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A review by kierstyn
The Innocents by Michael Crummey
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Wow. I just finished this book an hour ago and my mind is reeling. I cannot stop thinking about it and trying to fit all of the puzzle pieces together and unpack it all. This book has allowed me to think differently about topics that a few hours ago I was ignorant on. And because of this, I must give it 5 stars. I love a book that will open my world-view and help me think outside the box.
Ada and Evered are left alone growing up from the ages of 9/11 to 15/17 when their parents and little sister pass from illness, and this story is about how they navigate their harsh, yet small world as they grow up with only each other to rely on. We see them struggle with the harsh landscape through the seasons, sexual urges and wanting to be close mentally and physically yet not knowing how. Evered struggles with fulfilling the duties of a man while he is still a child and Ada struggles with her bodily functions as she grows into womanhood. As they grow older, they only become more mysterious to themselves and their confusion and ignorance is a big factor in their story.
It fascinates me that this book is based off of a true story. From a CBC interview with Michael Crummey:
"I came across and old Newfoundland newspaper and found a paragraph-long account about a clergyman. He was traveling along the coast and happened upon a brother and sister living alone in a cove. The sister was pregnant. The clergyman assumed - and quite rightly I'm sure - that the brother was the father. The brother ended up driving him off with a rifle. I knew immediately that was a story. It never left me - what life must have been like and how they ended up in that circumstance."
This book is slow paced and does not follow the traditional flow of a story with the rising action, climax, falling action and resolution, and I've realized every story doesn't need to follow that outline in order to be good, or even be considered a story. The ending is a bit rushed, as Crummey says in the interview with CBC he was rushing to finish this book due to the nature of it. He finished it in 3 1/2 months after working on it daily. "This book happened quickly. I didn't want to go near it because of the fraught subject matter. When I decided to do it, I just wanted it done."
This book is not for everyone as it involves heavy accounts of incest, although if you can make it through and immerse yourself into the perspective of Evered and Ada, it will make you think deeply about the following:
- What is ignorance vs innocence?
- Should every story be taken as fact? And if not, how do we distinguish fact vs fiction?
- How does one deal with the confusion of life when there is no one around to teach right from wrong?
Ada and Evered are left alone growing up from the ages of 9/11 to 15/17 when their parents and little sister pass from illness, and this story is about how they navigate their harsh, yet small world as they grow up with only each other to rely on. We see them struggle with the harsh landscape through the seasons, sexual urges and wanting to be close mentally and physically yet not knowing how. Evered struggles with fulfilling the duties of a man while he is still a child and Ada struggles with her bodily functions as she grows into womanhood. As they grow older, they only become more mysterious to themselves and their confusion and ignorance is a big factor in their story.
It fascinates me that this book is based off of a true story. From a CBC interview with Michael Crummey:
"I came across and old Newfoundland newspaper and found a paragraph-long account about a clergyman. He was traveling along the coast and happened upon a brother and sister living alone in a cove. The sister was pregnant. The clergyman assumed - and quite rightly I'm sure - that the brother was the father. The brother ended up driving him off with a rifle. I knew immediately that was a story. It never left me - what life must have been like and how they ended up in that circumstance."
This book is slow paced and does not follow the traditional flow of a story with the rising action, climax, falling action and resolution, and I've realized every story doesn't need to follow that outline in order to be good, or even be considered a story. The ending is a bit rushed, as Crummey says in the interview with CBC he was rushing to finish this book due to the nature of it. He finished it in 3 1/2 months after working on it daily. "This book happened quickly. I didn't want to go near it because of the fraught subject matter. When I decided to do it, I just wanted it done."
This book is not for everyone as it involves heavy accounts of incest, although if you can make it through and immerse yourself into the perspective of Evered and Ada, it will make you think deeply about the following:
- What is ignorance vs innocence?
- Should every story be taken as fact? And if not, how do we distinguish fact vs fiction?
- How does one deal with the confusion of life when there is no one around to teach right from wrong?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child death, Incest, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, and Death of parent