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Child of These Tears
In the early years of the eighteenth century, the settlers living in the hamlet of Hartfield Falls in "English America" face the looming threat posed by historical and political forces beyond their control. Queen Anne's War has brought the French and their Native American allies into deadly proximity to New England's colonists.
On one fateful day in the depth of winter, young Constance Baker is taken captive in a bloody raid on Hartfield Falls and marched north to Canada-a march she barely survives. Soon her destiny becomes bound up in a struggle between her English parents, the Mohawk tribe into which she has been adopted, and a French Jesuit priest, who reluctantly takes on her spiritual direction. In this crucible of loss and suffering, of clashing faiths and sensibilities-where sacrifices are sometimes demanded and sometimes freely given-all will be irrevocably changed.
In a manner reminiscent of George Saunders's Lincoln in the Bardo, Child of These Tears is told in polyphonic form, through a variety of narrative genres-captivity tale, commonplace book, letters, and journals. The result is a searing, unforgettable novel that explores the nature of memory, belonging, redemption, and grace.
On one fateful day in the depth of winter, young Constance Baker is taken captive in a bloody raid on Hartfield Falls and marched north to Canada-a march she barely survives. Soon her destiny becomes bound up in a struggle between her English parents, the Mohawk tribe into which she has been adopted, and a French Jesuit priest, who reluctantly takes on her spiritual direction. In this crucible of loss and suffering, of clashing faiths and sensibilities-where sacrifices are sometimes demanded and sometimes freely given-all will be irrevocably changed.
In a manner reminiscent of George Saunders's Lincoln in the Bardo, Child of These Tears is told in polyphonic form, through a variety of narrative genres-captivity tale, commonplace book, letters, and journals. The result is a searing, unforgettable novel that explores the nature of memory, belonging, redemption, and grace.
- GenresFiction
212 pages, Paperback
First published September 30, 2025
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November 22, 2025
Child of These Tears is a polyphonic tale of a family shattered by violence, each voice tracing its own path through loss, captivity, and the search for belonging.
Set in the 1700s, the English and French—alongside their Native American allies—collide viciously in a small hamlet, leaving the Baker family at the center of the devastation. When the chaos subsides, Constance and her mother are swept up with the surviving villagers. Her siblings are brutally murdered, her father has vanished, and the captives are marched into the woods, their futures uncertain.
The story unfolds through a mix of narration, journal entries and letters as they all try to find their way back to each other: her father’s decent into madness, her mother’s grief, the observations of a French priest at the camp, and Constance’s own captivity story—a traumatized young girl, separated from her family, clinging to survival. Together, these perspectives weave a chorus of sorrow and resilience.
It’s not a pleasant story, but it is a compelling one. The prose moves quickly, carrying you through brutality and tenderness alike, and leaves you sitting with the weight of what survival costs.
I don't think this will be for everyone, but for those who enjoy epistolary historical fiction, you won't want this one to fly under your radar.
Set in the 1700s, the English and French—alongside their Native American allies—collide viciously in a small hamlet, leaving the Baker family at the center of the devastation. When the chaos subsides, Constance and her mother are swept up with the surviving villagers. Her siblings are brutally murdered, her father has vanished, and the captives are marched into the woods, their futures uncertain.
The story unfolds through a mix of narration, journal entries and letters as they all try to find their way back to each other: her father’s decent into madness, her mother’s grief, the observations of a French priest at the camp, and Constance’s own captivity story—a traumatized young girl, separated from her family, clinging to survival. Together, these perspectives weave a chorus of sorrow and resilience.
It’s not a pleasant story, but it is a compelling one. The prose moves quickly, carrying you through brutality and tenderness alike, and leaves you sitting with the weight of what survival costs.
I don't think this will be for everyone, but for those who enjoy epistolary historical fiction, you won't want this one to fly under your radar.
Displaying 1 of 1 review