Mercy Among the Children; A Novel

by David Adams Richards

• ISBN13: 9780743448185
• ISBN10: 0743448189
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-10-08
• Publisher: Washington Square Press

Summary

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.

Author Biography

David Adams Richards is an award-winning author of fiction and nonfiction. For Mercy Among the Children, he won the Giller Prize, Canada's most prestigious literary award, which he shared with Michael Ondaatje. He was also awarded the Canadian Booksellers Association Libris Award for Author of the Year and Fiction Book of the Year for Mercy Among the Children. He lives in Toronto with his wife and their two sons.