What do readers think of The Innocents by Francesca Segal? Write your own review.

The Innocents shows meticulous research, and good grammar (always a sticking point for me). The second element I look for – strong vocabulary and interesting characters. While I thought The Innocents beautifully written, for me at least one character has to be one I can “know” and care about. I must hear him or her speaking to me from the pages and make me a little anxious to discover the how and when and why of that character’s life. Then I can’t stop turning page after page! I did not find that character here. I look forward to Segals’s next book and finding a "live" character and all that will make me love it.

The story holds some complex issues for adults who have narrowed their life choices. Expectations prove to be the norm for all the characters but one. The renegade cousin Ellie, although accepted due to circumstances beyond her control, is never totally a welcome family member. The participants all seem to teeter just on the brink of "social" failure only to find their way again. Need, want, desire and dreams all appear in this novel. Who arrives at their personal destination can only be determined by each individual but continually judged by all.

The story which takes place in a close-knit Jewish community in London is a story of leaving the arms of the extended family and the discovery of the world outside. When I read it, I felt that the author had lived it; or at least something like it. The voices felt very real. I recommend it.

The Innocents is a lovely debut novel set in a Jewish community in London that explores the choices we make and the cost of those choices. Told from the point of view of Adam, who believes he has everything he ever wanted until he sees possibilities that he never knew were there. It shows us his totally supportive family and community as he realizes that the other side of comfort and love is constraint and confinement. He must decide what kind of man he chooses to be. Written with a light touch of humor, this is a delightful book - highly recommended.

This book has an interesting storyline, but there is so much extraneous material in it that it became a chore to get through it. The plot intrigued me, but I just couldn't get through the entire thing because of how things moved so slowly.

This book peaked my interest by the second chapter and as I read I thought this might be a good book for my book group. Unfortunately midway through part 2 I began to doubt that this book would be a good book group book. Reading part 3 sealed the deal. Midway through part 2 the author throws in a family crisis which was vaguely foreshadowed on page 18, but never really explored. Part 3 was just a quick tying together of loose ends. I gave the book a 3 because I thought the writing was quite good and I found myself caring about the characters. Unfortunately the plot lines strayed and weakened. With additional editing and rewriting I would say that this book has strong potential.

For me this book was a slow starter. I think it was because I did not attach to the characters that much and that was a problem throughout for me. I enjoyed reading about the Jewish culture, but the characters kind of annoyed me. It was an interesting concept to take a classic and put it in today's world...I finished it, I didn't dislike it, but not one of my favorites.

I enjoyed reading about different Jewish traditions and the different perspective of these traditions from the old and young. I really felt that the characters in the book were weak, I couldn't get an image in my mind of who they were and what they looked like. I feel this book could be good for book clubs that enjoy reading about different cultures and traditions. This was a book I could put down and then later have a hard time picking up.