This was the first book I read from my assigned reading for the BookTube Prize. It’s one I’d had on my radar – Crummey is a prominent Canadian author, after all – but that hadn’t grabbed me. I doubt I ever would have gotten to it if it hadn’t been for the prize.
It’s a historical fiction novel sent in a remote location in the northeast of Canada at an unknown point in history (I’d guess sometime in the 19th century, but I’m really not good with history and it’s never said). The story begins in a cove where a family lives – parents and siblings, a boy and girl. The first thing that happens is that both parents succumb to an unknown illness and the children are left alone. They have been part of working to support their family their whole lives, so they know what must be done. But doing it alone at such a young age (I think at the beginning of the book they are both under 12) is difficult. They come up against many challenges, and several times it’s touch and go for them.
The setting is beautifully rendered and explored. The desolation of their small part of the world, the isolation of the children – particularly during winter – makes it at times a difficult read. The only contact they have with the outside world on a regular basis is a ship that comes through to pick up the fish they’ve managed to catch and give them supplies that they can’t otherwise get on their own.
There are a few adventures scattered throughout an otherwise relatively quiet book. The adventures usually take the form of unexpected visitors ending up in the cove, and there’s usually something to be learned by the youngsters from these rare contacts with the outside world.
I can see why this book made it to the quarterfinals. The writing is brilliant, and if this book is your kind of story, there’s not much fault to find with it. I, unfortunately, am not that intended audience. While I can recognize the author’s skill, I am not much of a fan of historical fiction outside of WWII, and I’m not big on survival stories that have the protagonists on the edge of failure for three hundred pages. I’m glad I had a reason to give Crummey a try as I’ve meant to since his last novel made some waves in Canadian literary circles. But whether I pick up his next book will very much depend on what it’s about – if he tries a more current setting and a storyline I find more interesting, based on the strength of the writing, I’d definitely give it a go. That said, if you are more interested in historical fiction and like this type of survival against the odds story, this will definitely be one you should read immediately!
Book Title: The Innocents
Author: Michael Crummey
Series: No
Edition: Ebook
Published By: Doubleday
Released: August 27, 2019
Genre: Historical Fiction, Survival
Pages: 293
Date Read: April 2-10, 2020
Rating: 7/10
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.90/5 (550 ratings)