I really enjoyed Crummey’s prior works especially Galore (2012) but he’s a poet and I’ve come to appreciate the story in storytelling more than the telling. This one is a bit different, it’s about love and family and so on. I can’t tell much because it would give it away. .

*******
The Innocents
by Michael Crummey
2019 / 293 pages
read by Mary Lewis 9h 5m
rating: 8 – historical fiction
*******

Two children, a boy, Evered age 10 or so and a girl, Ada age 8, are left alone in Newfoundland when their parents die. A baby sister also dies. This is in the very early 19th century on the coast of Newfoundland. They are fishermen by trade and although it’s barely, they survive the harsh environment and it’s inhabitants both permanent and transitory.

In some ways it’s similar to an allegory or a story from Brother’s Grimm for adults but with somewhat more character development for the Ana.