This is a story of sibling rivalry -- a rivalry that draws in and affects everyone in the isolated hamlet where Abe Strapp and his sister the widow Caines, live. I found myself drawn into the story by the excellent writing and the sheer audacity of the main characters. At first, I was on the side of the widow, but it became apparent that she was at least as evil and manipulative as her brother, and that is saying a lot! Reading about them induced a morbid fascination.

Upon reflection, I think there was not enough of a story to carry the book. And the motivations for the characters were not well developed; nor were most of the characters. Abe, for example, is bad: vindictive, cruel and fairly stupid. The widow is socipoathiic. No nuances to either of them, or to anyone else for that matter. ( )

There are almost no admirable characters in the book which contains some of the vilest scenes imaginable; yet, it is a good read. Abe Strapp, is the spoiled son of a successful merchant who is about to marry a young girl who will bring more financial security, but the marriage is ruined by his competitor who we find is also his sister, Widow Caines.

Life is hard on his coastline. There is violence, sexual and otherwise. The character of Abe is cruel, unfeeling, as well as stupid and a poor businessman who is only held together by the Beadle (a kind of church/government leader who is the godfather of Abe). Widow Caines is only slightly more humane. A young boy, Solemn and his sister, Bride, work for her. Indentured servants arrive from England on their way to Australia who stay including a young boy branded as a thief, who becomes friends with Solemn and Bride. Strange story, not for everyone's taste, but well-written, believable in spite of the terrible things that are considered ordinary in this society. Times were hard, people were cruel! ( )

I'm an outlier on this one. I didn't care about any of the characters, other than wishing for the few innocent to survive the cruelty inflicted upon them. I guess it's all about money and control and now and then. ( )

Nobody wins! ( )

MC is Canada's CM
Review of the Knopf Canada hardcover (September 26, 2023) with reference to the simultaneously released Knopf Canada Kindle eBook.

“The whole constitution of the town,” the petition said, “is corrupted into debauchery, drunkenness, whoring, gaming, profuseness, and the most foolish, sottish prodigality imaginable.”

OK, we didn't go onto Goodreads in order to be shy about our opinions right? So when I say that Michael Crummey's The Adversary reminded me of no less than Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West (1985), just bear with me for a bit.

The Adversary takes place in the fictional Newfoundland fishing port town of Mockbeggar*, sometime in the early 19th century as near as I can figure**. The main business rivals of the town are the Caines and the Strapp families. The specific main adversaries are the Widow Caines and Abe Strapp. The book title alludes to the frequent Biblical euphemism of the "Adversary" used in place of Satan. The human adversaries and their proxies work to undermine each other's businesses and lives with the other people of the town as pawns.

There is a relentless, inexorable pace to the proceedings which leads to the community being on the verge of decimation through plagues, starvation, fires and the often random deaths from murder or disease. The life is bleak and brutal even if at the end there is a rather slim glimmer of the "meek inheriting the earth."

I don't want to go into too much spoilerish detail, but I found The Adversary to be a remorseless and unforgettable read. It is somewhat of an expanded universe to the author's previous book The Innocents (2019) with several characters reappearing in various major and minor roles or cameo mentions.

Some of the flavour of the book is captured in my status updates (read below the review) or my Kindle highlights. Although I read the hardcopy, there were so many quotable passages that I used the benefit of a Kindle Deal of the Day from December 16, 2023 to save myself the work of transcription.

Footnote
* Mockbeggar Plantation is a historic site near modern day Bonavista, Newfoundland.
** There is a reference to an American vessel being taken by the British Navy, presumably during the War of 1812. One old man is said to have lived in the town since the time of the Seven Years' War (1756-1763).

Soundtrack
See album cover at https://i.discogs.com/ukUy8Y0okWPBz0yzdAoTJ_v_cCY-Xw2aMogNcAcbe0c/rs:fit/g:sm/q:...
There isn't a specific song, but the album title Rum Sodomy & the Lash (1985) by the Pogues fits this book perfectly. Listen to the entire album at this YouTube playlist.

Trivia and Links
Read about some of the historical background to The Adversary at Michael Crummey’s Grim but Compelling Historical Novel by Eric Volmers, Timmins Daily Press, October 5, 2023.

The author acknowledges the use of G.M. Story's Dictionary of Newfoundland English (1982) in his Afterword. If you don't have access to that physical book, you may be able to find the definition of some words used in The Adversary at the dictionary's Online Version. For instance, the definition of "livyer" is here. ( )