old conflicts between responsibility and passion, loyalty and freedom, tradition and independence. The Innocents portrays modern-day Jewish life with wit, warmth and empathy, guiding us effortlessly through a contemporary cultural milieu whose social rules are just as claustrophobic as those of nineteenth-century New York.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Segal's debut novel is an example of how one can be influenced by great writers who've come before yet not be trapped by them. Nice, reliable Adam is engaged to Rachel, the perfect Jewish girl, in a closely knit North West London Jewish community. But Rachel's free-spirited cousin Ellie, back from a scandalous time in the U.S., makes him feel not so nice and not so reliable. He falls for Ellie, but the machinations of both his fianc e and his community create obstacles to his desires. Inspired by The Age of Innocence, Segal's book is warmer, funnier, and paints a more dynamic and human portrait of a functional community that is a wonderful juxtaposition to Wharton's cold social strata in Gilded Age New York. Adam is just as much of a coward as Newland Archer, more in love with the idea of rebellion than actually capable of committing the act. Rachel echoes May Welland's passive aggressiveness, yet goes after what she wants with more courage when faced with tough choices. Ellie is far more self-aware and less of a victim than Ellen Olenska, which makes her more interesting and sympathetic. The real hero of the book is Lawrence, Adam's father-in-law, a man who deeply loves his family, appreciates the community, utilizes his "quiet faith," and is profoundly grateful for his life. The book is full of delightful moments, such as Lawrence's comment, "Any Jewish holiday can be described the same way. They tried to kill us. They failed. Let's eat." Segal took the theme of a well-known novel and made it her own. Lively and entertaining.
