I put The Adversary by Michael Crummey on hold at the library after loving Galore. Both books take place in Newfoundland. I can’t get enough of Crummey’s authentic writing style. The words he chooses create an incredible atmosphere, unique characters, and descriptive settings that immerse you in the story.

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“MASTERPIECE” —Publisher’s Weekly

About The Book 📚

Title: The Adversary

Author: Michael Crummey

Publication Date: September 2023

Publisher: Knopf

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 333

Content Warnings: graphic medical description, death of child, alcoholism, abuse, rape

About The Author

MICHAEL CRUMMEY is the author of seven books of poetry, most recently Little Dogs: New and Selected Poems and Passengers, and the short fiction collection Flesh and Blood. His first novel, River Thieves, was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, and his second novel, The Wreckage, was a finalist for the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize. His third novel, Galore, won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize (Canada and the Caribbean) and was a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award. His fourth novel, Sweetland, was also a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award. His most recent novel, The Innocents, was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize and the Governor General’s Literary Award. Michael Crummey lives in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

My Review

› In an interview, Crummey said The Adversary is sort of a mirror-image companion book to The Innocents, which I didn’t realize and must read as soon as possible. They take place around the same time in Newfoundland but in different towns.

The copy I borrowed from the library had the red cover pictured above. The two crows are eyeing each other portraying a sense of tension, mistrust, and rivalry surrounded in red.

Check out this stunning Doubleday edition being published in February! Wow. I love it.

› The book blurb is perfect. It gives you just enough, yet not too much. However, it doesn’t mention that the story involves a brother and sister. I think knowing that made me want to read it more and I hope it does the same for you.

› Inspired by the biblical story of Cain and Able, The Adversary is a historical fiction novel set in an isolated fishing port called Mockbegger in 1800s Newfoundland. There is a real place in Newfoundland called Mockbegger Plantation which was a fishery business since the 1700s.

The bleak tone is set from the first Line: “There was a killing sickness on the shore that winter and the only services at the church were funerals.”

› Until one day, when a wedding between Abe Strapp and Anna Morels was set to take place. Abe is a greedy, jealous man with a horrid temper. Some call him “not-able” because he’s never been very mature or ambitious. He’s “like a boy playing at being a man.” His father left the business to Abe after his death, making him the most powerful man in Mockbegger. Anna is the daughter of a merchant from Jersey who moved to Newfoundland twenty years ago but spends every other winter in the “old country” (Europe). Widow Caines stops the wedding claiming Abe raped Imogen Purchase – who works for the Widow. The wedding is called off and The Jerseyman promises Anna he’ll send her home in the spring.

“The fortress walls are useless, it said, The Adversary is already within.”

› Widow Caines (the Widow) is Abe’s sister. Growing up she helped her father with the business as she had a talent for numbers. She felt betrayed when her father chose Abe as his business partner. She never stepped foot in the business again and married a rival merchant. Widow Caines’s husband was Elias Caines. His will was read three days after Abe’s almost wedding. Elias’s cousin, Myles Taverner, was shocked to learn Elias had changed his will without telling him. Elias left everything to his wife making Abe and The Widow rivals in the competitive North Atlantic fishery. They hate each other and will do whatever it takes to win. The rest of Mockbegger are forced to take sides.

The Beadle was Cornelius’s right-hand man, and now he’s trying to help Abe. Misters Matterface and Heater were Abe’s chaperones until they were fired because they didn’t keep him out of trouble. They continue to hang out with Abe and the three of them cause strife around town.

“He sometimes felt it was The Adversary he heard speaking through her, the Dark One’s cunning and subtlety.”

› Imogen’s friend Dallen Lambe has an eleven-year-old son named Solemn. The Widow hires Solemn to work around her house. Imogen tells Solemn not to trust The Widow, but Solemn’s mother has nothing good to say about Imogen, so Solemn decides she must be wrong about The Widow.

› Life in Mockbegger is bleak as it is, the people don’t need to have this rivalry piled on top of disease, death, isolation, storms and starvation.

› I usually give a rating out of ten and convert that to a star rating, but I’d like to try a new way of doing reviews. I’m not going to give a star rating here on my blog. I will continue to do that on Goodreads and The Story Graph.

› My favourite character is Mary Oram. A midwife and a healer with a “reputation for spells and witchery”. I want to know more about her past. Every character is well-developed with goals, strengths, flaws, and unique characteristics. Some of the characters are based on real historical figures.

› Crummey’s writing style is beautiful. This is high-quality writing with excellent readability. It felt like every word was chosen with purpose.

“The bare rafters straining against the wind like the timbers of a vessel at sea.”

The length and rhythm of the sentences remind me of Newfoundland and make me feel like I’ve gone back in time.

“There was a broken line of sea ice pinnacle on the near shoreline by wind and tide and looking like the outer wall of an Arctic fortress, glowing against the bay’s dark water.”

Some scenes had me holding my breath.

“The two women watched each other, both so still they might have been a single figure reflected in a mirror.”

Crummey used unusual words, yet most readers will get the gist of the meaning without looking it up. There are parts of The Adversary that will keep you on the edge of your seat, others that will make you cry, and some that will make you laugh.

“Old as his tongue and a little older than his teeth.”

I found myself reading using my Newfoundland accent in my head.

“We missed you gone.”

› The pace is quick due to the short chapters. And the chapter titles were genius. They give you just a teeny, tiny sneak peek into what’s to come, which made me keep turning the pages reading way past my bedtime.

Ch. 1 The Driven Snow. A Winter Wedding.
Ch. 2 A Green Coat. Pack Ice.

› I didn’t want to put it down. Stories of sibling rivalry are as old as time, yet The Adversary felt unique.

“Although a black hole does not emit light, matter falling toward it collects in a hot, glowing accretion disk that astronomers can detect.” – svs.gsfc.nasa.gov

› Final Thoughts
• The Adversary is a brutal, desolate, and heartbreaking story about revenge, greed, manipulation, and murder with commentary on gender, class, and race. P.S. There are pirates.

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I want to acknowledge that I am on the traditional territories of the Anishinabewaki ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᐗᑭ, Wendake-Nionwentsïo, and Mississauga. https://native-land.ca/