The Innocent

This 1989 novel is set in postwar Berlin, where a joint U.S.-British team is constructing a tunnel to spy on the Russians on the other side of the divided city. Leonard Marnham, a young British technician, finds himself deeply embroiled in the tunnel project, and deeply involved with Maria, with whom he falls in love. British narrator John Franklyn-Robbins is particularly good at delivering dialogue, capturing the rhythms and nuances skillfully. He not only handles Marnham's character well, he also does a convincing American accent for Marnham's enigmatic friend, Bob Glass. His pacing is somewhat languid, however, and the brief novel unfolds more slowly than it should. D.B. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine