09/23/2019
In his fifth novel, Crummey (Sweetland) imparts another heartfelt, extraordinary perspective on survival in the rugged isolation of his homeland of Newfoundland, this time from two pre-adolescent, newly orphaned siblings, after illness fells their infant sister and parents. Evered and Ada Best endure inconceivably severe weather conditions; their 19th-century livelihoods are at the mercy of nature—will they harvest enough fish to trade for necessary winter provisions? Besides the biannual visits of the ship, ironically named The Hope and run by an unscrupulous money-man, the brother and sister only have each other for companionship. Happenstance brings a captain and his cook to their cove—just in time to save a feverish Ada from near death; later a ship full of sailors looking to replace their mainmast arrives, temporarily enlivening their existence. Against the sensitive portrayal of how two naïfs handle their budding sexuality, these fortuitous encounters underscore Evered’s and Ada’s innocence about life and the larger world. Crummey delivers profound insight into how individuals grapple with the forces of nature, not only in the unpredictable environment, but in the mystifying interior of their temperaments, drives, and character. This story of how two guileless youngsters navigate life will have a deep emotional impact on its readers. (Nov.)
*Finalist for the 2019 Giller Prize, 2019 Governor General's Literary Awards, & 2019 Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize*
“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.”
—Hillary Kelly, Vulture
“Michael Crummey’s ravishing story is raw and intimate and will break your heart.”
—People Magazine (Book of the Week)
“This is 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
“Engrossing and beautifully written…A work of lyrical naturalism dressed as an allegory.”
—Washington Post
“What begins as a gripping survival tale deepens into a psychological inquiry into intimacy, conflict and what it means to be alone together in the world…[a] harshly beautiful new novel.”
—USA Today
“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
"Michael Crummey’s The Innocents is a dazzling and myriad achievement. Set against the unforgiving Newfoundland frontier, this harrowing tale of two siblings eking out a teetering existence is difficult to witness and impossible to put to down. But what makes this story timeless is Crummey's rich depiction of the human heart in extremis, the unflagging beat of life in a world that is too much to bear. Set aside whatever you’re reading and pick this up—The Innocents is a masterpiece."
—Smith Henderson, author of Fourth of July Creek
"Michael Crummey’s new novel The Innocents is a fantastic read. Written in graceful and evocative prose, Ada and Evered's story blurs the boundary between the quotidian and the strange until it becomes a meditation on the curious fact of existence itself. A wonderfully provocative and insightful book."
—Kevin Powers, author of Yellow Birds and A Shout in the Ruins
“Few novels have cast their spell on me as deeply as The Innocents. I am reminded of Dickens, not just the nineteenth-century setting and the imperiled children, but the artfulness: brilliant plot, unforgettable minor characters, perfect pacing. Yet Michael Crummey’s poetic voice and landscape are his own. The Innocents is brilliant.”
—Ron Rash, author of Serena
“Page-turning…An unusual, gripping period novel from a much-honored Canadian writer.”
—Kirkus (starred review)
“The riveting story of an orphaned brother and sister whose relationship is tested by hardship and isolation in 19th-century coastal Labrador…A richly fashioned story told with great sensitivity—one that is as credible as it is magical. The Innocents reminds us of all the reasons we read—to understand, to imagine, to find compassion and to witness the making of art.”
—BookPage (starred review)
“Heartfelt, extraordinary...Crummey delivers profound insight into how individuals grapple with the forces of nature, not only in the unpredictable environment, but in the mystifying interior of their temperaments, drives, and character. This story of how two guileless youngsters navigate life will have a deep emotional impact on its readers.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A gorgeous portrait of remote Newfoundland of yesterday with a remarkable story of human resilience at its core.”
—Booklist
"Moving...The relentless bleakness is alleviated by the cinematic depiction of the surrounding wilderness, with Crummey’s prose recalling that of Jim Crace in its strange, archaic terminology and sense of timelessness.”
—Library Journal
"Inventive, dark, pathos-evoking, this sensitive novel of survival and discovery asks just how far innocence stretches in a remote cove of Newfoundland...This searing novel will keep readers engrossed in its harsh world long after its hopeful conclusion."
—Shelf Awareness
09/01/2019
In this fifth novel from Giller Prize short-listed Crummey, Evered and Ada live in a shack with their parents in an isolated cove somewhere along the coast of Newfoundland. When their parents die, the children are left to fend for themselves, and with barely a notion of the outside world, they struggle tenaciously to rise above the deprivation suddenly thrust upon them. The solitude binds them together, but it quickly becomes clear that some sort of intervention is needed for them to carry on. Initially, that intervention comes in the form of a ship called The Hope that has always stopped twice yearly in the cove to exchange supplies for dried fish the family has prepared. As the years pass, the children's isolation and cramped quarters present an entirely different set of challenges. VERDICT Similar to Crummey's Sweetland as it delves into the minutiae of life on a northerly island, this novel can be tough going at times, but fans of narrative travel writing will appreciate Crummey's descriptive flourishes. The relentless bleakness is alleviated by the cinematic depiction of the surrounding wilderness, with Crummey's prose recalling that of Jim Crace in its strange, archaic terminology and sense of timelessness, and the conclusion is strangely moving. [See Prepub Alert, 5/5/19.]—Stephen Schmidt, Greenwich Lib., CT
★ 2019-08-19
Orphaned and alone in 1800s Newfoundland, a young brother and sister contend with the dire hazards of their coastal surroundings and their own strange physical awakenings.
Evered, 11 at the start of this epic, and Ada, two years younger, have in short order lost their parents and their newborn sister to illness. Their childhood largely denied them—Evered's hair turns white after burying his father at sea—the siblings must overcome food shortages, bone-chilling cold, ferocious storms, temporary blindness caused by exposure to the vast ice field, sickness, and the occasional wandering bear. They live for the next visit from The Hope, a schooner that arrives every six months to trade food staples and supplies for cod. Between visits, they take great risks to find food sources and, on a wrecked ship outside the cove, warm clothes. Nestled up against each other for warmth, Evered and Ada sleep in the same bed, an arrangement that will open them to a world of mysteries they never knew existed. Watch out for the drunken shipmen from The Hope looking the teenage Ada over. Crummey, whose distinctive vision informed the Newfoundland stories in Galore (2011) and Sweetland (2015), writes in a style consistent with the period. (Those tired of the usual phrases for lovemaking might try "They two joined giblets.") But the book's central image—the traumatizing sight of naked dead bodies in the hold of a wrecked ship—shocks in a contemporary way. And Crummey's refusal to go where you might expect—the offbeat humor can catch you by surprise—provides page-turning pleasures. You can't wait to see what happens next.
An unusual, gripping period novel from a much-honored Canadian writer.