The Innocents

By: Francesca Segal

Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor

"It is impossible to resist this novel's wit, grace, and charm." --Lauren Groff, author of The Monsters of Templeton and Arcadia

A smart and slyly funny tale of love, temptation, confusion, and commitment; a triumphant and beautifully executed recasting of Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence.

Newly engaged and unthinkingly self-satisfied, twenty-eight-year-old Adam Newman is the prize catch of Temple Fortune, a small, tight-knit Jewish suburb of London. He has been dating Rachel Gilbert since they were both sixteen and now, to the relief and happiness of the entire Gilbert family, they are finally to marry. To Adam, Rachel embodies the highest values of Temple Fortune; she is innocent, conventional, and entirely secure in her community--a place in which everyone still knows the whereabouts of their nursery school classmates. Marrying Rachel will cement Adam's role in a warm, inclusive family he loves.

But as the vast machinery of the wedding gathers momentum, Adam feels the first faint touches of claustrophobia, and when Rachel's younger cousin Ellie Schneider moves home from New York, she unsettles Adam more than he'd care to admit. Ellie--beautiful, vulnerable, and fiercely independent--offers a liberation that he hadn't known existed: a freedom from the loving interference and frustrating parochialism of North West London. Adam finds himself questioning everything, suddenly torn between security and exhilaration, tradition and independence. What might he be missing by staying close to home?

Critic reviews

"It is impossible to resist this novel's wit, grace, and charm."—Lauren Groff, author of The Monsters of Templeton and Arcadia

"With understated wit, empathy and a cinematic eye of detail, Segal brings alive a host of characters so robust that you can easily imagine them onscreen... A winning debut novel."—People

"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."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A crafty homage... [Segal] writes with engaging warmth."—Entertainment Weekly, Grade: B+

"Readers who enjoy fast-paced, gently satirical literary novels, fans of Allegra Goodman, and book group participants will find a Shabbat dinner's worth of noshing in this accomplished debut novel."—Library Journal

"An emotionally and intellectually astute debut."—Kirkus

"[A] delightful first novel... wise, witty and observant."—The London Times

"Segal writes with an understated elegance."—The Observer (UK)

"The Innocents is written with wisdom and deliciously subtle wit... This is a wonderfully readable novel: elegant, accomplished, and romantic."—André Aciman, author of Out of Egypt, Call Me by Your Name, and Alibis

"A moving, funny, richly drawn story... Full of real pleasures and unexpected wisdom, this book sweeps you along."—Esther Freud, author of Love Falls and Lucky Break

Wow

I couldn't quit listening .. I had to know what would happen next. It it me was like seeing inside the mind of a man. A man who had such deep misguided feelings . I got angry at him several times. I also got so angry at the women. I could see some things unfolding the emotions that let their paths but I could not grasp how one lets their emotions go so wild. I wanted their common sense to wake up but alas when love and sex is involved things rarely go as they should ..

Don't Waste Your Time

Would you try another book from Francesca Segal and/or Rosalyn Landor?

Probably Not

Has The Innocents turned you off from other books in this genre?

No. But this book was BORING.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Male voices were awful. Hebrew pronunciation was often dreadful.

What character would you cut from The Innocents?

Jasper

Any additional comments?

Can't believe this was published.