The Bay of Love and Sorrows [Hardcover]

David Adams Richards (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 7, 2003

From the two-time winner of the Governor General's Award, The Bay of Love and Sorrows is an unflinching story of ambition and betrayal.

The novel begins as the once-strong friendship between Michael Skid, the privileged young son of a judge from town, and farmhand Tommie Donnerel collapses under the weight of a bitter misunderstanding. As Michael sets out to prove something to himself and others, he becomes drawn into the company of the beautiful and determined Madonna Brassaurd and her brother, Silver. The three are soon seduced by the glamour of Everette Hutch, a charismatic but violent man, whose latest scheme appears certain to result in tragedy. Bridging the decent world of Tommie Donnerel and the darker realm of the Brassaurds and Everette Hutch is Karrie Smith. Home from college for the summer, Karrie's deep longing for a more exciting life makes her especially vulnerable to a world she does not completely understand.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Richards's latest (after Mercy Among the Children) is the powerful tale of a botched drug deal in a small Nova Scotia town in the 1970s. Karrie Smith and Tom Donnerel are high school sweethearts who, by the summer after her first year of college, are mired in a long-term grudge match. Karrie gives in to her attraction to Tom's charismatic friend, Michael Skid, the son of a local judge who lures Karrie into a manipulative and loveless relationship. Michael, in turn, is manipulated by a drug dealer, Everette Hutch, who coerces Michael into using his father's sailboat to ship a stash of tainted drugs. Michael tosses the stash overboard when the Coast Guard suddenly turns up, but Everette is unimpressed by his resourcefulness, and Michael's effort to recoup the drug money sets off a chain of murders that leaves several main characters dead, Tom in prison, and Michael exonerated, though heartbroken. Michael gets his revenge, with the help of the ravaged beauty Madonna Brassaurd, a friend whose brother, Silver, played a pivotal role in the earlier murders. Richards's tight plotting keeps the labyrinthine narrative riveting. The cycles of violence and retribution sometimes verge on melodrama, an effect intensified by the occasionally portentous prose (" `It will snow tomorrow,' thought Michael. `It will snow all the days of my youth' ") and the thin characterizations of some of the teenagers (Karrie especially seems simpleminded and younger than her years). Yet in spite of their shortcomings, the characters' rage and bloodlust and remorse are always believable. Those who loved Richards's debut will appreciate once again the grit and moral intensity with which he infuses his provincial portraits.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Across the bay from Prince Edward's Island, Michael Skid's hometown has all the characteristics of a deeply traditional rural community. The son of a local judge, Michael counts himself among the affluent, but he is inclined to search out the seedy underbelly of every social situation he encounters. His harsh words have destroyed a genuine friendship with the stoic Tommie Donnerel, and his loveless caresses have tarnished the virtue of more than one besotted maiden. Now his confident stride and a thirst for quick cash have led him to befriend Everette Hutch, a volatile ex-con with a blackened heart and the mind of a shrew. Michael is as naive as the other downtrodden individuals Everette has chosen as pawns to carry out his darkly laid plans, and the tragic events that ensue will forever be ingrained in the minds of the townspeople residing in The Bay of Love and Sorrows. Richards' story falls into place with the ease of a domino rally, providing all of the elements for a riveting story. Elsa Gaztambide
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Arcade Publishing; 1 edition (April 7, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559706503
• ISBN-13: 978-1559706506
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,530,027 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One word: Wow, September 25, 2003

By 

"shelly98" (Maine, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bay of Love and Sorrows (Paperback)

'The Bay of Love and Sorrows' is one of the best books--if not THE best--I've ever read.

Most books tend to be draggy at the start. This is an exception. It sucks you in from the beginning. It sucks you in and makes you feel like you're an observer, watching everything that's going on as the author describes it. You get outraged, you get saddened, you feel relief,...you feel everything as you read through this; and as you get further and further along, you don't want to stop reading.

The characters are human. No one is saintly, everyone has their faults and strengths. The actions and scenery are described very well--sometimes in a few words, sometimes in many words.

More importantly, though, it makes you think about how justice is doled out sometimes--how sometimes those who have nothing to do with what has happened end up suffering before those involved get their just desserts. It also makes you think about how some people will believe anything anyone tells them, without having the audacity and the know-how to question everything.

A definite must-read.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sublime writing..., April 10, 2001

By 

Caz - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bay of Love and Sorrows. (SIGNED) (Hardcover)

If you've not read any of David Adams Richards' books, you're missing a wonderful experience. Richards is master of the sublime, even when covering gritty topics and plotlines. Such as it is in this title; the characters are imperfect, flawed, some of them disturbed, outcast. This story is a tangled web woven, entrapping the souls it skirts, unravelling their lives as the situation(s) gain momentum. There are truly haunting moments experienced as one absorbs the tale. Although the reader will have affinity with the characters' very human flaws, Richards never allows us to get too close and I believe he does that deliberately; this fiction takes an in-depth look at the shallowness of living on the edge and the waste that it is.

The story will pull you in gently and carry you along with ease - the writing is so good you don't notice it... you simply absorb the story and its characters.

I've been keeping my eyes open for more of this writer's works (I started with his latest "Mercy Among the Children") as he has quickly become one of my fave writers. This is an excellent starter into the rich and dense world of David Adams Richards. Enjoy.