This book is about the relationship between two orphaned children, Evered and Ada, left to fend for themselves when their mother and father die. They live in an isolated cove in the Newfoundland area and have barely any contact with other people, and depend on a regular annual boat visit from the nearest town when they are expected to exchange fresh supplies for their salted fish. Their harsh existence is beautifully, and believably, described and I felt like I was with them as they struggled to survive. I very much look forward to reading more by this author.
I listened to this as an audio book and felt the the narrator, Mary Lewis, pitched it perfectly.
Thank you to Michael Crummey, Net Galley and W. F. Howes Ltd for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was sucked in by the reviews of this book and while I can agree that the writing is brilliant in this story about a brother and sister, orphaned young and forced to survive together in Newfoundland, i struggled with this audiobook. This isn’t a book that has a huge plot, which sometimes can work and it might appeal to some readers more than others, but it felt quite continuous as the story went on and there were times when I felt my mind wander a little.

This book deals with Evered (then 12) and his sister Ada (then 10) who lose their baby sister, their mother and their father in quick succession, and are forced to grow up isolated naive to the world that shrinks to just for themselves. From this perspective I thought the book was very well done, as the title suggests the siblings are innocent to the world, Ada is shocked and scared when she starts to bleed between her legs, Evered feels the pressure of providing for them both and on the page both struggle with how they feel, who they are and the pressure to be an adult while feeling very much like a child. You feel that isolation and pressure on the page.

My problem with this book though is that primarily it’s about sexual maturity (or rather immaturity) and ultimately incest, which is a hard subject to just surprise your audience with. The scenes of their want, touching, and even him taking his sister’s virginity, are an uncomfortable read! especially when not prepared. Yes Evered is a teenage boy but I would say 80-90% of his character revolves around sex and while Ada does come across very confused and innocent, he comes across more stupid - near the end of the book his sexual possessiveness ends with him nearly raping his own sister until she breaks through his crazed desire and manages to push him away, injuring herself in the process. I found him unlikeable at times, which I suppose is to be expected as he doesn’t understand himself either, but he is either fuelled by guilt, desire or possessiveness throughout the book. Brother and sister become the only real people they knew - their parents. Other characters are introduced but they don’t take the story in any direction, they just help feed the characters for a while.
I also struggled with the hunting scenes which I felt didn’t need to be as dragged out as they were, again I appreciate that the animals killed acted as some representation of the characters struggles also, but the scene where a mother bear is shot and then her cub shot first in one eye and then in the other as it screamed, before they leave it motherless, blind and vulnerable and crying in pain, was uncomfortable and upsetting and drawn out. Likewise the scene with the fox. I get that hunting will feature in a book like this but didn’t appreciate the need to make the animals suffer.

Ultimately while I appreciated the writing, I found this book quite hard work both in pace and content which was either uncomfortable or just quite dismal. I can see what Crummey was trying to achieve, it just wasn’t for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook - and for the narrator for the accents!

My thanks to WF Howes for a review copy via NetGalley of the audiobook edition, narrated by Mary Lewis, of ‘The Innocents’ by Michael Crummey. I combined listening with reading the eARC, provided by No Exit Press.

Note: I have not reproduced the summary or my thoughts on the narrative on this feedback for the audiobook though have included both in my online reviews as per links below.

Michael Crummey is a poet and that is very evident in his lyrical writing style and his stunning descriptions of the stark Newfoundland landscapes. His writing brought this novel vividly alive.

In terms of the audiobook its narrator, Mary Lewis, grew up in Newfoundland and has a good grasp of the local dialects. At first I found her use of accents a little distracting but this soon settled down.

Crummey uses words and phrases found in Newfoundland English and it would have been difficult to pronounce properly in my head, so having narration solved this, allowing for a better flow for the story.

I will admit that some aspects of the novel did not make for comfortable listening. Historical novels chronicling people managing to survive in such raw conditions rarely are light reads.

Overall, a powerful novel that I expect will prove popular with reading groups as it offers great writing along with plenty of material for group discussion.

I absolutely loved this novel. It was so vividly described. The writing is perfect and I really felt like I was there with Ada and Everett and their hard struggle for survival. It was a joy to listen to.

Based on the narration alone I would give this four stars but I just wasn't in the right mindset for a story so deeply entrenched in such a desolate location. Thanks for the opportunity to give it a listen.