Plenty of harm in God: A novel [Hardcover]

Newfoundland-born Montrealer Dana Bath's first novel, Plenty of Harm in God, moves through the lives of various women, starting with a young and pregnant Molly Greening, abandoned in a boarding school after her parents' death and her older sister's marriage. In an internal monologue to her daughter Clare, Molly tells her of her immaculate conception (while suggesting that Clare's father may not be God after all, but rather a former priest) and Molly's subsequent escape from the school to raise Clare on her own. The narration then moves to Clare, 20 years old and pregnant herself, making a return visit to Inis Oirr, Ireland, from her native Newfoundland. She has come back to fulfill a grim pact made five years before with her cousin Gillian, only to discover upon arrival that her Aunt Rosary has been put in a home and Gillian isn't interested in her or the pact they made. Returning to Inis Oirr also forces her to relive the details of her mother's death there years before. Plenty of Harm in God is beautifully written in a musical language, as Bath's women attempt to find themselves, often despite themselves, and grasp some sense of sanity through it all. --Rob McLennan

"Bath's tale ... moves back and forth like little waves 'sweet as the surface of tea in a storm.' " -- - Gail Scott

"Bath's writing is confident, plain, and breezy, with just enough forays into poetry to feel Irish." -- - Montreal Review of Books, Fall & Winter 2001-02, p. 10

"Slightly off mainstream, something of a surprise, an undeniably clear voice that exposes a new look at the [Newfoundland] landscape." -- - Atlantic Books Today, Winter 2001, p. 7 --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Plenty of Harm in God is the story of Clare, twenty years old and accidentally pregnant, and her return from her native Newfoundland to Inisheer, Ireland. The goal of the journey is to fulfill a pact made five years earlier with her cousin Gillian, after a bizarre set of circumstances led to the end of the surreal and mystical life of Clare's young mother Molly.

Clare's despair, and her belief that her genealogy is 'poisoned', have convinced her that death is the only answer but her search brings her back to people who believe in the possibilities her life holds.

Plenty of Harm in God is about the decisions we make and those that are made for us, and the power of faith - whether it be in 'God', accident, or the simple possibility of change. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Dana Bath is originally from Corner Brook, Newfoundland. She now lives in Montreal, where she teaches English and writes. Bath has been an award-winning writer since her early college years. She has won prizes from Grain Magazine's Short Grain Contest, Anvil Press's International Three-Day Novel Contest, and This Magazine's Great Canadian Literary Hunt. Her book of short stories, What Might Have Been Rain, was published by Conundrum Press in 1998. She has published fiction and non-fiction in Index, Room of One's Own, Grain, sub-Terrain, Bitch, Hour Montreal and Matrix. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.