The Innocent
In Lynne Golding’s debut novel, Jessie Stephens tells her story of growing up in Brampton, Ontario in the early years of the 20th century. When a new Carnegie Library is dedicated in the town, but her family avoids the religious ceremony that follows at the local Presbyterian Church, Jessie sets out to uncover family secrets as she shares stories of their everyday life. As Jessie grows, so does Brampton, from a small, tightly knit Methodist community to a city with emerging industries, one of which gives the location its lasting nickname: “flower city.” The death of a childhood friend, an adulterous affair, the hometown lacrosse team’s path to the Mann Cup, and a scarlet fever epidemic shape the lives of Jessie, her brother Jim, and her sister Ina.
This book is a collection of loosely connected anecdotes which the author’s note reveals are based on the childhood memories of the real-life Jessie, a cousin of the author. Much more of a literary novel than plot-driven historical fiction, this is a rich but overly lengthy account of early 20th-century life from a young girl’s perspective. The writing is lovely but so heavy with details that it’s hard to maintain momentum to get you through its many pages. Jessie is sweet and precocious, but the book feels more like a memoir than a novel.
