Fiction

The Mystery of Right and Wrong

The Mystery of Right and Wrong

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-09-26 10:51:09
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Wayne Johnston
  • ISBN：0735281637
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Summary

The Mystery of Right and Wrong is a masterwork from one of the country's most critically acclaimed and beloved writers that is both compulsively readable and heartstopping in thevital truth it unfolds。 In a novel that grapples with sexual abuse， male violence and madness， Wayne Johnston reveals haunting family secrets he's kept for more than thirty years。

Wade Jackson， a young man from a Newfoundland outport， wants to be a writer。 In the university library in St。 John's， where he goes every day to absorb the great books of the world， he encounters the fascinating， South African-born Rachel van Hout， and soon they are lovers。

Rachel is the youngest of four van Hout daughters。 Her father， Hans， lived in Amsterdam during the Second World War， and says he was in the Dutch resistance。 When the war ended， he emigrated to South Africa， where he met his wife， Myra， had his daughters and worked as an accounting professor at the University of Cape Town。 Something happened， though， that caused him to uproot his family and move them all， unhappily， to Newfoundland。

Wade soon discovers that Rachel and her sisters are each in their own way a wounded soul。 The oldest， Gloria， has a string of broken marriages behind her。 Carmen is addicted to every drug her Afrikaner dealer husband， Fritz， can lay his hands on。 Bethany， the most sardonic of the sisters， is fighting a losing battle with anorexia。 And then there is Rachel， who reads The Diary of Anne Frank obsessively， and diarizes her days in a secret language of her own invention， writing to the point of breakdown and beyond--an obsession that has deeper and more disturbing roots than Wade could ever have imagined。

Confronting the central mystery of his character Rachel's life--and his own--Wayne Johnston has created a tour-de-force that pulls the reader toward a conclusion both inevitable and impossible to foresee。 As he writes， "The Mystery of Right and Wrong is a memorialization of the lost， the missing women of the world， and of my world。 I see it not as a dark book， but as one that sheds light--a lot of light--on things that， once illuminated， lose their power to distort the truth。"

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Reviews

Eva ，

Wow， I don’t even know where to start with this review。 I have such mixed feelings after having read this book and don’t know if I would recommend it but perhaps not for the reasons you may think。 It is gut wrenching and disturbing and full of trigger warnings。 It gives both the viewpoint of victims of child sexual abuse and that of the offender。 I normally wouldn’t put what might be a bit of a spoiler in a review but when this became known to me， a survivor of childhood sexual abuse， I felt ill Wow， I don’t even know where to start with this review。 I have such mixed feelings after having read this book and don’t know if I would recommend it but perhaps not for the reasons you may think。 It is gut wrenching and disturbing and full of trigger warnings。 It gives both the viewpoint of victims of child sexual abuse and that of the offender。 I normally wouldn’t put what might be a bit of a spoiler in a review but when this became known to me， a survivor of childhood sexual abuse， I felt ill。 Some of my notes from the first half of the book were that the author seemed to be trying to parse his thoughts through his writing， the repetition of an action sounded like mental illness and that one of the characters has the same initials as the author。 I share these because we learn in the author’s note at the end of Johnston’s relationship to the story。 The story reminded me of a raindrop that falls into a puddle and creates concentric circles。 There were ever expanding layers to the story。 The main character of Rachel is obsessed with Anne Frank and another Anne that she writes about it in her coded language。 Hans， the father， also claims to have a connection to Anne Frank-one that will both surprise and anger you。 While part of the story is told in the author’s typical setting of Newfoundland， it also has settings in South Africa and Amsterdam。 Told in both prose and verse， it was a bit difficult for this reader’s mind to switch back and forth but I was impressed by the rhyming。 The first half of this rather long book is a bit slow but knowing what I know now I see in part why the author chose to do this。 The second half picked up significantly and threw a few surprises into the story。 Overall， I am impressed by this book as I have been with many of his previous books that I now need to go back and look at for hidden messages from this book， THE book as the author calls it。 Thank you to @netgalley and @knopfca for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions。 The Mystery of Right and Wrong publishes September 21， 2021。 。。。more

Zachary Houle ，

Wayne Johnston is something of a national treasure in Canadian literature。 He is， perhaps， most famous for writing historical novels that feature Newfoundland as a prominent setting。 However， his new book， The Mystery of Right and Wrong， marks a bit of a turn。 While some of it is set in Newfoundland， a lot of it is set in Cape Town， South Africa。 It is also a thinly-veiled fictitious memoir of life with his wife’s family。 It turns out — according to the author’s note at the back — that a lot of Wayne Johnston is something of a national treasure in Canadian literature。 He is， perhaps， most famous for writing historical novels that feature Newfoundland as a prominent setting。 However， his new book， The Mystery of Right and Wrong， marks a bit of a turn。 While some of it is set in Newfoundland， a lot of it is set in Cape Town， South Africa。 It is also a thinly-veiled fictitious memoir of life with his wife’s family。 It turns out — according to the author’s note at the back — that a lot of this novel is real in some way， and the book exposes very dark family secrets that might bear the adage of the truth being stranger than fiction。 For that reason， I’m almost hesitant to pen a review。 This is clearly a book that Johnston wanted to write to expose the darkness in his own extended family， but I wonder if the finished product might wind up hurting people more than helping。 That’s all I feel I can say on that matter for now， not only to not spoil the novel but also to be respectful of some of the lives that will be impacted by the publication of this book。 This is not an easy read to digest， so I’ll try to pretend here， for the most part， that this is just another ordinary novel with no ties to reality。The Mystery of Right and Wrong is set in the mid-‘80s and is largely told from the viewpoints of two narrators: Wade， an aspiring writer， and Rachel， the young woman he falls in love with while working as a newspaper reporter in St。 John’s。 Rachel has moved to St。 John’s with her family from South Africa and has a sort of mental illness that compels her to write in a diary in a secret， made-up language。 That diary is presented in the text （mostly in English， not the invented language）， along with the writing of her father Hans， as a combination of rhyming poetry and prose。 In any event， Wade and Rachel wind up moving to Cape Town with her family （her parents and three other sisters） a couple of years after they meet， and that’s when Rachel’s weird but otherwise seemingly idyllic family really starts to unravel。 Incidentally， Rachel is infatuated with The Diary of Anne Frank， so much so that she gives Jeff Mangum a run for his money。 （Neutral Milk Hotel fans will have some idea what I’m talking about。） In any event， through a combination of prose and poetry， and shifting point-of-views， family secrets begin to untangle like skin being peeled off an onion。Read the rest of the review here: https://zachary-houle。medium。com/a-re。。。 。。。more

Rick ，

The mystery of right and wrong is a fictional story about a very dysfunctional family。 Wade is a university student and would be writer who meets the girl of his dreams in the library one day。 Little does he know this will be quite a roller coaster ride。 The mystery of right and wrong is written by Wayne Johnson， a prolific author with many novels to his credit。Wade is in the library one day and catches the eye of a girl。 They become a couple。 Rachel turns out to be quite a prolific writer which The mystery of right and wrong is a fictional story about a very dysfunctional family。 Wade is a university student and would be writer who meets the girl of his dreams in the library one day。 Little does he know this will be quite a roller coaster ride。 The mystery of right and wrong is written by Wayne Johnson， a prolific author with many novels to his credit。Wade is in the library one day and catches the eye of a girl。 They become a couple。 Rachel turns out to be quite a prolific writer which makes Wade jealous because he is struggling to become a writer himself。 It turns out that Rachel actually suffers from a malady where she cannot stop writing or reading。 She is obsessed with Anne Frank。 Rachel has four sisters and she's originally from South Africa。 Her family decides to return to South Africa and Wade decides to go with Rachel for a short term。 He finds out that Rachel sisters each have a unique problem and their father seems to exercise control over the whole family。 The family spirals down as the novel continues on and more and more of the secrets are revealed。Johnson is a master in at character development。 Rachel is quite a complex character who has an obsession with reading and writing。 Wade himself is quite a nice person but seems to have writer’s block as long as he is tied to Rachel。 The three sisters also very unique characters and their father seems to be a controlling manipulative person。 All of these characters are quite complex and disturbed and they become more so as the story continues。 Overall the story is quite compelling because it is about family dynamics and how the family members interact with each other。 How they all become the way they are is quite amazing but the story does take a long time to unfold。 I found the middle of the book quite tedious。 There are a lot of details especially concerning Rachel and her obsession with Anne Frank。 It tends to drag on quite a bit。 As well， Rachel’s father develops this fictional story that he recites to his daughters。 We go from poetry to prose at times and it becomes confusing and unclear。 The salvation of the book is the way it's wrapped up and how you start to understand what's been going on this whole time。 Probably one of the most shocking and interesting things about the book is the author’s revelation at the end of the book。 This itself ties into the story quite strongly。I think of the story is very attractive for those that like stories about family dynamics and how dysfunctional families work。 I give the book of three and five primarily because I found it in the middle of the book quite tedious。 I want to thank NetGalley， Penguin Random House Canada and Knopf Canada for providing me a digital copy of this book。 I provide this review voluntarily。 。。。more

Krista ，

In any case， they soon come back。 The flickering along the wrack continues until morning comes。 The sirens， now that night is done， must go back to the sea and hide — they lost their voices when they died。 They cannot sing their secret song， “The Mystery of Right and Wrong”; they know the words but no one who would sing them truthfully to you。 In the publisher’s blurb， it states that in The Mystery of Right and Wrong， critically acclaimed and beloved Canadian author Wayne Johnston “reveals ha In any case， they soon come back。 The flickering along the wrack continues until morning comes。 The sirens， now that night is done， must go back to the sea and hide — they lost their voices when they died。 They cannot sing their secret song， “The Mystery of Right and Wrong”; they know the words but no one who would sing them truthfully to you。 In the publisher’s blurb， it states that in The Mystery of Right and Wrong， critically acclaimed and beloved Canadian author Wayne Johnston “reveals haunting family secrets he's kept for more than 30 years”。 With a main character named “Wade Jackson” — an aspiring young novelist from a Newfoundland outport — it is immediately reinforced that Johnston will be cutting close to the bone with this book。 What follows is rather harrowing: this is a story of domestic abuse， systemic abuse （from the Nazi occupation of Holland to South African apartheid）， intergenerational trauma， and mental illness。 It is also a love story， a coming of age story， and an inquiry into whether， in the aftermath of abuse， either evil or free will can exist; the titular “mystery” of right and wrong。 In a lengthy afterword， Johnston explains which parts are true （and how they played out in real life）， and that part gobsmacked me; I can totally see how a masterclass on Johnston’s work can now be taught， with this novel serving as the key that unlocks it all。 This book is courageous and important and compelling， and to be fair， it was also a bit too long， and although Johnston explains the reasons for the segments in verse， I found them， as they went on， exasperating。 I am grateful to have received an advanced reading copy of this book five months before publication and I am daunted by the idea of being the first to review and “rate” it， but here goes: based on its importance and artistry， five stars; based on my personal “enjoyment” of the reading experience， I’m knocking it back to four。 （Note: I read an ARC through NetGalley and passages quoted may not be in their final forms。 Note especially， there was no particular formatting for the segments in verse and I reckon that could change。） I wasn’t sure if the book was making me worse or if it was all that was holding me together。 My supposedly secret illness。 But it somehow reassured me to think about the ways my sisters coped。 Carmen had her drugs。 Gloria had her hypersexuality， though not many people called it that at the time。 Bethany had her anorexia。 I had my diary and Het Achterhuis， which I kept reading even after I knew it by heart。 The thought that we were all freaks made me feel less like one。 Wade Jackson — a recent university graduate， working as a newspaper reporter while he plans his first novel — meets a young woman in the university library， which they both frequent as a quiet place to work。 Wade will be so struck with this Rachel van Hout — beautiful and quirky， born in South Africa and brought along with her family to St。 John’s as a teenager when her professor father took a job there — that despite some alarming proclivities， Wade will immediately throw his lot in with her。 No matter how odd， damaging， or dangerous Rachel and her three sisters’ self-harming behaviours become， Wade commits to the long haul。 There is a real heaviness and dread to the plot — what will the sisters do next and how did they get this way？ — as POV skips through time and rotates between Wade， Rachel， the encoded diary she keeps， and long snippets from the epic verse Rachel’s father wrote and forced the girls to memorise as children， The Ballad of the Clan van Hout: Girls， get used to contradictions， truthful lies and false non-fictions。 What isn’t there is everywhere; the things which are， are not， you see， however much they seem to be — and what is not is what will be as long as you and I agree。 In the moment I could understand why these sections are set apart in verse — and in the afterword Johnston further， intriguingly， explains the impetus behind his use of poetry — but as I began with， and perhaps it comes down to the novel’s length， it eventually became just too much as a reading experience。 However， the insight these sections allow into the mind of the girls’ father， Hans van Hout， are integral to the plot and allow us to take his self-mythologising with a grain of salt。 （But honestly， less would be more for me。） As the action moves from Newfoundland to South Africa， and back home again through Amsterdam， Hans’ origin story will morph and change; but everywhere and in every time we are forced to consider what is and isn’t credible， defensible， or justifiable。 It struck me that Rachel had been right when she said that history happened not in some nebulous， exceptional elsewhere， but in ordinary concrete places， to commonplace people。 My world shrank to this pair of unexceptional streets， to Hans and his family， to Anne Frank and hers。 History， the war， the fate of the Franks， were personal， local， terrifyingly actual and immediate。 I imagined Hans as a teenager looking out of one of the windows of the house， his hands pressed to the glass as the Nazis marched past， their boots clumping on the cobblestones， row after row of bluff and bravado and menace without purpose， a lethal behemoth composed of men just like the ones who ran South Africa and those who supported them， greater only in number， driven to savagery by a group of men whose madness they need not have fallen for but did for reasons that flattered none of humankind。 There is a lot of disturbing material in this book， reflecting the fact that there is a lot of disturbing material in life （certainly there has been enough in Johnston’s life that he claims to never be surprised by anything of which a person can be accused or to which they might confess）。 To make a novel out of this kind of material — a novel that employs that material to explore nuanced questions of right and wrong with artistry — is no small feat; to learn that the author is using this vehicle to expose and explore close-held secrets and pathologies is breathtaking。 I have no doubt that The Mystery of Right and Wrong will make a big stir upon its release and I am looking forward to reading what others make of it。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Mystery of Right and Wrong

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Mystery of Right and Wrong&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Mystery of Right and Wrong&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0