| Description | "In an isolated outport on Newfoundland's northern coastline, Abe Strapp is about to marry the daughter of a rival merchant to cement his hold on the shore when the Widow Caines arrives to throw the wedding and Abe's plans into chaos. That ruthless act of sabotage is the opening salvo in a battle between the man and woman who own Mockbeggar's largest mercantile firms, each fighting for the scarce resources of the north Atlantic fishery, each seeking a measure of revenge on the person they despise most in the world. As their unshakeable animosity spirals further each year into vendettas and violence, the community is increasingly divided and even the innocents in Mockbeggar find themselves forced to take sides, with devastating consequences. Through merciless seasons of uncertainty and want, through predatory storms and pandemics and marauding privateers, it is the human heart that reveals itself to be the most formidable and unpredictable adversary for each person drawn, inevitably and helplessly, into that endless feud."--
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WINNER OF THE DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD 'A vibrant historical novel... Potent' New Yorker, Books of the Year In a remote Newfoundland port settlement, ruthless company man Abe Strapp is set to secure his dominance over the shore and its rich resources by marrying the daughter of a rival merchant - until the Widow Caines stands up in church and throws the wedding and Abe's plans into chaos. As the bitter feud between these two competitors - each determined to ruin the person they despise most - spirals further into vendetta and violence, the locals too are forced to take sides, with devastating consequences. A compulsive, exuberant and uncompromising historical adventure to equal Deadwood or The North Water, The Adversary is a wildly entertaining evocation of power, grievance and retribution.
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LONGLISTED FOR THE DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD An enthralling novel about the corruption of power and the power of corruption from the award-winning, bestselling author of The Innocents "POTENT...A VIBRANT HISTORICAL NARRATIVE"—The New Yorker "A FLAWLESSLY CRAFTED NARRATIVE" —Wall Street Journal "MASTERPIECE" —Publisher's Weekly (Starred Review) "CEASELESSLY ENTERTAINING" —Kirkus (Starred Review) "ONE OF OUR BEST WRITERS" —Booklist (Starred Review) In an isolated outport on Newfoundland's northern coastline, Abe Strapp is about to marry the daughter of a rival merchant to cement his hold on the shore when the Widow Caines arrives to throw the wedding and Abe's plans into chaos. That ruthless act of sabotage is the opening salvo in a battle between the man and woman who own Mockbeggar's largest mercantile firms, each fighting for the scarce resources of the north Atlantic fishery, each seeking a measure of revenge on the person they despise most in the world. As their unshakeable animosity spirals further each year into vendettas and violence, the community is increasingly divided and even the innocents in Mockbeggar find themselves forced to take sides, with devastating consequences. Through merciless seasons of uncertainty and want, through predatory storms and pandemics and marauding privateers, it is the human heart that reveals itself to be the most formidable and unpredictable adversary for each person drawn, inevitably and helplessly, into that endless feud. Compulsively readable and uncompromising, The Adversary is a masterful evocation of a lost time, and a shadowed mirror to our modern politics of grievance and retribution. |
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