The Innocents

A Novel

By: Michael Crummey

Narrated by: Mary Lewis

People Magazine Book of the Week

"Extraordinary."--Wall Street Journal
"Gripping."--Emma Donoghue, author of Room
"Dazzling."--Smith Henderson, author of Fourth of July Creek
"Fantastic."--Kevin Powers, author of Yellow Birds and A Shout in the Ruins
"Brilliant."--Ron Rash, author of Serena

From prizewinning author Michael Crummey comes a spellbinding story of survival in which a brother and sister confront the limits of human endurance and their own capacity for loyalty and forgiveness.

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 though 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.

The Innocents 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.

You can’t know what you don’t know!

The relationship between “Sister and Bruder” was very tender, either would’ve died for the other or probably more accurately died if the other did. They were children and I admire the author calling them youngsters till the end. They didn’t know how the physiology of human sexuality worked. They came of age, orphaned on an island that they fought hard to keep as their own. I loved the story and am sad ( as always with a good book) that’s it’s over.

Innocents survival

I'm not sure how to review this low-key but intense story of survival in the harsh isolation of 19th century Newfoundland. I was captivated by the two innocents, a brother and sister left orphaned. Their struggles to survive and to try to understand the complexity of human emotion and physicality was beautifully written. The narrator did an excellent job with accents although there were parts where it was hard to understand. This is not a page-turner in the tradional sense, but it is a compelling story.

Amazing

One of the best books I've ever read or listened to. Mary Lewis' narration is spot on perfect, an absolute mesmerizing joy to listen too. Finished the whole thing in two days, couldn't put it down.

Happy accident!

I bought this book, thinking it was a Michael Connolly book on sale. When the pacing and subject matter seemed off I discovered my mistake. Initially I wasn’t prepared for a story set in the old timey wilderness of Canada, but the characters were so unusual and the dialect was so intriguing (loved Mary Lewis’ interpretation!) I decide to follow along where the story lead. I don’t want to give away the story, so I’ll just say that I felt an affection for the characters and their unusual plight, I learned a lot about what the yearly cycles of homesteader life was like and I have already wishlisted another title by Connelly, I mean Crunmey!

An Unusual Setting and Story

I don’t know the exact geography of where this story takes place just that it’s cold there. A brother and sister work hard to survive after the death of both of their parents and the eventual death of a younger sibling. The land is remote, the neighbors few. There is very little social interaction and the boy and his sister never went to school. They rely on each other, but it’s not enough.