Innocence

by Kathleen Tessaro

Some dreams never die.
It's 1986 and eighteen-year-old Evie dreams of being an actress. Leaving her hometown of Eden, Ohio, for the first time, she's heading to London to study drama. Together with fellow students Imogene (a born-again Laura Ashley poster child and frustrated virgin) and Robbie (a native New Yorker, budding bohemian, and very much not a virgin), Evie's flung into a thrilling new world: a world illuminated by the glamorous, outrageous Robbie. Together, anything's possible.

But then life, and love, intervene. And everything changes.

Fifteen years later, Evie's a single mother teaching drama to night students and living with the eccentric Bunny in her house of artistic renters. Robbie's gone now, killed in a car accident. And Evie's doing her best to forget the past, as well as the dreams they once both shared.

Then an old friendship comes back to haunt Evie. Literally. And suddenly everything is about to change again.

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Adult, British Literature, London

384 pages, Paperback

First published July 10, 2005

About the author

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kathleen attended the University of Pittsburgh before entering the drama program of Carnegie Mellon University. In the middle of her sophomore year, she went to study in London for three months and stayed for the next twenty-three years. She began writing at the suggestion of a friend and was an early member of the Wimpole Street Writer’s Workshop. Her debut novel, Elegance, became a bestseller in hardback and paperback. All of Kathleen's novels (Elegance, Innocence, The Flirt, The Debutante, The Perfume Collector, and Rare Objects) have been translated into many languages and sold all over the world. She returned to Pittsburgh in 2009, where she now lives with her husband and son.

Reviews

[Stacy · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story started quite promising - woman in her early thirties teaching night reading classes. Then we get a glimpse on her youth dreams of becoming an actress, leaving home in America, coming to London, meeting Robbie. Then appears Evie (the protagonist) has a son, Alex. Then it is youth love story between Evie and Jake, then Robbie's ghost appears, then, then, then...

It seemed pages of totally different and sometimes unconnected events put on the same page without real intention they are leading to something. What makes a great peace of writing great - details. That means every word written has its meaning and appears to be significant in some moment of the story. Here I didn't see even a glimpse of meaningfulness. Just two plot lines of the same woman with some 15 years between. What was even more disturbing is mix of these plot lines, almost every time I struggled to understand which Evie there is now - the young one or the older one.
Well, at the moment I could go on for long on things I didn't like. And the biggest question - why did I pushed to finish this one? It was totally unnecessary, because - was that an ending? If was - whom she stayed with - Jake or Piotr??? The phrase "My husband is having a concert" (or something like that) gave no clue to me at all.

Yes, there could be some bright lessons the author tried to say - like nothing is just an accident. Well, actually that is all. I cannot remember any more.

Totally disappointed.

[Anika · Rating 2 out of 5]

Do you ever read a book and wish that the author had written down what she wanted the book to be about before she started, and then stuck to it? That's what I wish with this book. It starts out promisingly - a woman in her thirties is haunted by her exciting college friend, who seems to be there to tell her of something she has missed in her life, alternating with chapters about them in college. And yet, this becomes almost an afterthought. Is the book about Robbie, the friend, and their friendship? Is it about Evie, the main character, and her career dreams? Her relationships past and present? I'm not saying the book has to decide on one, but by the end you are left feeling like you've been told two thirds of six different stories, none of them satisfying. That's no good.

[Samiha · Rating 1 out of 5]

1)Evie is a sap, no personality or drive. Why on earth was she trying to be a stage actress? By the end, I didn’t really know anything about her personality and the insta-love with Jake was eye-roll worthy

2)Evie and Jake’s relationship was so reminiscent of the relationships portrayed in many ‘New Adult Novels’; rushed, possessive and slightly abusive with a mix of the ‘good girl falls for bad guy’ trope.

3)I didn’t feel like the book committed to any of its devices, not the ghostly element or the jumping between past and present. We needed to spend more time with Evie in the present, especially exploring her current relationships. I would have liked to have seen this reformed Jake that is mentioned in the books for about one page. I would have enjoyed reading about his relationship with Evie now that they're both adults and I wanted to see his reaction to his son.

[Tea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dok sam čitala knjigu, imala sam osjećaj da joj nema kraja. Autorica rastegnula neke detalje koji uopće nisu ni relevantni i tako da nisu ni imali smisla u nekim trenutcima. Knjiga je dobro započela, ali stvarno što dulje čitaš, glavni karakter Evie ti počne ići na živce da moraš samo zaklopiti knjigu i nešto drugo raditi. Nekako najbolja poruka u ovoj knjizi je da uvijek trebaš izabrati prijateljice i na kraju sebe preko nekog dečka kojeg si tek upoznala i već odlučila upropastiti život na neki način.

[Emilyandherlittlepinknotes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kathleen Tessaro writes what I refer to as chic-lit, so far she published three novels, I read the first two Elegance and Innocence, I liked them both. Innocence has one of my favourite cover in the whole chic-lit department.

The guardian refers to Innocence as ‘A wonderful tale of lust, love, life and redemption.‘

I enjoy romantic novels that keep me on the edge, Tessaro style is ultra smart and very edgy.

Narration is organized on a double level: it’s 1987 when Evie Garlick leaves her home in America to study as an actress in London, she met Jack, a struggling rock musician and fell desperately in love (desperately being the relevant concept). Through Evie’s eyes we get to experience an optimistic London full of art and possibilities.

Fast forward to the present day and we discover that Evie’s hopes and aspirations haven’t exactly turned out the way she hoped. As a single mother teaching drama and living with an eccentric old lady and a house full of artistic lodgers, Evie realizes she needs a radical change.

I love the delicacy that Tessaro puts into building insightful characters (second characters play a very important role, Robbie above everyone else) and the bohemienne decadent aura that surrounds them.

“There are no great fanfares for the truly great moments of your life. Just dripping taps and the sound of your own footsteps, walking from one room into another.”

The intensity of this story hooked me from page one, I found myself being really involved into Evie’s life, this is coming-of-age novel for a thirty something, Jake is a fine example of the literary toxic man (rather than boy, read this post here) Evie is a fine young woman struggling not to be self-destructive and eventually succeding.

[Bloodorange · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could not put it down, but somehow it feels strangely forgettable compared to The Debutante - maybe because it was so upliftingly inspirational. It was dark, but a bit forcedly so, apart from Robbie. Robbie was well-written, and puzzling, and raw, and I feel she got a rotten deal being a ghost (literally) in someone's story rather than a protagonist in her own.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit long and melodramatic but I enjoyed reading it

[Laura MacAulay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know there’s more than one talented thirty-something out there wallowing in a dead-end job or expertly sidestepping dating opportunities, haunted by a big old crash-and-burn from her past. If that tune sounds familiar to you, you’ll find Evie Garlick (laugh it up—she knows), the protagonist of Innocence, profoundly relatable. Once an 18-year-old theatre star in the making, rubbing shoulders with the hottest artistic talent in London and partying like a wild child, at 33, she now finds herself dispensing classic literature to cranky old farts in a mildewy basement and resolutely shunning any circumstance that would take her within arm’s reach of dateable men. She’s let one wrong turn—admittedly massive, admittedly traumatic—dictate the course of her life there on out: strictly the straight and narrow for Evie Garlick, thank you very much.

And the crux of the tragedy: she isn’t even aware of it. As she muses near the start of the novel: “Every time I’m close to getting somewhere, I back away from the edge of the cliff. I’ve lost my taste for heights. But I don’t know where or when it happened.”

C’mon, Evie, you’ll find yourself coaxing as her universe attempts, again and again, to offer up something better, something worthy of the raw talent she’s frittering away, of her dormant capacity for passion. And perhaps you’ll feel something stir in protest, in your own boxed-up dreams you’ve shelved away in your attic.

Innocence may have been labeled “chick lit,” thanks in part to Tessaro’s fresh & lean writing style, but folks who are looking for a bit of fun, frivolous reading will find the story’s flavor too bittersweet for their tastes. This isn’t so much rom-com as it is tragicomic drama, studded with literary double entendres and enough symbolism to make an English major swoon. And it is soulful, moving, and memorable, a psychological puzzle whose every piece is finely carved by Tessaro to reveal the full picture of Evie’s trauma and her long, humbling road to becoming the person she most deeply wants to be.

Calling all readers whose youthful innocence has been tainted by failure: this novel will fold around your heart, give it a gentle squeeze, and invite you to step back onto the stage.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy Tessaro's clean story-telling and flow of words. I also have to say that although you "shouldn't judge a book by its cover", her covers are always simple yet intriguing.

This novel had an intricate time table, jumping between past and present from chapter to chapter. Even when you discovered a new secret from Evie's life, Tessaro was able to keep you hanging on until something new was discovered.

A delightful book about how the people in our lives really affect how we live as well as what our future will dictate. Even when a person leaves our life, they leave such an impact and perhaps effect our daily decision making as well.

I highly recommend this book. I don't even think I'd categorize it as chick-lit! Also make sure to read Debutant by Tessaro. These two books are definitely her best.

[Deborah Hill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started it but didn't finish. It was a really well written story with vivid characters but I just couldn't sit through watching them make one bad decision after another. That and I could not identify with any of them. Maybe I'll try it again later when I'm in a different reading mood.

[Avid Series Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Innocence by Kathleen Tessaro is set in London on two contemporary timelines: 1986 and 2001.

Chapters alternate between timelines, starting in 2001. Evie is a single mother, teaching adult education drama and poetry to a handful of seniors. Not the future she dreamed of when she came to London to study acting.

The first thing you should know about Robbie is she's dead (hit and run in New York City). The second thing you should know is we'd lost touch years before that. Not exactly fallen out so much as given up on one another. We no longer saw the world in the same way. She refused to grow up and, at the time, I thought being grown up was a very serious, terribly important business. I'm not so sure now.

In 1986, eighteen-year-old Evie leaves Ohio for London, to study drama. First night in London, Evie stays at the Belle View Hotel and Guesthouse. Boiling hot water steams out of one tap, icy cold from the other. A certain amount of speed and physical endurance is required to wash your face but the reward is a genuine feeling of accomplishment. However, the reality of shared bathroom facilities is another matter.

Next day she starts at the Actors Drama Workshop in North London, also not what she expected from the advertisements (and huge fees). What if I've made a huge, expensive mistake?

Evie becomes close friends (and shares a house) with fellow drama students Robbie and Imogene. Robbie is from New York City, wild and flamboyant, determined to make Evie "loosen up" and stop being so serious. Immediately upon meeting, Robbie insists they drink sidecars and smoke cigarettes (Evie's first). "Let's go sit somewhere where we can pass out in comfort," Robbie suggests.

In 2001, with class over one night, Evie's ready to leave for home when Robbie appears in the doorway. The appearance is so brief, Evie assumes she imagined it, and feels sad. The older you get, the more friends you lose to marriage, children, work; to adulthood.

Evie's home in 2001 is not your average house share. Bunny Gold considers herself more a patron of the arts than a landlord. She rents rooms in her (long-ago stately, now shabby) Georgian house only to artists, dancers, musicians, performers. Evie's current housemates are an opera singer (Allyson) and a musician (Piotr). This is one of the few advantages to shared housing: not all dramas are your own. Plus "the love of her life", her four-year-old son Alex.

In 1986, Robbie bullies Evie into going out on a blind double date to a nightclub, and insists Evie should call herself Raven. It's love at first sight when Evie/Raven meets Jake. She's swept up in his wake as he becomes a popular rock musician. Out of love, she gives up a cherished dream.

June 21, 1991 Evie's world goes topsy-turvy again. She makes a very hard, necessary decision. Back to pursuing acting on her own, the waiting and endless auditions are both tedious and stressful. Then one night (June 21, 1996) she gets the chance to show her talent as an actress. But her life took another turn, yet again, as a result of that night.

If only we could choose which memories we keep and which ones we discard for ever. But instead, the mind clings to events that baffle; watching them, like a movie, over and over. But without the power to choose a different path.

In 2001 Robbie occasionally appears, intent on pushing Evie out of her shell, getting her to take a chance, live again. Evie laments I've lost the knack for social situations; it's like a muscle which, if you don't exercise, shrivels and dies.

When housemate Allyson leaves for Rome, hired by Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Evie understands very well Allyson needs to chase her dreams. I remember what it's like to risk everything - to pick up and leave in pursuit of a dream. It just seems so long ago now; like something that belongs to another age and another woman, far removed from me.

Finally, Evie takes a chance again on love (a relief, for the reader who's seen her pass up so much).

The only problem I have with the book: the title of Part 4, the month Evie goes into labor, cannot be right, based on Alex's birthdate and the night he was conceived. How did it escape notice by an editor?

[Dace Flaumane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a love hate relationship with this one.
The love part comes for the story and story telling, and the characters. I kinda loved how cheesy it was. And had I read this when I was 14, I would have loved it even more.
And here comes the hate part - if you read this as an adult, the timeline issues, the things that just make no sense, the unfinished storylines. That is so incredibly annoying.
But then again - I could not put it down, and stayed up till 2 AM to finish the last chapters
When you choose to read it, be forgiving to the author and keep an open mind - it is much more enjoyable that way

[Salma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy reading for Kathleen, her writing is quite intriguing and expressive. The story-line wasn't as catchy as perhaps 'The Flirt', however the amount of emotion put through the main character, Evie, was for me something I really connected with. Evie is a little bit of me in a way, she's lost in where she wants to go, and she doesn't want to face herself with surprising truths concerning her choices in life. Sometimes she gives into the fact that life is driving her, even though deep down she really is doing what she wants in life.

[GingerOrange · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was surprisingly poignant.

I really liked Evie's character development. The plot was interesting although I'm not a fan of the constant back and forth in time. I'd preferred it if it was structured differently. I loved the writing. I'm not too familiar with classical literature so I might not have gotten ever reference. Nonetheless, this novel had a bit of a heart breaking quality to it. Which felt authentic and very real. I just wished he ending was a little more clear.

In conclusion, I think this book will stay with me for a long time to come.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is confusing because the cover and the statement on the cover did not match the story. I did like the story but the cover made it seem like it was a fun chick lit when it actually had a serious side.

The book goes backwards and forwards through time and is the story of Evie who goes to London to study being an actress. There she meets fellow actress Robbie and the two become best friends.

Fast forward 15 years and Evie is working as a drama teacher and leading a life that is not at all like the life that she could have had with her talent. It is then that Robbie comes back into her life to remind her of what she could have been. The only problem is that Robbie is dead.

[LP · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoughtful and quietly compelling read. The story explores growing up, self-discovery, and finding your voice in a world full of expectations. It’s reflective, a little nostalgic, and beautifully written with moments that really stick with you.

[KL · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed Tessaro's writing style. What I really didn't like was the abuse between Evie and Jake. The whole Robbie as a ghost plot point could've been handled better.

[Karen Thomson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok it was slightly predictable, but it was quite an enjoyable read- diverting, distracting, and not too superficial.

[Breagha Mozian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wasn't great.

[Liene Krūtaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Grāmatas vidū vairs nebiju spējīga izsekot stāsta pavērsieniem, jo likās, ka darbība visu laiku notiek dažādos laikos - tad tagadnē, tad nākotnē. Tā arī nesapratu pilno grāmatas sižetu.

[book snob (and proud of it, babe) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel is about your

[Marie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was long well it felt long. Left a few questions unanswered

[Domenica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I'll like this better when I'm older

[allother · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ending was disappointing. But that's just me!

[Roger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just too complicated for me. I will not read again

[Santa Gailiūnaitė · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10
sensitive story

[Karen Harrison · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this book but it had a good ending.

[Chrystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of it was really well written but I found it rather jumbly , wasn't sure where I was half the time. And like a lot of books it taled off at the end

[Linda Clark · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story jumped time periods quite a bit. I wish the chapters would have been marked which time period the chapter was going to be. The story moved, but there wasn't a real ending in my opinion.

[Toni · Rating 1 out of 5]

For light fiction, I've definitely read better.