Mercy Among The Children

This book keeps you engrossed in the story from beginning to end. You get extremely frustrated with the main character and experience heartbreak for others more than once. I've recommended this book to countless people and everyone has loved it in spite of the rather dark emotions it envokes.

I picked up this book because I had to read something for my English class and I must say, its extraordinary.
My expecatations for this novel were low; restricted to limited Canadian authors in my school library made me think of this novel as juvenile. I was greatly mistaken.

The characters contained so much depth. "Sydney Henderson is a passive man" is an understatement. He's a pushover to the last degree. The first half of the novel focuses on him and his morals and ideals in life. You can't help but think "He's a complete coward" at some point in the novel.
His son Lyle, can't disagree more with his father. He rebels, and discards his father's teachings.

This novel shows the two sides of man and how each and every one of us has the ability to do the right thing but are unable to. Richards presents the story in the most beautiful way. It has been a long time since I last cried while reading.
The only thing I disliked was the underlining of religious preaching in his texts which made me pull away slightly.
I dont reccomend this to anyone simply because it is a heavy read and taxing on the heart.

Another Canada Reads 2009 contender (I recently blogged about another one called The Outlander) that I read for my book club. But unlike The Outlander, I did not care for 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.

This remarkable novel is one of the most profoundly sad and difficult fiction reads I've encountered in a long time. I would remind myself that it was a work of fiction, and feel grateful. Richards creates characters that evoke empathy in ways that were completely unexpected. Yes, I felt empathy with the unfortunate Hendersons -- Sydney the father who made a pact never to knowingly "hurt" only to scar his young son Lyle in ways he never truly understood. And Lyle, the boy so determined to become different than his father, and yet was so like him he hid himself away. But I also empathized with those characters whose behaviours were abominable -- which surprised me and I credit that to the exemplary story-telling skills that Richards employs. This book made me feel ashamed -- ashamed of the many times I overlook poverty in my own community and ashamed of the complacency with which I accept my comfortable lifestyle as deserved. A truly remarkable novel.

Having picked up far too many books at the library on my last visit, I thought I wasn't going to have the opportunity to finish Mercy Among the Children before its due date, but I made it a priority once hearing it was a Canada Reads 2009 selection. I will happily pay the late fees when entertained with such thought provoking and affecting storytelling as this.

Our narrator, Lyle Henderson, has the misfortune of being a descendent of a father and grand-father who have been outcasts in their small New Brunswick town for decades. Poverty, alcohol and condemnation have all been sources of ridicule and embarrassment that these men have had to endure. Lyle's father, Sydney, a compassionate, stoic and righteous man, lives his life under the "turn the other cheek," philosophy, and has faith in the fact that those who attempt to hurt him or his family, will eventually hurt themselves. This is a tough pill to swallow for Lyle, who sees his dad's inability to protect or stand up for the family as pacifism, and ultimately neglect. His eventual recourse is to become a renegade, as he starts to detest all the propriety and weakness that his father seems governed by.

I would often find myself in a tizzy after reading the incessant small-town gossip and lies that run rampant throughout, and in disgust would throw the book down and pace my living room shouting obscenities at the ruthless and diabolical nature of the characters Richards has expertly presented us with. I would ferociously plead for Saint-Sydney to grow a spine and reject the false accusations made of him. As another one of his philosophies is never to beg the truth of anyone that wouldn't understand it, for him justice was something that could only be obtained through patience, and waiting for others to self-destruct, not participating in injurious revenge. It was these instilled moral convictions versus a teenagers need be accepted and feel safe within the morally corrupt society around him, that ignited the internal battle between good and evil that Lyle found himself struggling with throughout this complex, tragic, and tightly woven tale.

Although you won't find any perfectly 'happy endings' here, there are ponderous messages relating to spirituality, the essence of bravery, the possibility of redemption in spite of affliction, and the importance of truth, that leave me feeling challenged and inspired, no matter how lamentable the outcomes. I look forward to reading more of David Adams Richards' work.

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I don't say that lightly. I don't even have a novel that is looking in from second place.
I read constantly, but this is the first time I feel visceral anger at a novel. Every time someone was about to do something cruel to the Hendersons, there is a 5 page introspection as to why they are going to do it. And I still never understand their motivations.
I have been trying to find a friend willing to read this book in order to find out if it is just me. Unfortunately, I think I have made my prejudices against this book to clear and nobody wants to.

BY FAR THE WORST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ!!! The entire novel consists of a whiney brat complaining about all of the "tragedies" in his life. This book should be burned. I would pay money if i could un-read the book!

From start to finish, I could find no fault with this book. It quickly pulls the reader into its wonderfully woven web of deceit and hardships, love and hate, regret and redemption.

Set in a time when the Catholic Church still looms ever present and ever powerful, a classic struggle of good verses evil plays out between the Hendersons and the Pits; the Lumber Lord McVicer and the little men who struggle to make a living. The manufactured lies ran rampant against the one man, Sydney Henderson, who is truly good; a man who has sworn a pact with God, never to harm another soul.

I found it incredulous that these small town people (especially those in authority) were more than willing to believe the worst about one of their own. No matter what Sydney does to help his fellow neighbours, he is continually beaten down like a clown punching bag. Even when his own life and the heart of his family are threatened, Sydney remains true to his pact.

Though the lines between good and evil are well defined, the more you get to know and understand the characters who reside in this book, the more you will care about them, even the most retched and hateful of the lot. The Henderson children: Lyle, Autumn, and little Percy, will linger long after you put this book to rest.

The writing in itself was quite decent and kept your interest. However the storyline itself was miserable beyond all reckoning.

I have read a lot of fiction, and this book is without a doubt the absolutely best novel I have ever read in my life! I thought Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird was unrivalled, but Mercy Among The Children beats even that! It is the saddest, most touching, and best-written novel I have ever come across; and it will change the way you see and treat people. It is extremely thought-provoking, and did I mention - VERY sad... But an absolutely astoundingly amazingly brilliantly excellent book. I give it six stars.

Wow. This book was so full of small town friction. I found it hard to accept that Sydney wouldn't stand up to the rest of the town. His family suffered so much! I can't even imagine what that kind of poverty would be like, in this decade. Sad and frustrating but it was a satisfying read...

The anger and sorrow in this book is a little overwhelming. I found it refreshing for the hero not to be leading a charmed life. This is a story of how people live and how we treat each other. I admired the courage of Sidney for standing by his pact with God but felt a lot of sadness for the suffering of his family. For part of this book I felt anger toward Sidney and sadness for Lyle's suffering but over time I found myself feeling admiration for a man who stood by his word. All he had for his family was the strength of his integrity. This book is well worth every minute you spend reading it. It is the kind of book you really never want to end.

Like 'Fall on your knees', I had to keep reminding myself this was fiction or I wouldn't have made it through. Nonetheless, it made me cry, the characters are the embodiment of us all. Amazing writing style. When I've recovered, I will go back for more.

One of the back cover reviews of this book compares it to Thomas Hardy. How true! I was annoyed that the Henderson family seemed incapable of fighting back - father was convinced that all would work out according to God's plan. Well, I agree with the son, Lyle. Father was a fool. A good man, even perhaps a saint but a fool none the less. The book is interesting and worth reading, but be prepared for sadness and grief. I found that there were, like Hardy. too many co-incidences. Read Far from the Madding Crowd or Jude the Obscure and you will. I think, agree with me.

I have put this novel on the top of my list. What an incredibly talented writer Richards is! Sydney invaded my thoughts for a long time after I had closed the book, and is a character I will never forget. I was so moved by this story, and often found myself weeping for the pain endured by Sydney and his family. Richards has given us a true depiction of how humanity can be so cruel, and yet how personal conviction can withstand unrelenting persecution. A beautiful story.

In this Giller Prize-winner, narrator Lyle Henderson tells the story of his family in small-town NB. As a child, his father Sydney vowed to God that he would never harm a soul and he holds true to that promise. Others see this as mere weakness and pity him or see it as an opportunity to take advantage of him. Witnessing this as a child, Lyle takes a different and more aggressive attitude towards the world, and we witness how it all works out for both of them.

An intriguing writing style and fascinating characters. Both story and characters are drawn differently than I'm used to, but it was nice to have something different as a challenge, and it was still incredibly realistic and interesting. The narration by Lyle is also different. Can a book be depressing and uplifting at one time? Read Mercy Among the Children to find out!

This is a very good book. One word of advice - go back and read the beginning when you're done. It ties everything together very nicely.

An excellent choice for Heather's Picks. I recommend it to everyone I talk to. When you try to paraphrase it for someone it sounds very depressing (father of very poor family is falsely accused of several things and the book deals with the effect this has on the family). For some strange reason I found it uplifting and very filling, as though I'd just pulled myself away from the table after a wonderful meal. I'm glad Heather pointed it out to me!

This book paints a tragic picture of how a family can be destroyed by a hatefull society. Wonderful novel, one of the most touching i have ever experienced.

This was a book chosen for our book club. I was actually looking forward to this book because I had read the cover before. The last time I felt this worn out reading was in high school. If you are able to pass this one up. It may be award winning but it was the longest read of my life.