Mercy Among the Children: A Novel - Softcover

Richards, David Adams

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0743448189 ISBN 13: 9780743448185

Publisher: Simon and Schuster, 1999

Synopsis

When twelve-year-old Sidney Henderson pushes his friend Connie off the roof of a local church in a moment of anger, he makes a silent vow: Let Connie live and I will never harm another soul. At that very moment, Connie stands, laughs, and walks away. Sidney keeps his promise through adulthood despite the fact that his insular, rural community uses his pacifism to exploit him. Sidney's son Lyle, however, 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 hands. In his effort to protect the people he loves -- his beautiful and fragile mother, Elly; his gifted sister, Autumn; and his innocent brother, Percy -- it is Lyle who will determine his family's legacy.

About this title

Review:

"Like Hardy before him, Richards seems determined not only to dignify the inhabitants of his native rural community, but to give them a universal significant as well" (The Times)

"Astonishing... fiercely imagined and brilliantly rendered" (Globe and Mail)

"This is a book that is redolent of Annie Proulx in its elegiac narrative, while achieving a depth of touch that feels truthful, individual and glorious" (Scotland on Sunday)

Book Description:

'One of the great novels of our time' Alistair MacLeod

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon and Schuster
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0743448189
• ISBN 13: 9780743448185
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384