Name: The Innocents
ISBN: 9780385545426

Michael Crummey

"A novel about an orphaned brother and sister who must fend for themselves on a remote fishing outpost in the late 1800s"--

The Innocents

*FINALIST FOR THE 2019 SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE *FINALIST FOR THE 2019 GOVERNOR GENERAL'S LITERARY AWARD *FINALIST FOR THE 2019 ROGERS WRITERS' TRUST FICTION PRIZE *NATIONAL BESTSELLER *NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF 2019 BY The Globe and Mail - CBC - Toronto Star - Maclean's Crummey's novel has the capacity to change the way the reader sees the world. --Scotiabank Giller Prize Jury Citation From bestselling, award-winning author Michael Crummey comes a sweeping, heart-wrenching, deeply immersive novel about a brother and sister alone in a small world. A brother and sister are orphaned in an isolated cove on Newfoundland's northern coastline. Their home is a stretch of rocky shore governed by the feral ocean, by a relentless pendulum of abundance and murderous scarcity. Still children with only the barest notion of the outside world, they have nothing but the family's boat and the little knowledge passed on haphazardly by their mother and father to keep them. As they fight for their own survival through years of meagre catches and storms and ravaging illness, it is their fierce loyalty to each other that motivates and sustains them. But as seasons pass and they wade deeper into the mystery of their own natures, even that loyalty will be tested. This novel is richly imagined and compulsively readable, a riveting story of hardship and survival, and an unflinching exploration of the bond between brother and sister. By turns electrifying and heartbreaking, it is a testament to the bounty and barbarity of the world, to the wonders and strangeness of our individual selves.

Summer Cashmore

When The Innocents was chosen as the July read for a book club I am part of, I was excited. The book was shortlisted for three major Canadian literary awards and the synopsis sounded interesting and unlike anything I had ever read. Unfortunately, this book fell well short of my expectations. 

Michael Crummey beautifully describes the harsh environment of northern Newfoundland with such vivid detail and paints a picture of the hardships faced by two young children who are orphaned at a young age. 

The author is undoubtedly an exceptionally talented writer, but no amount of poetic narrative is enough to distract you from the grim and disturbing nature of the book, including the constant (and frankly unnecessary) references to the sexual tension between Evered and his sister, Ada. 

If I were reading this book on my own rather than with a book club, it would have been relegated to my “Did Not Finish” shelf long ago. It was only the feeling of being obligated to finish it that kept me reading it.

A brother and sister are orphaned in an isolated cove on Newfoundland's northern coastline. Their home is a stretch of rocky shore governed by the feral ocean, by a relentless pendulum of abundance and murderous scarcity. Still children with only the barest notion of the outside world, they have nothing but the family's boat and the little knowledge passed on haphazardly by their mother and father to keep them. Muddling through the severe round of the seasons, through years of meagre catches and storms and ravaging illness, it is their fierce loyalty to each other that motivates and sustains them. But soon, even that loyalty will be tested.

Pam Sartain

The Innocents by Michael Crummey is the story of  Ada and her brother Evered, who are orphaned at 10 and 12 respectively, miles from anyone, on the north coast of of Newfoundland.

This is the story of their battle to survive through the years, as they grow up.  It is very evocatively described, so you see the seasons as they come and go, and pick the berries or salt the fish.  You also see the children become teenagers, and the urges that come with that.

I found this a harrowing and heartbreaking read.  It is well written, but I found it a hard read as the siblings discover sexual urges and they are the only ones there.

 The Innocents  was published on 20th August, and is available from  Amazon ,  Waterstones  and from your  local independent bookshop .

You can follow Michael Cummey on  Twitter .

I was given this book in return for an unbiased review, and so my thanks to NetGalley and to  No Exit Press .

Richly imagined and compulsively readable, The Innocents is a riveting story of hardship and survival, and an unflinching exploration of the bond between siblings. SHORTLISTED FOR THE GILLER PRIZE, THE GOVERNOR GENERAL'S PRIZE, AND THE ROGER'S WRITER'S TRUST FICTION AWARD In centuries past, a brother and sister are orphaned in an isolated outport cove on Newfoundland's northern coastline. Their home is a stretch of rocky shore governed by the feral ocean and a relentless pendulum of abundance and murderous scarcity. Still children with only the barest notion of the outside world, they have nothing but their family's boat and the little knowledge passed on haphazardly by their mother and father to help them survive. Muddling through the severe round of the seasons, through years of meagre catches and storms and ravaging illness, it is their fierce loyalty to each other that motivates and sustains them. But as seasons pass and they wade deeper into the mystery of their own natures, even that loyalty will be tested. 'A gripping and credible page-turner about children surviving in the wilderness, but more than that: this Adam and Eve struggle to make sense of a world that's somewhere between Eden and Hell. Michael Crummey writes like an avenging angel, never putting a word wrong' - Emma Donoghue, author of Room 'An extraordinary novel, emotionally precise, vivid in its portrayal of nature, and subtle in its exploration of the relationship between life and story' - Wall Street Journal 'In The Innocents, Mr Crummey, a Newfoundland native, captures in hypnotic prose the force of the driving sea and the ways of a beautiful, barren place where Evered and Ada are cast adrift' - The Economist 'Imagine Into the Wild with prepubescents, told in the voice of a William Blake acolyte as verbally inventive as Tolkien... The Innocents is a survivor narrative and a psychological thriller, a chilling study in isolation' - Vulture

The Innocents

Reviews