The Innocent by Lynne Golding

39351357

In the year 1907, all of Brampton is present at the sod-turning ceremony for the Carnegie Library. At the end of the event, the crowd rises as one to walk to the Presbyterian Church for a consecration service… Everyone except Jessie Stephens and her family. Her father will not allow them to enter the Presbyterian Church.

No one will tell young Jessie the reason, but she learns that it has something to do with her grandfather Jesse Brady, who built it. As she seeks to solve that mystery over many years, Jessie slowly begins to learn the history of the town in which she lives. Her tales of everyday life in small town Ontario combine to craft a vivid portrait of a life and a family that are, upon closer inspection, anything but ordinary.

My Review

The book started as a slow read for me . But as a fan of Historical Fiction I couldn’t leave this book unread . I am glad i kept reading because the story started getting more and more interesting .

The book is written in much depth . The story is loosely based on true events relayed by Jessie Current . The author herself is great granddaughter of Jessie’s aunt Rose . A lot of the characters are real life except some .

One thing which bothered me is Jessie’s . She was born in Brampton 1903 and aged four when she started narrating the story . I am surprised a child of her age could grasp so many things going on around her . She sure had a habbit of eavesdropping .

When ever I imagined Jessie I imagined Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch from To kill a Mockingbird .

Every chapter has a different story to tell which revolves around the life of Jessie and her family . Jessie lives in a family of six members which includes her grandfather , both parents , older brother and a sister . She has a close relationship with her grandfather in whose life she is interested . All of them are religious and well manared Bramptonian family . Her father is a Dentist and a head of many organizations of Brampton . Her mother is a houswife who loves to play piano and have great love for shoes . She has a friendly relationship with her older brother Jim , but her older sister Ina doesn’t give any attention to her .

In the quest of finding why her grandfather and her family does not attend Presbyterian church she came to know about more and more of her town Brampton . The book can be described as more of a story of Brampton and how it flourished from couple of hundreds people to thousands .

As a history lover I totally loved this book . Reading about events that happened more than hundred of years make me want to be a part of them . There is something about historical fiction books . I appreciate the hardwork Lynne Golding put into writting the book . This book made me want to hear stories from Jessie herself .

Happy Reading..

Recommended for anybody who loves: Historical Fiction , stories from old canadian towns .