Book Review: Mercy Among the Children

New Brunswick -- it's far and it's so Maritime
Where people wear rainboots and "out" and "boat" rhyme
Where poverty's rampant amidst wealthy insurgents;
Such the setting of a novel of mercy and vengeance.

Book: Mercy among the Children, by David Adams Richards

****1/2 (out of five stars)

This book is actually the co-recipient of the 2000 Giller Prize, considered by many to be Canada's top literature award. The book lives up to its reputation and was definitely a Canadian book. The story follows Lyle Henderson's account of his impoverished and difficult life, made more so by the fact that he and his family are outcasts within their Maritime hamlet. Lyle's father Syd is despised by the entire village, who conspire to frame him in a series of serious crimes, including murder, for their own gain. All the while, Syd's pacifistic nature keeps him from striking out or even defending himself, and it is that same pacificism that is the downfall of his family.

The author's description of this sometime sleepy, sometime full of poverty-driven criminal town gives and seemingly accurate view into the state of small Atlantic villages in modern time. Especially noteworthy is the parallel between these Atlantic towns and 19th Century life, whilst the rest of the world rushes into the information age, leaving the poor and destitute behind.

The overlying commentary within the novel however, is one of the merits and consequences of revenge and of mercy. When are they necessary, and when are they acceptable? The results of one's actions, and how one small event can seal the fate of several interconnected lives are themes which the author brazenly explores. In fact, one of my favourite quotations from the novel talks about how one's actions set the course for the future, and serves as support for Syd's pacificism: "If they destroy us, they destroy themselves."

The book is rather long, but the plot keeps the story moving; it was so engaging that while I was stuck on the GO Train on Tuesday between Union and Kipling for more than an hour due to switching problems (making my train ride and whopping 2 hours), I read this book the entire time. It's the kind of book that you appreciate more in its entirety; I honestly didn't see it as so much of a jewel while reading it. The ending is a little weak and should have ended 10 pages before it did, but overall, a fun as well as contemplative piece of work.