The acclaimed and bestselling author and poet Michael Crummey discusses his new novel The Adversary (Knopf Canada, 2023), with Joseph Planta.

The Adversary by Michael Crummey (Knopf Canada, 2023). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: The Adversary

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Michael Crummey joins me again. The acclaimed writer recently published his latest novel, The Adversary. It’s about a man and a woman who hate one another, who happen to be brother and sister. I’ll get Michael to tell us as much as he’d like about the story, about the rich setting he places his characters, not just in this book, but in his other works that evoke the isolation and darkness of an outport on Newfoundland’s northern coastline, a couple of hundred years ago. I’ll ask Michael about the dynamics between the two central characters in the book, and the themes of hatred, power, family, and corruption, and how what’s happening around us today might have influenced this book. I’ll ask him about the role of faith, and organised religion has in this book, and how each of the characters feel its influence in their lives and how they express their power. The book has gotten a lot of good notices already, and is a bestseller. Michael Crummey is the author of seven books of poetry, and five previous novels, including River Thieves, Galore, and Sweetland. His work is always highly regarded, and finalists for the major book prizes here as well as abroad. This new book is published by Knopf Canada. We taped this interview late last month, with Michael joining me from Toronto. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Michael Crummey; Mr. Crummey, good morning.

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