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    Mercy Among the Children: A Novel
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    Mercy Among the Children: A Novel
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    Mercy Among the Children: A Novel
    Ebook476 pages7 hours

    Mercy Among the Children: A Novel

    By David Adams Richards

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    At the age of twelve, Sidney Henderson, in a moment of anger, pushes his friend Connie Devlin off the roof of a local church. Looking down on Connie’s motionless body, Sidney believes he is dead. Let Connie live and I will never harm another soul, Sidney vows. At that moment, Connie stands up and, laughing, walks away. In the years that follow, the brilliant, self-educated, ever-gentle Sidney keeps his promise, even in the face of the hatred and persecution of his insular, rural community, which sees his pacifism as an opportunity to exploit and abuse him. Sidney’s son Lyle, however, witnessing his family’s suffering with growing resentment and anger, comes to reject both God and his father and assumes an increasingly aggressive stance in defense of his family.

    When a small boy is killed in a tragic accident and Sidney is blamed, Lyle takes matters into his own, violent hands in an effort to protect the only people he loves: his beautiful and fragile mother, Elly; his gifted sister, Autumn; and his innocent, beatific brother, Percy. In the end, no one but Lyle can determine the legacy his family’s tragedy will hold. Written with abiding compassion and profound wisdom, and imbued with a luminous grace that is as haunting as it is precisely controlled, Mercy Among the Children is epic storytelling at its absolute finest, populated with richly drawn characters who walk off the pages and into history. With a never-failing elegance and humane moral vision that call to mind Joseph Conrad and Thomas Hardy, David Adams Richards has crafted a magnificent, heartbreaking novel whose towering ambition is matched only by the level of its achievement.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcade Publishing
    Release dateDec 3, 2011
    ISBN9781628722437
    Unavailable
    Mercy Among the Children: A Novel
    Author

    David Adams Richards

    David Adams Richards is a resident of Fredericton and is one of only three Canadian writers who have won Governor General's Awards for Fiction and Non-Fiction. His novel Mercy Among the Children won the 2000 Giller Prize, while his most recent novel, Incidents in the Life of Marcus Paul, won the 2012 Thomas H. Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award.

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    Reviews for Mercy Among the Children

    4/5

    192 ratings18 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Early on in this book I nearly had to stop reading because the author had painted such a bleak and depressing picture of injustice being dished out to an 'innocent' man. The man refused to defend himself in any way and his silence in the face of accusations was taken as an admission of guilt. Anyway, I did keep reading, reminding myself that this was a Giller Prize winner and hence in such fine company as Elizabeth Hay. It turned out that I managed to read all the way to the end, but I was left still waiting for the good parts to arrive. I found the characters largely unbelievable, especially in a contemporary context. Would anyone really behave like this? I also found the plot to be too full of coincidence and towards the end the action had a kind of farcical feel. I suspect LibraryThing recommended this to me because it "knows" that I like Canadian authors. But here's a tip, LibraryThing, it's Canadian *women* authors that I find so good.
    • 5/5
      This book is filled with overwhelming sadness which somehow does not descend into hopelessness or melodrama. It is a difficult book to read. David Richards does not spare his prose when describing the everlasting poverty of the Henderson family. There is greatness in this family. The father Sydney is a truly honourable and brave man who will never show his anger to any other person, including his family. There is the mother Elly, who is a beautiful simple soul and one that unscrupulous people feel that they have a right to take advantage of. There is Lyle Henderson, the oldest son who renounces his father's pacifism, but finds that a life of fighting and hate and trying to exact revenge does not work any more than the pacifism does. Then there is Autumn Henderson-a beautiful albino girl with a very creative side to her. She has her mother's warmth and kindness. Then there is little Percy Henderson-an angelic little boy who seems to walk with the angels. These characters are so beautifully drawn by Richards. Yes, a difficult book but somehow there is hope that seems to keep springing up. Richards is merciless with his readers. He draws you in as he tells his sad and beautiful story. This book is a very worthy winner of the prestigious Giller prize and I recommend it highly.
    • 2/5
      I can see why this book got some accolades but it is so depressing and all the characters talk like overwrought first year philosophy majors. Seriously, there is absolutely no happiness at all in this book, not even a single moment, and after awhile it drags you down and reading the novel feels more like a chore than anything enjoyable.
    • 2/5
      unbelievable story line, that a man would be so passive and townspeople so gullible that they would convict an innocent man against all evidence to the contrary. Son becomes a bully.
    • 5/5
      I found this to be a slow but enthralling read. The theme/s are complex, and I found that initally there were so many characters and events that I had to take notes to keep track of what was happening in the book. Though the main characters live in poverty in a small shack in New Brunswick, Sydney Henderson, the father of the family of wife Elly, children Lyle, Autumn and Percy, manages to read most of the classics and is very intelligent. I struggled with the meaning behind this book - and found that one book that is mentioned more than once in Mercy Among Children is Tolstoy's book, False Coupon which I had never heard of before reading this book. I think I may need to read it to understand this book better. I looked it up in Wikipedia, and it summarized False Coupon as a man/ boy who modifies a coupon to falsely increase it's value, and this starts a chain of events that lead a man to murder a woman in part 1 - and in part two - this same man obtains redemption through religion.I would see Lyle, main character in Mercy Among Children as being a kind , thoughtful person who turns the other cheek, despite being bullied and teased about his father, who is almost pathologically kind. Eventually Lyle - the main character , rebels against his father in that he becomes outwardly an angry, bullying, violent person to increase his own value in his eyes. This results in a chain of events that hurts both Lyle himself, as well as his beloved family and those who have hurt him. But Lyle at least initally loves the power that being tough and a bully brings to him. Eventually Lyle loses everything but the compassion at his core. In that way, I can see how Lyle metaphorically falsifies - increases his value by becoming violent, but this leads to a chain of events that costs him everyone that he holds dear and compromises his values to the extent that he becomes very depressed with himself, at the verge of suicide.Unlike The False Coupon, Lyle does not find redemption in religion per se - but more by returning to his inward loving sensitive nature. That said, like most great books , the ending is without any certainty.It's a bit more complex than that, but it was a wonderful read.
    • 4/5
      This is the story of the Henderson family, as told by the oldest son, Lyle. He lives in rural New Brunswick, where his father (Sydney) is persecuted by his neighbours. Sydney has taken a vow to harm no person in word or deed, which in his mind, extends to his ability to defend himself and his family: wife Elly, son Lyle, albino daughter Autumn and Percy.This book is very depressing. The Hendersons face trial after trial without end. Like Lyle, I find it difficult to respect Sydney's behaviour because of its impact on his family.That being said, the book is very well written with an intriguing plot. I just didn't like its unrelenting darkness.
    • 5/5
      This is a very powerful and thought-provoking novel. It is very rare that I am moved to tears - but Mercy Among the Children made me emotional. It is peopled with a wide range of characters, most of them desperate to escape their poverty. There are several reviews here that describe the plot - I can see why it won the Giller.
    • 4/5
      David Adams Richards.With three first names compounded, I often muddle the order with which they are arranged. Sometimes, I will recommend this book as written by David Richards Adams, and sometimes Adam Davids Richards. With sincere apologies to the author, who certainly does not deserve this from me, I recommend this book as a beautiful tale written with a searing style. The language pained me in the way that I think the story meant to. And that is beauty. All praise aside, I read this whilst in some moderate life turmoil and certainly this book didn't inspire me to pull myself up by my own bootstraps. I was often angry with the characters and wished and hoped and demanded they would make "better" choices. But I've given up "choose your own adventure" books many many years ago for a reason. Read this book when you are feeling emotionally stable, it will shove at your stability.
    • 2/5
      A very accurate portayal of the difficulties of growing up in the Miramichi. It is a very dreary book of people who can't seem to get out of their own way. Difficult to get into at the beginning and definitely not the book to read if you want a nice light up lifting story.
    • 4/5
      I quickly got caught up in the various characters lives, but kept thinking that no one person's life could be that dismal from start to finish and yet all the characters seemed to be doomed to bad luck, ill fortune, bad timing...
    • 5/5
      The central question of this book is what would happen if one were to take a vow to do no harm and actually lived up to it. The consequences of such a pact with God, as outlined in this heart-rending and important novel, are far-reaching and unpredictable. I'm a huge Richards fan. (So much so that I rather hope I never meet him, for it he doesn't live up to the hugely favorable opinion I have of him, I'm afraid it will affect how I view his work!) He writes with the cadence and echo of the King James Version of the Bible, which is a voice little used these days, but is familiar to anyone who reads the Southern Gothic writers -- Tennessee Williams, Flannery O'Connor, James Agee, etc. It's a perfect fit here, as it is with all Richards' books since they are marvelous works of searing morality.There are those who might argue his work is depressing, but that was not my impression. Challenging? Certainly, and I see nothing wrong with that. On the contrary, I find it thrilling that Richards expects his readers to rise to the challenge and to question their assumptions. This story, as with the wonderfully named, FRIENDS OF MEAGRE FORTUNE, takes place in New Brunswick, Canada, along the banks of the Miramachi River. Ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, compassionately and masterfully shared with the reader. One of the few books on my shelf I shall re-read.
    • 4/5
      Richards is well known for his books detailing the depressing nature of life in rural New Brunswick. In Mercy Amoung the Children, however, he almost extends the depressing part too far. However, it was well written, had well developed. believable characters, and an intriguing plot. Worth reading and one of his better books.
    • 4/5
      Periodically there are books which come into our lives we choose to read not because they are guarantors of entertainment, escapism, pleasure, but because we are aware the writer has something to say, hopefully says it well, and the scent of which lingers in years to come like a primal memory, an underlying truth.Such is the case with David Adams Richards' Giller Award winning novel, Mercy Among the Children.Told through the unreliable narrator of Lyle Henderson, son of the main protagonist and chief underdog in the story, Sydney Henderson, Mercy Among the Children is an epic tale of hypocrisy and greed, of ignorance and poverty not only of economics but of morality. It is not a pleasant read. Nor is it an easy read. But it is gripping and needs to be read much in the way Steinbeck needs to be read, or Harper Lee, or any number of writers who have championed the cause of the disenfranchised and downtrodden.Set in the Miramichi Valley of New Brunswick, Canada, this labyrinthine tale weaves through betrayals, robberies, murder, toxic waste of the soul and the environment, through generations of people held under the implacable autocracy of the company town. It is relentless in its brutality and sorrow. There are no happy endings in sight. And it resonates with an awful truth which simply cannot be ignored.My only quibble is in the opening third of the novel the relentless barrage of misdeeds against the Henderson family teeters on the brink of the precious, so that at any moment I fully expected Dickens' Tiny Tim to make an appearance. Beyond that, there is a court scene which very much put me in mind of Harper Lee's now legendary court case in To Kill a Mockingbird, and the societal burden Steinbeck presented in The Grapes of WrathA recommended read which should be followed immediately by something mindless, hilarious and utterly frivolous, just for balance.
    • 4/5
      First time reading David Adams Richards. I was aware of his popularity amongst Canadian readers so I thought I would give him a try. This book takes place in rural New Brunswick in the mid to late 20th century. I enjoyed the book quite a lot and read it quite quickly. While being quite a sad story, the novel has a lot to say about honesty and truth in the face of poverty. Anyone who's grown up in a small community likely could relate well to this story. Setting your own life principles also plays a large part in this novel and is the cause of many of the issues our protagonists face throughout the story. My one criticism is that I found the novel overly romanticises being impoverished. I would question if Sydney was so smart and well read why he didn't try harder to increase the standard of living of his family beyond the state it was in. Anyway, would definitely be interested in reading more novels by this author and would recommend this.
    • 4/5
      A story about what happens to an innocent man who ends up wrong side rumours and innuendoes. Classical and Biblical themes throughout will keep the serious reader thinking.
    • 5/5
      Mercy among the children is a story of a small town in rural New Brunswick where a family is devastated by actions in the community. The story is told by the son of a family living below the poverty line and just managing to make it in the small town. How can one persons actions cause so much chaos? This is the story on how quickly it can happen and how out of hand it can get.. definitely recommended reading..
    • 5/5
      A wonderful read. I stayed up way past bed-time, and gulped down the last 100 pages. Now I want to take the time to read those pages slowly, to savor the writing and to make sure that I understand all of the plot twists.This is a story of the Henderson family who live in rural poverty in New Brunswick. Sydney Henderson is a very intelligent and very moral man. But as the book begins, his destiny seems to be relentless suffering. His story is reminiscent of the Book of Job. His childhood was miserable, and in adulthood he becomes the scapegoat for the community.Sydney accepts persecution without attempts at revenge, and without any apparent anger. He is very admirable, but his saint-like qualities are hard on his family, especially his oldest son, Lyle. The story is told by Lyle, whose relationship with his father is very ambivalent.The book is full of marvelously twisted characters; people who do evil and yet are so heartbreakingly human that you can’t hate them, entirely. The book starts slowly, but the plot twists and bends so that I was on edge waiting to see what was going to happen next. The book is about social justice, but in this story justice has a frightening, biblical aspect.
    • 2/5
      Another Canada Reads 2009 contender (I recently blogged about another one called The Outlander) that I read for my book club. And unlike The Outlander, I did not like this one.Taking place in rural New Brunswick during the 1980’s and 90’s, the story follows the Henderson family as they eke out a meager living from trapping and working for the local bigwig, Leo McVicer. Sidney Henderson and Connie Devlin were twelve when they were shoveling snow off the roof of the local church and began arguing and the ensuing fight resulted in Connie falling and Sydney thinking that he’s dead. He wasn’t but in the time it took for Sydney to realize Connie was okay, Sydney promised God that he would never do another thing to harm another human. Making that promise was much harder to live with than it seemed at the time. The rest of the book deals with the challenges Sydney, his wife and children face as they deal with the repercussions of this oath.I read this novel for my book club – there’s no way I’d have finished it otherwise. It’s so bleak – it’s worse than depressing. I can take the poverty, but the child abuse and neglect, no. The characters were at various times cowardly, weak-kneed, fundamentally evil, selfish, spineless, pathetic, helpless, etc. The few that did do something kind for another person seemed to be motivated by guilt rather than any altruistic sensibility. And really, do bad things actually happen that often to people or are they offset even occasionally by good things?This book won the Giller Prize in 2000. Those judges must love wallowing in misery. Don’t get me wrong – the writing is good and the story is told well. But it’s like constantly picking the scab from a wound – it never gets better and sometimes even becomes infected, but you can’t stop picking even if it’s painful. Well, this whole book was one gaping wound. But hey, some people just love this kind of book – I’m just not one of them.