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Surrender
"Sophisticated young readers will be awed by the delicate, measured, heartbreaking portrait that emerges." —Ì� Kirkus Reviews Ìý(starred review)
As life slips away, Gabriel looks back over his brief twenty years, which have been clouded by frustration and humiliation. A small, unforgiving town and distant, punitive parents ensure that he is never allowed to forget the horrific mistake he made as a child. He has only two friends � his dog, Surrender, and the unruly wild boy, Finnigan, a shadowy doppelganger with whom the meek Gabriel once made a boyhood pact. But when a series of arson attacks grips the town, Gabriel realizes how unpredictable and dangerous Finnigan is. As events begin to spiral violently out of control, it becomes devastatingly clear that only the most extreme measures will rid Gabriel of Finnigan for good.
As life slips away, Gabriel looks back over his brief twenty years, which have been clouded by frustration and humiliation. A small, unforgiving town and distant, punitive parents ensure that he is never allowed to forget the horrific mistake he made as a child. He has only two friends � his dog, Surrender, and the unruly wild boy, Finnigan, a shadowy doppelganger with whom the meek Gabriel once made a boyhood pact. But when a series of arson attacks grips the town, Gabriel realizes how unpredictable and dangerous Finnigan is. As events begin to spiral violently out of control, it becomes devastatingly clear that only the most extreme measures will rid Gabriel of Finnigan for good.
248 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
63 people are currently reading
3593 people want to read
About the author
Sonya Hartnett
32Ìýbooks311ÌýfollowersSonya Hartnett (also works under the pseudonym Cameron S. Redfern) is, or was, something of an Australian child prodigy author. She wrote her first novel at the age of thirteen, and had it published at fifteen. Her books have also been published in Europe and North America. Her novels have been published traditionally as young adult fiction, but her writing often crosses the divide and is also enjoyed by adults.
"I chose to narrate the story through a child because people like children, they WANT to like them," says Sonya Hartnett of THURSDAY'S CHILD, her brilliantly original coming-of-age story set during the Great Depression. "Harper [the young narrator] is the reason you get sucked into the characters. Even I, who like to distance myself from my characters, felt protective of her."
The acclaimed author of several award-winning young adult novels--the first written when she was just 13--Australian native Sonya Hartnett says she wrote THURSDAY'S CHILD in a mere three months. "It just pulled itself together," she says. "I'd wanted to set a story in the Depression for some time, in an isolated community that was strongly supportive. Once the dual ideas of the boy who tunneled and the young girl as narrator gelled, it almost wrote itself--I had the cast, I had the setting, I just said 'go.' " Accustomed to writing about edgy young adult characters, Sonya Hartnett says that identifying with a seven-year-old protagonist was a challenge at first. "I found her difficult to approach," she admits. "I'm not really used to children. But once I started, I found you could have fun with her: she could tell lies, she could deny the truth." Whereas most children know "only what adults want them to know," the author discovered she could bypass that limitation by "turning Harper into an eavesdropper and giving her older siblings to reveal realities."
In her second book with Candlewick Press, WHAT THE BIRDS SEE, Sonya Hartnett once again creates a portrait of childhood. This time the subject is Adrian, a nine-year-old boy living in the suburbs with his gran and Uncle. For Adrian, childhood is shaped by fear: his dread of quicksand, shopping centers, and self-combustion. Then one day, three neighborhood children vanish--an incident based on a real case in Australia in the 1960s--and Adrian comes to see just how tenuous his safety net is. In speaking about Adrian, the author provocatively reveals parallels between herself and her character. She says, "Adrian is me in many respects, and many of the things that happen to him happened to me."
Sonya Hartnett's consistently inspired writing has built her a legion of devotees. Of THURSDAY'S CHILD, Newbery Honor-winning author Carolyn Coman says, "Hartnett's beautifully rendered vision drew me in from the very start and carried me along, above and under ground, to the very end. This book amazed me." The achingly beautiful WHAT THE BIRDS SEE has just as quickly garnered critical acclaim. Notes PUBLISHERS WEEKLY in a starred review, "Hartnett again captures the ineffable fragility of childhood in this keenly observed tale. . . . Sophisticated readers will appreciate the work's acuity and poetic integrity." Sonya Hartnett's third young adult novel, STRIPES OF THE SIDESTEP WOLF was named an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults.
Sonya Hartnett lives near Melbourne, Australia. Her most recent novels are SURRENDER, a mesmerizing psychological thriller, and THE SILVER DONKEY, a gently told fable for middle-grade readers.
"I chose to narrate the story through a child because people like children, they WANT to like them," says Sonya Hartnett of THURSDAY'S CHILD, her brilliantly original coming-of-age story set during the Great Depression. "Harper [the young narrator] is the reason you get sucked into the characters. Even I, who like to distance myself from my characters, felt protective of her."
The acclaimed author of several award-winning young adult novels--the first written when she was just 13--Australian native Sonya Hartnett says she wrote THURSDAY'S CHILD in a mere three months. "It just pulled itself together," she says. "I'd wanted to set a story in the Depression for some time, in an isolated community that was strongly supportive. Once the dual ideas of the boy who tunneled and the young girl as narrator gelled, it almost wrote itself--I had the cast, I had the setting, I just said 'go.' " Accustomed to writing about edgy young adult characters, Sonya Hartnett says that identifying with a seven-year-old protagonist was a challenge at first. "I found her difficult to approach," she admits. "I'm not really used to children. But once I started, I found you could have fun with her: she could tell lies, she could deny the truth." Whereas most children know "only what adults want them to know," the author discovered she could bypass that limitation by "turning Harper into an eavesdropper and giving her older siblings to reveal realities."
In her second book with Candlewick Press, WHAT THE BIRDS SEE, Sonya Hartnett once again creates a portrait of childhood. This time the subject is Adrian, a nine-year-old boy living in the suburbs with his gran and Uncle. For Adrian, childhood is shaped by fear: his dread of quicksand, shopping centers, and self-combustion. Then one day, three neighborhood children vanish--an incident based on a real case in Australia in the 1960s--and Adrian comes to see just how tenuous his safety net is. In speaking about Adrian, the author provocatively reveals parallels between herself and her character. She says, "Adrian is me in many respects, and many of the things that happen to him happened to me."
Sonya Hartnett's consistently inspired writing has built her a legion of devotees. Of THURSDAY'S CHILD, Newbery Honor-winning author Carolyn Coman says, "Hartnett's beautifully rendered vision drew me in from the very start and carried me along, above and under ground, to the very end. This book amazed me." The achingly beautiful WHAT THE BIRDS SEE has just as quickly garnered critical acclaim. Notes PUBLISHERS WEEKLY in a starred review, "Hartnett again captures the ineffable fragility of childhood in this keenly observed tale. . . . Sophisticated readers will appreciate the work's acuity and poetic integrity." Sonya Hartnett's third young adult novel, STRIPES OF THE SIDESTEP WOLF was named an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults.
Sonya Hartnett lives near Melbourne, Australia. Her most recent novels are SURRENDER, a mesmerizing psychological thriller, and THE SILVER DONKEY, a gently told fable for middle-grade readers.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 308 reviews
February 19, 2014
Well, damn. This menacing tale surprised me again and again. A quarter way through and I wanted to hurl it against a wall for the gluttonous poetics, rampant and unchecked, almost saccharin. I felt like I was being pelted with confetti. It was impossible to find a rhythm.
Then we have characters thinking adult thoughts and acting and speaking like children. believability?
But then I just grew accustomed, caught hold of the narrative, sunk into the characters.... Though heavy handed the raw underbelly of the characters, Finnigan, Gabriel and the hound Surrender inspired a focus and energy - I had to know how it all ended. What an ending.
I'm excited by the verve and the ambition of the author, the ferocity etc, but I didn't need all the quotable poetics. Sans the saccharin, this could have been top, top shelf.
3.5 stars.
Then we have characters thinking adult thoughts and acting and speaking like children. believability?
But then I just grew accustomed, caught hold of the narrative, sunk into the characters.... Though heavy handed the raw underbelly of the characters, Finnigan, Gabriel and the hound Surrender inspired a focus and energy - I had to know how it all ended. What an ending.
I'm excited by the verve and the ambition of the author, the ferocity etc, but I didn't need all the quotable poetics. Sans the saccharin, this could have been top, top shelf.
3.5 stars.
October 12, 2012
I HATED this book when I first finished. Now, after giving it time to sink in, I can begin to see some redemptive value to it. I would NOT classify this a YA lit, although it has been by professionals and won the Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in YA Lit. I really don't agree with most of the books that win that award, so I don't know why I bother to read them. This book has a lot of difficult scenes. There are a couple very tough murders. Some questions the reading brought up are: how responsible are you if you are abused and then abuse others? Is perception of reality as real as reality? How do you deal with guilt? It took some real, complex thinking and a little research online to feel this book has any place on any bookshelf. That said, don't go into this book thinking it provides easy answers or a happy ending. I really did not enjoy reading it, but it is a book that won't leave me alone. I am still struggling with the issues is raises and with my understanding of the story. That actually impresses me about the writing. That and the fact that there are some beautiful sentences. Read this book only if you can handle sadness and have time to really ponder and think. It would almost be worth a rereading just to see if I have another take on it now that I know the ending--I think I would. My rating reflects a very cautious reflection of the worth of the story.
September 1, 2014
This review is more of me as a reader trying to sort out my thoughts than a summery and "read this!" or "don't read this!" argument. So.
Anwell met Finnigan and he scratches his name backwards on the fence. Makes boyhood pact "you be good, or the angel, aka Gabriel, I'll be the bad, Finnigan." Oh no! Finnigan is an arsonist! He sets alight valuable items of those who have wronged (usually by bullying) Anwell/Gabrial. Why is he bullied? He accidently killed his older handicapped brother Vernon. His parents are "kooks", so he's an outcast. Note on parents. They are abusive bastards. Mother is always "ill" and "why do you do this to me Anwell?" and dad is overbearing control freak. None of the reviews I've read mentioned the possibility that Vernon is Finnigan in the Anwell's mind, which I find strange because it was strongly hinted at. In his room, Anwell sees Vernon scratching his name backwards on the window.
Other notes: Anwell/Gabriel kill parents with hatchet? Finnigan kill policeman Eli (something-or-other) with a wooden stake in his sleep? "You betrayed Anwell. He was your only friend for a while. Did you forget that? Do you even know what his father would've done to him if he knew there was a traitor in the house?
Surrender: Finnigan- Surrender was always mine. Anwell- I could never bear to chain him up despite his wild side... Finnigan (after Anwell hints at chaining Surrender up)- You are your father’s son. Ouch. Surrender is too wild, killing livestock and whatever. Father is going to kill him. Anwell unchains him and runs into the woods, away. Gives Surrender to Finnigan. Surrender is Finnigan's Achilles Heel. "You know the price of giving him to me." What does this mean? Father makes Anwell shoot Surrender. Implies that Anwell unchained Surrender and ran off into the woods to psychologically "spiritually" give him to Wild and free Finnigan. The dog he is to shoot now is only a shell. He gets punished by parents for running off? He slices them open with hatchet? Committed to mental institution from there? Says "I don’t' want my parents to visit."... so...
Anwell: Guilt and loneliness manifests itself into evil alter-ego Finnigan (the wild-child resulting from his oppressive bullied existence by parents and all others) who was actually Vernon in disguise (the guilt part). There's a thought. Fringe Brilliance: Anwell=Angel... sound symbolic? Like dog’s name Surrender also symbolic. For surrendering blah blah obvious.
Evangeline: Anwell's major crush. Good side Gabriel- Finally a good thing in my life. It is a secret from parents, I'm edgy and nervous as usual, but this is a good, untainted thing in my life. Bad side Finnigan- She's using you. She laughs at you behind your back. Why is your friendship such a secret? Not even a relationship. A pet-like "friendship". You will get your heart stomped on. Leave her. "Gabriel" resists and openly disagrees with his bad side for once Which explains why Anwell freaked out and went to her house. "Evangeline you're in trouble, HE knows about you. HE's going to come after you... to kill you!" Doorbell rings, it's Anwell's MOM, and Anwell is actually relieved. Epiphany- I'm more afraid of Finnigan than my bastard mother! Which means Finnigan is very bad and dangerous. So I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill Finnigan before he can hurt the one semi-happy thing in my poor pathetic life. Results in self-inflicted illness and him dying.
Sarah- What? Who is she? Loving aunt? Just a caretaker. A nurse who cares about Anwell. Why? Never looked into. Anwell is described as struggling against his bonds- mental asylum. Finnigan visits again after an entire year passes. "Gabriel" calls him out as a bastard who has always had control over (Anwell's) life, and Finnigan reacts by destroying the room. Sarah says once "remember the last time I loosened your bonds?" which implies that Anwell/Finnigan did it himself in a psychological skitzo battle. How is this possible when "Gabriel" is too weak to blink his eyes? Sarah calls Anwell Gabriel- she knows his good alter ego? Nurse isn't Aunt Sarah. Nurse is a nurse, turned into aunt by Anwell's mind.
They found the bones in the woods. You know what that means. Blame the policeman. Don't tell them about me and you. WHAT IS THIS??? WHO'S BONES? Symbolic for they can maybe see that it's you?
The End: Vernon visits Anwell in the institution where he is. Cold, small like a refrigerator Anwell? No forgiveness. The demon that has plagued Anwell since the moment that the event happened, 13 years ago. He drags Anwell away, to death, presumably, dragging him to hell. Anwell wrenches away, unfurls angel wings (how symbolic) and soars skywards. Represents his death, finally, his sacrificial death that kills Finnigan is redemption. He can finally go to a better place.
Anwell met Finnigan and he scratches his name backwards on the fence. Makes boyhood pact "you be good, or the angel, aka Gabriel, I'll be the bad, Finnigan." Oh no! Finnigan is an arsonist! He sets alight valuable items of those who have wronged (usually by bullying) Anwell/Gabrial. Why is he bullied? He accidently killed his older handicapped brother Vernon. His parents are "kooks", so he's an outcast. Note on parents. They are abusive bastards. Mother is always "ill" and "why do you do this to me Anwell?" and dad is overbearing control freak. None of the reviews I've read mentioned the possibility that Vernon is Finnigan in the Anwell's mind, which I find strange because it was strongly hinted at. In his room, Anwell sees Vernon scratching his name backwards on the window.
Other notes: Anwell/Gabriel kill parents with hatchet? Finnigan kill policeman Eli (something-or-other) with a wooden stake in his sleep? "You betrayed Anwell. He was your only friend for a while. Did you forget that? Do you even know what his father would've done to him if he knew there was a traitor in the house?
Surrender: Finnigan- Surrender was always mine. Anwell- I could never bear to chain him up despite his wild side... Finnigan (after Anwell hints at chaining Surrender up)- You are your father’s son. Ouch. Surrender is too wild, killing livestock and whatever. Father is going to kill him. Anwell unchains him and runs into the woods, away. Gives Surrender to Finnigan. Surrender is Finnigan's Achilles Heel. "You know the price of giving him to me." What does this mean? Father makes Anwell shoot Surrender. Implies that Anwell unchained Surrender and ran off into the woods to psychologically "spiritually" give him to Wild and free Finnigan. The dog he is to shoot now is only a shell. He gets punished by parents for running off? He slices them open with hatchet? Committed to mental institution from there? Says "I don’t' want my parents to visit."... so...
Anwell: Guilt and loneliness manifests itself into evil alter-ego Finnigan (the wild-child resulting from his oppressive bullied existence by parents and all others) who was actually Vernon in disguise (the guilt part). There's a thought. Fringe Brilliance: Anwell=Angel... sound symbolic? Like dog’s name Surrender also symbolic. For surrendering blah blah obvious.
Evangeline: Anwell's major crush. Good side Gabriel- Finally a good thing in my life. It is a secret from parents, I'm edgy and nervous as usual, but this is a good, untainted thing in my life. Bad side Finnigan- She's using you. She laughs at you behind your back. Why is your friendship such a secret? Not even a relationship. A pet-like "friendship". You will get your heart stomped on. Leave her. "Gabriel" resists and openly disagrees with his bad side for once Which explains why Anwell freaked out and went to her house. "Evangeline you're in trouble, HE knows about you. HE's going to come after you... to kill you!" Doorbell rings, it's Anwell's MOM, and Anwell is actually relieved. Epiphany- I'm more afraid of Finnigan than my bastard mother! Which means Finnigan is very bad and dangerous. So I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill Finnigan before he can hurt the one semi-happy thing in my poor pathetic life. Results in self-inflicted illness and him dying.
Sarah- What? Who is she? Loving aunt? Just a caretaker. A nurse who cares about Anwell. Why? Never looked into. Anwell is described as struggling against his bonds- mental asylum. Finnigan visits again after an entire year passes. "Gabriel" calls him out as a bastard who has always had control over (Anwell's) life, and Finnigan reacts by destroying the room. Sarah says once "remember the last time I loosened your bonds?" which implies that Anwell/Finnigan did it himself in a psychological skitzo battle. How is this possible when "Gabriel" is too weak to blink his eyes? Sarah calls Anwell Gabriel- she knows his good alter ego? Nurse isn't Aunt Sarah. Nurse is a nurse, turned into aunt by Anwell's mind.
They found the bones in the woods. You know what that means. Blame the policeman. Don't tell them about me and you. WHAT IS THIS??? WHO'S BONES? Symbolic for they can maybe see that it's you?
The End: Vernon visits Anwell in the institution where he is. Cold, small like a refrigerator Anwell? No forgiveness. The demon that has plagued Anwell since the moment that the event happened, 13 years ago. He drags Anwell away, to death, presumably, dragging him to hell. Anwell wrenches away, unfurls angel wings (how symbolic) and soars skywards. Represents his death, finally, his sacrificial death that kills Finnigan is redemption. He can finally go to a better place.
August 9, 2014
This book is ridiculously difficult to review. On one hand, I need to discuss what happens in the story and why it works. On the other hand, even saying what this book is about would be a spoiler. When you know what a book really has in store for you, it becomes less surprising and, sometimes, pretty disappointing.
So, here is my attempt to do this strange, unsettling book justice.
SURRENDER grabs you from the very first page with its beautiful language:
“I am dying: it's a beautiful word. Like the long slow sigh of the cello: dying. But the sound of it is the only beautiful thing about it.�
The story alternates between two narrators: Gabriel and Finnigan. Gabriel is a young man who's on his deathbed, and tells the story of his brief but strange life. Meanwhile, Finnigan, Gabriel's only friend, tells more about the current happenings of the town. Something terrible has happened, and we don't know what. This past-and-present split in the narrative is used brilliantly: there is a huge dissonance between the events of the past (Gabriel's claustrophobic but calm childhood) and the events of the present (Gabriel dying, some sort of bones being uncovered). We know something horrible happened between the two time periods, and we hurry through the pages to find out what.
Meanwhile, the gorgeous language comes into full play; its abstractness, weirdness, lyricism serve the darkness of the story perfectly. This is especially true in the unsettling descriptions of Gabriel's illness:
"In the center of my palms spread two dark lakes. They are not wounds - flesh ices over them. But the blackness is blood, gathered swampishly. When I press a finger to the fluid, it radiates. When I clamp and unclamp my fists, it dissipates. Slowly it refils, a little deeper each time, a little blacker, a swelling swamp."
Slowly but surely, a chilling story emerges: a story about love and friendship broken by loss and humiliation, a story about the descent into madness, about revenge, about guilt and redemption. Prose shimmers and sparkles, mysteries unfold perfectly, and some moments are so powerful expect your jaw to literally drop.
My only quibble is the ending, which is too ambiguous for its own good. I even read too many revealing reviews, so knew where the book was going, and I still had a "What??? WHAT JUST HAPPENED!?" moment. But then again, maybe that was the point: maybe it was hinting at how messy, confusing, complex the world is, and by forcing us to think about what we had just read, suggests we think the same way about our own lives.
So, here is my attempt to do this strange, unsettling book justice.
SURRENDER grabs you from the very first page with its beautiful language:
“I am dying: it's a beautiful word. Like the long slow sigh of the cello: dying. But the sound of it is the only beautiful thing about it.�
The story alternates between two narrators: Gabriel and Finnigan. Gabriel is a young man who's on his deathbed, and tells the story of his brief but strange life. Meanwhile, Finnigan, Gabriel's only friend, tells more about the current happenings of the town. Something terrible has happened, and we don't know what. This past-and-present split in the narrative is used brilliantly: there is a huge dissonance between the events of the past (Gabriel's claustrophobic but calm childhood) and the events of the present (Gabriel dying, some sort of bones being uncovered). We know something horrible happened between the two time periods, and we hurry through the pages to find out what.
Meanwhile, the gorgeous language comes into full play; its abstractness, weirdness, lyricism serve the darkness of the story perfectly. This is especially true in the unsettling descriptions of Gabriel's illness:
"In the center of my palms spread two dark lakes. They are not wounds - flesh ices over them. But the blackness is blood, gathered swampishly. When I press a finger to the fluid, it radiates. When I clamp and unclamp my fists, it dissipates. Slowly it refils, a little deeper each time, a little blacker, a swelling swamp."
Slowly but surely, a chilling story emerges: a story about love and friendship broken by loss and humiliation, a story about the descent into madness, about revenge, about guilt and redemption. Prose shimmers and sparkles, mysteries unfold perfectly, and some moments are so powerful expect your jaw to literally drop.
My only quibble is the ending, which is too ambiguous for its own good. I even read too many revealing reviews, so knew where the book was going, and I still had a "What??? WHAT JUST HAPPENED!?" moment. But then again, maybe that was the point: maybe it was hinting at how messy, confusing, complex the world is, and by forcing us to think about what we had just read, suggests we think the same way about our own lives.
August 2, 2007
Wow. Amazing what takes place in this story, both plot-wise and prose-wise. An extraordinary novel.
August 30, 2017
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Anwell is shunned from his small town in Mulyan after a tragic event concerning his older disabled brother, Vernon. Now his family is deemed a bunch of kooks and Anwell creates an alter ego named Gabriel. Gabriel is dying. He is now recalling 20 years of his life with his friend Finnigan and dog, Surrender. Gabriel knows now that Finnigan is bad, he must get rid of him before it is too late and he hurts more people.
I really enjoyed the alternating perspectives between Finnigan and Gabriel and thought that was a great addition to the story. Honestly... half the time I had no idea what was even going on... but it worked. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time trying to figure out what was going to happen next. The book covers a lot of dark themes, the main three being the difference between good and evil, mental illness as well as guilt. The book is incredibly written and beautiful but has some difficult scenes to read. There was so much symbolism and metaphors through out the book which made it very thought provoking and more intense while reading. The ending is definitely very vague and allows the reader to interpret it how they feel fit. Overall, I enjoyed it but definitely a hard read.
Anwell is shunned from his small town in Mulyan after a tragic event concerning his older disabled brother, Vernon. Now his family is deemed a bunch of kooks and Anwell creates an alter ego named Gabriel. Gabriel is dying. He is now recalling 20 years of his life with his friend Finnigan and dog, Surrender. Gabriel knows now that Finnigan is bad, he must get rid of him before it is too late and he hurts more people.
I really enjoyed the alternating perspectives between Finnigan and Gabriel and thought that was a great addition to the story. Honestly... half the time I had no idea what was even going on... but it worked. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time trying to figure out what was going to happen next. The book covers a lot of dark themes, the main three being the difference between good and evil, mental illness as well as guilt. The book is incredibly written and beautiful but has some difficult scenes to read. There was so much symbolism and metaphors through out the book which made it very thought provoking and more intense while reading. The ending is definitely very vague and allows the reader to interpret it how they feel fit. Overall, I enjoyed it but definitely a hard read.
March 26, 2007
This book is beautifully written. There were many many passages that I wanted to go back and reread because they were extremely well-written. The story was okay...I thought it was a tad predictable but I read reviews before reading the book (probably a bad idea). I would definitely recommend this book as a must read even though it wouldn't make my top ten or twenty list.
July 2, 2012
This is a mysterious story that had me scratching my head in spots and peeking out from behind my hands in horror in others.
Anwell is a young boy growing up in a small town, Mulyan. His parents are regarded as being the ‘kooks� of the town, and as a result, he doesn’t have any friends. His parents are in fact more than kooks—they are nasty, cold and negligent parents, but more about that later.
The story opens with Gabriel, at the age of 20, dying. He reflects on what led him to his current situation and through his narration we are drawn into the story of his childhood—a childhood of sadness and horror. Or simply a story of someone who suffered a dreadful mental illness for most of his life � it soon becomes clear that this story is open to interpretation. Gabriel and Anwell are, after all, the same person.
One day when Gabriel is about 10 years old, he is in the back yard playing on his own when he meets a boy of around about the same age—Finnigan. Finnigan is a wild and unruly boy with unkempt hair and old, dirty clothes. He never mentions his home or family and he doesn’t go to school. Gabriel is in awe of Finnigan and desperately wants to be his friend. They make a pact (or a ‘packet�, as the delinquent and unschooled Finnigan calls it) that Finnigan will carry out all the bad deeds that need to be done so that Gabriel can remain angelic. In this way they become the perfect and complete blood brother, the yin and the yang.
Mulyan is then terrorised for years by an elusive arsonist. It is apparently Finnigan and the only person who knows this is Gabriel. Gabriel’s father sets out to capture him out of a desire to humiliate the local policeman more than a desire to keep the town safe. Gabriel’s father is a cold bully and his mother is a basket case, but not in a nice way.
Gabriel, or Anwell (he is Gabriel only to Finnigan and himself) grew up with a severely mentally handicapped older brother. When Anwell was seven years old, his brother died under his watch. This, I believe, was the catalyst for Anwell’s decline into mental illness. His family environment was the perfect incubator for going crazy, but his brother’s death, which he blames himself for, pushed him headlong into madness. In this sense I read Gabriel as an unreliable narrator. His version of the facts is a creation of crazed mind. This is a story of a person with a horrible imaginary friend—an alter ago—who can be blamed for all the bad things that occur (or the bad things that Anwell imagines).
But this doesn’t really explain Anwell’s own horrific actions towards the end of the story. Instead, only questions are raised: How much of it actually happened and how much of it was imagined? Was there even a series of arson attacks on the town or was this a fantasy of Anwell’s?
So where does Surrender come into all of this? Surrender is Anwell’s dog. The dog is like Finnigan—he is untamed and free, everything that Anwell wants to be but is not. After Surrender is caught killing some kids (baby goats), he is condemned to death by Anwell’s father who commands Anwell pull the trigger himself. This is a very harrowing sequence in the novel and also the point at which a few things come together. First of all, we see Anwell’s father for the comprehensively cruel and heartless person that he is. Importantly, this is also the point where Anwell and Finnigan become one. Anwell decides to ‘surrender� Surrender to Finnigan so that the dog escapes being killed. Unsurprisingly, instead of staying in the forest with Finnigan, Surrender follows Anwell home. Anwell tells himself that it’s only Surrender’s body that is being shot and that his soul is with Finnigan. The impossibility of separating good from evil is embodied in the shooting of Surrender and with this Anwell’s struggle to compartmentalise his good and bad sides finally wear him down. This failure triggers the desperate and tragic final act—after years of repressed guilt and shame over his brother’s death, he takes out his loss in the most gruesome manner, perhaps also as a way of revenging his brother against neglectful and callous parents.
I can’t explain parts of this story. Like Evangeline? Not sure where she fits into the story� she was a point of contention between Gabriel and Finnigan, but I’m not sure of the significance of her other than being another reason for Gabriel’s general humiliation in life.
I recommend this novel because it is beautifully written and will mess with your head a little (a good thing now and then, don’t you agree?) It was quite scary in some spots because I knew that something terrible was going to happen but I couldn’t predict when or what. With Finnigan looming in the background the spectre of evil was omnipresent. This made for quite a dark and terrifying story.
Anwell is a young boy growing up in a small town, Mulyan. His parents are regarded as being the ‘kooks� of the town, and as a result, he doesn’t have any friends. His parents are in fact more than kooks—they are nasty, cold and negligent parents, but more about that later.
The story opens with Gabriel, at the age of 20, dying. He reflects on what led him to his current situation and through his narration we are drawn into the story of his childhood—a childhood of sadness and horror. Or simply a story of someone who suffered a dreadful mental illness for most of his life � it soon becomes clear that this story is open to interpretation. Gabriel and Anwell are, after all, the same person.
One day when Gabriel is about 10 years old, he is in the back yard playing on his own when he meets a boy of around about the same age—Finnigan. Finnigan is a wild and unruly boy with unkempt hair and old, dirty clothes. He never mentions his home or family and he doesn’t go to school. Gabriel is in awe of Finnigan and desperately wants to be his friend. They make a pact (or a ‘packet�, as the delinquent and unschooled Finnigan calls it) that Finnigan will carry out all the bad deeds that need to be done so that Gabriel can remain angelic. In this way they become the perfect and complete blood brother, the yin and the yang.
Mulyan is then terrorised for years by an elusive arsonist. It is apparently Finnigan and the only person who knows this is Gabriel. Gabriel’s father sets out to capture him out of a desire to humiliate the local policeman more than a desire to keep the town safe. Gabriel’s father is a cold bully and his mother is a basket case, but not in a nice way.
Gabriel, or Anwell (he is Gabriel only to Finnigan and himself) grew up with a severely mentally handicapped older brother. When Anwell was seven years old, his brother died under his watch. This, I believe, was the catalyst for Anwell’s decline into mental illness. His family environment was the perfect incubator for going crazy, but his brother’s death, which he blames himself for, pushed him headlong into madness. In this sense I read Gabriel as an unreliable narrator. His version of the facts is a creation of crazed mind. This is a story of a person with a horrible imaginary friend—an alter ago—who can be blamed for all the bad things that occur (or the bad things that Anwell imagines).
But this doesn’t really explain Anwell’s own horrific actions towards the end of the story. Instead, only questions are raised: How much of it actually happened and how much of it was imagined? Was there even a series of arson attacks on the town or was this a fantasy of Anwell’s?
So where does Surrender come into all of this? Surrender is Anwell’s dog. The dog is like Finnigan—he is untamed and free, everything that Anwell wants to be but is not. After Surrender is caught killing some kids (baby goats), he is condemned to death by Anwell’s father who commands Anwell pull the trigger himself. This is a very harrowing sequence in the novel and also the point at which a few things come together. First of all, we see Anwell’s father for the comprehensively cruel and heartless person that he is. Importantly, this is also the point where Anwell and Finnigan become one. Anwell decides to ‘surrender� Surrender to Finnigan so that the dog escapes being killed. Unsurprisingly, instead of staying in the forest with Finnigan, Surrender follows Anwell home. Anwell tells himself that it’s only Surrender’s body that is being shot and that his soul is with Finnigan. The impossibility of separating good from evil is embodied in the shooting of Surrender and with this Anwell’s struggle to compartmentalise his good and bad sides finally wear him down. This failure triggers the desperate and tragic final act—after years of repressed guilt and shame over his brother’s death, he takes out his loss in the most gruesome manner, perhaps also as a way of revenging his brother against neglectful and callous parents.
I can’t explain parts of this story. Like Evangeline? Not sure where she fits into the story� she was a point of contention between Gabriel and Finnigan, but I’m not sure of the significance of her other than being another reason for Gabriel’s general humiliation in life.
I recommend this novel because it is beautifully written and will mess with your head a little (a good thing now and then, don’t you agree?) It was quite scary in some spots because I knew that something terrible was going to happen but I couldn’t predict when or what. With Finnigan looming in the background the spectre of evil was omnipresent. This made for quite a dark and terrifying story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 31, 2008
Alright, let me start off by saying that this is a BEAUTIFULLY written book! The imagery, the characters, the storytelling, the style is all exquisite and really draws you in. It's almost like reading poetry. Check out a sample section here:
"I can tell he isn't genuinely confused--the serpentine master of the dodge and weave, he is trying to trick or trip me. A moment of uncertainty is all he needs, to plunge under my skin. [...] He is the shadow in the cupboard and the whisper in the wall. Fear is Finnigan's currency, his daily wine and bread. Now he's made the mortal error of drowning himself in it."
Or
"It stung when we passed in the corridors; her voice would slice my skin. My eyes smarted at the sight of her sitting against a brick wall. A day spent in her vicinity left me exhausted: 'Ain't love grand,' said Finnigan.
One fateful day she caught me staring at her; she quirked an eyebrow and glanced away. I blushed scarlet and stared at the tabletop, an oceanic roar in my ears."
But here is my caveat! This book has some very mature, disturbing content!!!! It does not have bad words or sex or teens doing drugs, etc; but certain things occur that will make you gasp or....if you're like me, keep you up all night TOTALLY freaked out. It's closest to psychological thriller in genre, but there are a lot of different styles and subjects blended here. Not for the faint of heart or stomach, but some of you have morbid curiosities (Come on, I've read your stories!).
The main character is a boy who ranges in age from about 11 to 24 in the course of the story. It is set in a non-descript, small mountain town called Mulyan during an unspecified era (possibly even present). It COULD be called a coming-of-age story, but it is much more about guilt, the dichotomy of good vs. evil, and the deep, searing pain of being alone in the world. Have I mentioned it's rather dark?!
Parents and teachers: I refrain from revealing the exact event which earns this book such a harsh warning because it will completely spoil the book. If you need to know, just ask.
February 14, 2016
Told mostly in flashbacks, this Printz honor book, while at first bogged down by overly-descriptive passages, regains its narrative speed once the present (in which protagonist Gabriel/Anwell lies dying in a hospital of some kind) gives way to the past (in which the real plot � regarding a mischievous boy named Finnigan, a beautiful girl named Evangeline, and a feral dog named Surrender � unfolds). What is likely to captivate the reader is Gabriel’s struggle, in the past, to live with certain hardships � his parents are at best cruel and at worst abusive, the whole town knows him only as a kook, and he is responsible for his mentally retarded brother’s death. On top of it all, he has Finnigan, a “gypsy� boy whose hobby is arson. The stories of both Gabriel and Finnigan go by their separate threads, winding around each other over the course of the narrative arc, but finally come together in an ending that could only be described as terribly ambiguous.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 27, 2011
Surrender is not something I’d normally. It’s a few phrases shy of purple, yet I trucked on because of the way it was written. It was soft and gray as well as slow then disturbing. But it could be predictable at points too yet on the whole� it was haunting.
Alternating between the two boys both of whom had sad, depressing tales; it was both of them who had me continuing. Both sides of the story were bitter. And the rare moment of sweet for one of them, was just that: rare. What one could do to another, what one wanted want of another; some things seemingly so simple and basic, yet as both their experience proved, not so easily attained.
This was in no way an enjoyable read, there's simply to much sad in it. Yet, it's his voice, as well as the other’s view of what was happening that held me. Yes, moments of it were obvious, yet the slow of reveal things did not take away how disturbing things really were� and sad.
I felt for these boys.
3.5/5
Alternating between the two boys both of whom had sad, depressing tales; it was both of them who had me continuing. Both sides of the story were bitter. And the rare moment of sweet for one of them, was just that: rare. What one could do to another, what one wanted want of another; some things seemingly so simple and basic, yet as both their experience proved, not so easily attained.
This was in no way an enjoyable read, there's simply to much sad in it. Yet, it's his voice, as well as the other’s view of what was happening that held me. Yes, moments of it were obvious, yet the slow of reveal things did not take away how disturbing things really were� and sad.
I felt for these boys.
3.5/5
June 28, 2020
This book is well worth reading.
Don’t be put off by the fact it’s classified as young adult.
It is very well written and explores the “workings� of inside the mind of the characters well.
I read this years ago & read it again yesterday in an afternoon.
Sonya is an Australian author & I have read another novel of hers - The Silver Donkey. I also recommend this novel too. To be honest it would be my first preference in reading this book first.
Don’t be mistaken they are two entirely different novels.
Don’t be put off by the fact it’s classified as young adult.
It is very well written and explores the “workings� of inside the mind of the characters well.
I read this years ago & read it again yesterday in an afternoon.
Sonya is an Australian author & I have read another novel of hers - The Silver Donkey. I also recommend this novel too. To be honest it would be my first preference in reading this book first.
Don’t be mistaken they are two entirely different novels.
July 12, 2020
The lyricism and extreme poetics of the language wavered between being beautiful and being overkill, but overall made for a chilling story and a successful Australian Gothic novel.
February 6, 2017
Sonya Hartnett’s Surrender is a story split in half � alternating chapters are told from the perspective of 20-year-old Gabriel, dying of an unnamed illness, and from Finnigan, the town wild-child and Gabriel’s only friend.
When the boys first meet, they make an unusual pact. Finnigan makes Gabriel swear not to do ‘bad things� �
“I’ll do the bad things for you. Then you won’t have to. You can just do good things.�
Although uneasy, Gabriel has quite a long list of grievances and finds something inherently comforting in the pact �
“…I thought about what he was offering � friendship to the friendless, protection to the vulnerable, courage for the weak � and it seemed such a small thing, to exchange a word for this.�
Soon after their meeting, a spate of arson attacks threatens the town of Mulyan. As the fires increase in size and brazenness � beginning with hedges and cars and climaxing with the forest and the library � the people of Mulyan are both terrified and vigilantes.
“There was, naturally, wholesale hysteria. Mulyan had never found itself blessed with so much to seethe about.�
Gabriel realises just how unpredictable and dangerous Finnigan is, however he stays true to their deal. The fires are the first incident of many that tests their friendship and as the story unfolds, we learn of the tragic death of Gabriel’s severely handicapped brother, Vernon; the acquisition of Gabriel’s dog, Surrender; and the meeting of Evangeline, Gabriel’s first love.
“I looked along the aisle and saw her, and it was as if I saw her for the first time. Everything changed. The ancient featureless interior of me spangled orange, mint, cat-blue� Affection makes fools. Always, without exception, love digs a channel that’s sooner or later flooded by the briny water of despair� from the moment I heard her, I was working to minimise the harm. And the first safekeeping rule I made was this: do not tell.�
All of Hartnett’s signature poetic style is evident in Surrender but unlike her more recent novels, the core of the story (and the characters) are elusive. Gabriel is potentially an unreliable narrator and Finnegan is shadowy � he sees everything and yet no one sees him � and his role in the story is as shifty as Hartnett has made his character �
“Finnegan roams unhindered through the valley and town, the midnight raider of kitchens, the sleeper-in-woolsheds, the bareback horse-rider, the bather in rushing streams. He is the dirt under fingernails and the stick of sap on skin.�
The story is studded with symbols and metaphors � Gabriel the angel versus Finnigan the bearer of fire; Gabriel’s cruel father tending his roses as the arson attacks peak; and the dog, a beautiful, faithful hound to Gabriel, but a sheep and goat killer when on patrol with Finnegan. There’s a flip side to almost every element of this dark and harrowing story.
I won’t lie, I felt tricked by the ending � one of those endings that publishers like to think is open to interpretation but that readers think “What just happened?�. Perhaps it’s an ending that deserves a second reading but I did miss Hartnett’s straightforwardness in this instance.
3/5 Dark and disturbing.
When the boys first meet, they make an unusual pact. Finnigan makes Gabriel swear not to do ‘bad things� �
“I’ll do the bad things for you. Then you won’t have to. You can just do good things.�
Although uneasy, Gabriel has quite a long list of grievances and finds something inherently comforting in the pact �
“…I thought about what he was offering � friendship to the friendless, protection to the vulnerable, courage for the weak � and it seemed such a small thing, to exchange a word for this.�
Soon after their meeting, a spate of arson attacks threatens the town of Mulyan. As the fires increase in size and brazenness � beginning with hedges and cars and climaxing with the forest and the library � the people of Mulyan are both terrified and vigilantes.
“There was, naturally, wholesale hysteria. Mulyan had never found itself blessed with so much to seethe about.�
Gabriel realises just how unpredictable and dangerous Finnigan is, however he stays true to their deal. The fires are the first incident of many that tests their friendship and as the story unfolds, we learn of the tragic death of Gabriel’s severely handicapped brother, Vernon; the acquisition of Gabriel’s dog, Surrender; and the meeting of Evangeline, Gabriel’s first love.
“I looked along the aisle and saw her, and it was as if I saw her for the first time. Everything changed. The ancient featureless interior of me spangled orange, mint, cat-blue� Affection makes fools. Always, without exception, love digs a channel that’s sooner or later flooded by the briny water of despair� from the moment I heard her, I was working to minimise the harm. And the first safekeeping rule I made was this: do not tell.�
All of Hartnett’s signature poetic style is evident in Surrender but unlike her more recent novels, the core of the story (and the characters) are elusive. Gabriel is potentially an unreliable narrator and Finnegan is shadowy � he sees everything and yet no one sees him � and his role in the story is as shifty as Hartnett has made his character �
“Finnegan roams unhindered through the valley and town, the midnight raider of kitchens, the sleeper-in-woolsheds, the bareback horse-rider, the bather in rushing streams. He is the dirt under fingernails and the stick of sap on skin.�
The story is studded with symbols and metaphors � Gabriel the angel versus Finnigan the bearer of fire; Gabriel’s cruel father tending his roses as the arson attacks peak; and the dog, a beautiful, faithful hound to Gabriel, but a sheep and goat killer when on patrol with Finnegan. There’s a flip side to almost every element of this dark and harrowing story.
I won’t lie, I felt tricked by the ending � one of those endings that publishers like to think is open to interpretation but that readers think “What just happened?�. Perhaps it’s an ending that deserves a second reading but I did miss Hartnett’s straightforwardness in this instance.
3/5 Dark and disturbing.
June 22, 2016
holy shit?
** edit: This is one of the best books I have ever read. I just read it for the second time and liked it even better than the first. I can’t say much about the plot or what it is exactly that I like about it without giving away what makes this book so amazing. But� What happens when the lines between sanity and insanity get blurred? What happens to identity? Who is the real evil? What is madness?
The last few chapters of this book were one of the biggest “WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!!" *screaming* *panicking* moments I have ever experienced in literature. Can’t wait to finally discuss it in class next week. READ THIS BOOK.
** edit: This is one of the best books I have ever read. I just read it for the second time and liked it even better than the first. I can’t say much about the plot or what it is exactly that I like about it without giving away what makes this book so amazing. But� What happens when the lines between sanity and insanity get blurred? What happens to identity? Who is the real evil? What is madness?
The last few chapters of this book were one of the biggest “WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!!" *screaming* *panicking* moments I have ever experienced in literature. Can’t wait to finally discuss it in class next week. READ THIS BOOK.
February 10, 2014
Color me confused, but after finishing this novel I'm still not sure what it is about. There was some plot in there, maybe. There was some very poetic writing exploring—what I'm not sure. Maybe mental illness, maybe isolation? Mostly I just wanted Anwell/Gabriel to shut up. This is a Prince Honor book so someone (actually lots of really well read someones) found something really great about this novel, but I must admit it was lost on me.
June 26, 2013
I hated this book. I had a hard time getting into the story and was confused throughout most of it. Is Finnigan real or part of Gabe? Is Gabe insane, and if so is any of the story real? How if Finnigan is not real do others in the story react to him, like Gabe's doctor hating him?
no review of the story cleared anything up for me either so I'm still not sure what the point of the story is.
no review of the story cleared anything up for me either so I'm still not sure what the point of the story is.
March 17, 2019
Another Australian writer who totally blew me away. Is there something in the water in the Lucky Country? What is this sorcery? Surrender is my favourite kind of book. Dark, sad, mysterious, creepy, menacing and written in a beautiful, poetic way. Absolutely loved it.
March 10, 2024
This is one of my favorite fiction books <3
April 27, 2012
Surrender was a sad, creepy book. Like, creeeepy. In some respects - and as the synopsis might have you believe - it is a book about a friendship that both acts to heal the loneliness that comes with being an "outsider" in a small-town, and acts as a catalyst for mischeivous things to occur.
Alternating between the two points-of-view, present-tense narrator, Finnigan (bad boy), and reflective narrator, Gabriel (good boy), Surrender is part-mystery, part literary-fiction, and - at the end - part-thriller. The prose is very swirly and descriptive - at times overly so, in my opinion. The writing can be beautiful, but sometimes so overwrought that events can become confusing for the reader. Not "good" confusing - an intentional dreamlike, narrative device. But, confusing-confusing - like, "wait, what just happened? I'm 20 pages in and have no sense of time, place, setting, character..." The style warms to you after awhile, but the lines of description certainly could've used a bit of breathing room.
I didn't feel this was a book about friendship. No, Finnigan and Gabriel aren't two unlikely friends bashing around the woods together, helping one another through hard times, and playing with their dog. It is a book about desperation. The fear of being isolated. Of not being touched. Not a book about friendship itself, but of longing, maybe, for a friend. And getting something literally terrible in its place.
Instead, I felt this book is mostly about shame. Yup, it's about swallowing a mean, burning-hot rock of shame and letting it live in your belly for thirteen years. It's about what that shame turns into, and what a person burdened by guilt and trauma is capable of when that shame hurts too badly.
At times, it seems Surrender is about our responsibility to our natures: who we think we are, what we think we're capable of, how we act on our desires - whether they are for security, food, revenge. But, it is also about who is "observing" us doing it. Who we imagine seeing us when we thought no one was watching. A novel of surveillance. See: Finnigan surveying the town from atop the mountains and hills. See: Gabriel glancing behind himself with the feeling of being watched.
Surrender is also about the terrible, horrible, no-good, very-bad way that human beings can diminish, break, and destroy other human beings. Not a dirty-quick-Bang!-type of "destroy;" but a slow, patient, methodical, deliberate kind of destruction...one that can occur in almost full-view of the whole town watching. Reading Surrender is like watching abuse take place, and flinching, and trying to look away, and not being able to.
When I say "trying to look away, and not being able to," I do not mean to imply that Hartnett writes about abuse exploitatively. The abuse, or graphic scenes (there are a few of these, look out!), depicted in Surrender are not train-wreck moments. They are deep, compassionate, expressive moments of exposition and characterization, handled gracefully by the author.
To be honest, I don't know that too many readers would enjoy Surrender. It is dark. Almost hopeless. Sad. It bummed the shit out of me. But, it is well-done overall. Hey - it won a Printz Honor, and is considered one of the "best book[s] written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit." Still - after reading (and thoroughly enjoying) , another Printz Honor Book, itself filled with vivid, gruesome revenge scenes, I find myself wondering if one of the qualifications for a Printz Honor is a "holy-mutherfuckin-shit-seriously-did-that-just-happen-yuck!" reaction.
I mean - I finished Surrender at 12:38 up all alone in my apartment, and I was convinced I was going to have nightmares at the end scenes . Do the Printz judges think teenagers can only be moved by horrible violence that gives you the heebies before you go to sleep?
Alternating between the two points-of-view, present-tense narrator, Finnigan (bad boy), and reflective narrator, Gabriel (good boy), Surrender is part-mystery, part literary-fiction, and - at the end - part-thriller. The prose is very swirly and descriptive - at times overly so, in my opinion. The writing can be beautiful, but sometimes so overwrought that events can become confusing for the reader. Not "good" confusing - an intentional dreamlike, narrative device. But, confusing-confusing - like, "wait, what just happened? I'm 20 pages in and have no sense of time, place, setting, character..." The style warms to you after awhile, but the lines of description certainly could've used a bit of breathing room.
I didn't feel this was a book about friendship. No, Finnigan and Gabriel aren't two unlikely friends bashing around the woods together, helping one another through hard times, and playing with their dog. It is a book about desperation. The fear of being isolated. Of not being touched. Not a book about friendship itself, but of longing, maybe, for a friend. And getting something literally terrible in its place.
Instead, I felt this book is mostly about shame. Yup, it's about swallowing a mean, burning-hot rock of shame and letting it live in your belly for thirteen years. It's about what that shame turns into, and what a person burdened by guilt and trauma is capable of when that shame hurts too badly.
At times, it seems Surrender is about our responsibility to our natures: who we think we are, what we think we're capable of, how we act on our desires - whether they are for security, food, revenge. But, it is also about who is "observing" us doing it. Who we imagine seeing us when we thought no one was watching. A novel of surveillance. See: Finnigan surveying the town from atop the mountains and hills. See: Gabriel glancing behind himself with the feeling of being watched.
Surrender is also about the terrible, horrible, no-good, very-bad way that human beings can diminish, break, and destroy other human beings. Not a dirty-quick-Bang!-type of "destroy;" but a slow, patient, methodical, deliberate kind of destruction...one that can occur in almost full-view of the whole town watching. Reading Surrender is like watching abuse take place, and flinching, and trying to look away, and not being able to.
When I say "trying to look away, and not being able to," I do not mean to imply that Hartnett writes about abuse exploitatively. The abuse, or graphic scenes (there are a few of these, look out!), depicted in Surrender are not train-wreck moments. They are deep, compassionate, expressive moments of exposition and characterization, handled gracefully by the author.
To be honest, I don't know that too many readers would enjoy Surrender. It is dark. Almost hopeless. Sad. It bummed the shit out of me. But, it is well-done overall. Hey - it won a Printz Honor, and is considered one of the "best book[s] written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit." Still - after reading (and thoroughly enjoying) , another Printz Honor Book, itself filled with vivid, gruesome revenge scenes, I find myself wondering if one of the qualifications for a Printz Honor is a "holy-mutherfuckin-shit-seriously-did-that-just-happen-yuck!" reaction.
I mean - I finished Surrender at 12:38 up all alone in my apartment, and I was convinced I was going to have nightmares at the end scenes . Do the Printz judges think teenagers can only be moved by horrible violence that gives you the heebies before you go to sleep?
August 15, 2014
Sonya Hartnett is an award-winning Australian novelist who creates stories that look innocent on the outskirts, but always seem to reveal a deeper meaning. In the same way that Australian horror movies always seem to be set in the outback or in a country town, population 1000, Hartnett’s novels seem always to be a tad sinister, with a placid, country town as its backdrop.
Surrender follows the life of Anwell, seven, a lonely boy who lives in a prestigious but cold family; his mother is frequently sick and distant, his father is unsympathetic and cruel. After a horrifying incident two years previously, Anwell has been kept on a very tight leash � he has no friends, he isn’t allowed to leave his yard, and all the children at school bully him for being part of an odd, elitist family.
One day Anwell makes friend with Finnigan, a rogue boy who appears to run wild in the bush lands surrounding the small country town. One day he promises Anwell to ‘do only good� and go by the name of Gabriel, while he will make sure to do only bad.
After the town is ravished by fires caused by an arsonist, Anwell soon learns how volatile and unstable Finnigan truly is. And when things at home go from bad to worse with the inclusion of an errant family dog, Surrender, Anwell learns that loneliness and despair can lead to terrible consequences.
If you’ve ever seen or read Fight Club, aspects of this plot may sound familiar to you: Finnigan is the alter-ego of Anwell. Anwell is made up of two personalities: Gabriel, who wants badly to please his strict parents, and Finnigan, a boy who has been so scarred by his upbringing, he wants to ravage and destroy the town that has led to his misery.
Surrender is set in present day � Anwell is slowly dying of a terrible disease � but it largely relies on flashbacks from when Anwell first meets Gabriel. Hartnett clearly knew what she was doing � this way of telling the story only heightens the suspense and the growing belief that something terrible has happened and it’s soon to be revealed.
When I was reading this book, a man from the writers festival (where I’m currently volunteering � yay for books!) commented on it that it almost has a horror feel about it, and I completely agree. At first, Surrender simply comes across as a novel about an unhappy boy in a country town, having to deal with everyone knowing your entire family’s business (coming from a country town myself, I can relate). Yet as the plot unfolds, it becomes more apparent that there is something deeply wrong with Anwell, and that while we’re seeing things from his perspective, it’s clear that what we’re being shown isn’t the reality.
The other outstanding part of Surrender is how well Hartnett depicts what can happen when someone is lonely and completely deprived of love. Not only does Anwell have to deal with the grief and guilt of something he did when he was only five, but he is surrounded by family members, people who are meant to care for him, who are trying desperately to distance themselves from him, largely because of the shame they feel towards themselves.
Sonya Hartnett’s Surrender isn’t light reading by any stretch of the imagination, in fact, it disturbed me so much that the next time I want to the bookstore I struggled to find anything to read, desperate to make sure I picked something up that didn’t involve death, despair or derailment. (For the record, the next book I chose ended up having all three.) But it is also an engrossing read that reveals, piece by piece, the extraordinary depth of the characters that Hartnett has created. Will it give you nightmares? Perhaps. But like all good thrillers, you’ll enjoy the ride right until the last page.
March 27, 2014
Reading this book was a strange experience. I haven't read a story in quite a while that kept me guessing as much as this one did. Even after finishing it, I'm still not sure what actually happened. However, the ambiguity may be (partly) the point.
At first, Surrender reads a bit like a fictional memoir, with twenty-year-old Gabriel narrating from his sickbed. The story starts off as a lyrical portrait of life in small-town Australia, and we quickly come to realize that poor Gabriel doesn't exactly have an easy time of it. His parents are viewed as a bit "off" by the rest of the town and so, by extension, is their son. Making matters worse is a tragic mistake that Gabriel made when he was a small child, the consequences of which have never left him. For much of the book, I thought that I was reading contemporary fiction... but then certain things would happen that made me think we'd veered off into paranormal territory. The constant question of, "What is going on here?" haunted me throughout my reading of the book. Even at the end, when it seems like that question has been answered, the reader only has to look back to see that there are other unanswered questions... and things, once more, seem unclear.
The main character of note here is Gabriel (whose name is actually Anwell; the reasons for the pseudonym are addressed in the story). Although the chapter points of view alternate between Gabriel and Finnigan, the bulk of the story is seen through Gabriel's eyes. I suspected early on that Gabriel might not be the most reliable narrator, though I had no idea to what extent he was or wasn't. Even knowing this, I still wasn't expecting what happened in the last seven pages. Not that the twist was necessarily bad; I quite enjoyed being surprised.
As for the pace and writing of Surrender, you'll either love it or hate it. Most of the book plods fairly slowly, in often-flowery prose. While the writing evokes all the senses and paints a gorgeous picture of the surroundings, some readers might find it to be a bit much. Personally, I didn't mind the writing, and the pace didn't matter so much because the book wasn't terribly long; the parts that drag soon make way for ones that move along at an uptempo pace (especially toward the latter part of the story).
Make no mistake, though: this book has some dark themes. There are multiple deaths, some of them violent, and not all of them happen to human adults. Some readers may find the subject matter a bit too disturbing at times.
Overall, I enjoyed Surrender, even though it wasn't exactly what I was expecting. The only thing that I can really point to as a negative is that the ambiguous ending is going to keep me thinking about this book for a while.
At first, Surrender reads a bit like a fictional memoir, with twenty-year-old Gabriel narrating from his sickbed. The story starts off as a lyrical portrait of life in small-town Australia, and we quickly come to realize that poor Gabriel doesn't exactly have an easy time of it. His parents are viewed as a bit "off" by the rest of the town and so, by extension, is their son. Making matters worse is a tragic mistake that Gabriel made when he was a small child, the consequences of which have never left him. For much of the book, I thought that I was reading contemporary fiction... but then certain things would happen that made me think we'd veered off into paranormal territory. The constant question of, "What is going on here?" haunted me throughout my reading of the book. Even at the end, when it seems like that question has been answered, the reader only has to look back to see that there are other unanswered questions... and things, once more, seem unclear.
The main character of note here is Gabriel (whose name is actually Anwell; the reasons for the pseudonym are addressed in the story). Although the chapter points of view alternate between Gabriel and Finnigan, the bulk of the story is seen through Gabriel's eyes. I suspected early on that Gabriel might not be the most reliable narrator, though I had no idea to what extent he was or wasn't. Even knowing this, I still wasn't expecting what happened in the last seven pages. Not that the twist was necessarily bad; I quite enjoyed being surprised.
As for the pace and writing of Surrender, you'll either love it or hate it. Most of the book plods fairly slowly, in often-flowery prose. While the writing evokes all the senses and paints a gorgeous picture of the surroundings, some readers might find it to be a bit much. Personally, I didn't mind the writing, and the pace didn't matter so much because the book wasn't terribly long; the parts that drag soon make way for ones that move along at an uptempo pace (especially toward the latter part of the story).
Make no mistake, though: this book has some dark themes. There are multiple deaths, some of them violent, and not all of them happen to human adults. Some readers may find the subject matter a bit too disturbing at times.
Overall, I enjoyed Surrender, even though it wasn't exactly what I was expecting. The only thing that I can really point to as a negative is that the ambiguous ending is going to keep me thinking about this book for a while.
May 21, 2021
Wow. This book really exceeded expectations. I bought it at the local Half-Price Books while looking for something new to pass the time while camping the next week. The plot sounded decent, and, honestly, the first line, with death being like a cello - well, I really liked that metaphor, me being both slightly morbid and an exuberant lover of cellos. So I figured, oh, what the heck.
Definitely worth my 8 or so dollars.
First off, the prose was delightfully surprising. It was rich, and eloquent, and still edgy enough to be appropriate for Gabriel's sickness and for Finnigan. It was also a slight challenge to read at times, which was surprising. Within the very first few pages, there were at least two words I had to look up because I didn't know them and couldn't figure them out using context clues - something I'm usually very good at (along with vocabulary in general, seeing as I possess a rather large one for my age). But what made it even better was the fact that you could tell that these words weren't the result of an author frantically perusing a thesaurus in order to make their sentences sound smarter. No, in the case of Ms. Sonya Hartnett here, it was easy to see that, contrastly, she knew these words, intended for them to be there from the start, and it was just part of how she wrote, part of her voice. And that commends great respect to me.
And the story itself - talk about a thriller and/or a plot twist! Hartnett spins a strong, tight web of words, pictures, and your assumptions, but then yanks it out from under your feet in the last few pages leaving you stumbling around dazed, wondering what the heck just happened and second guessing everything that happened in the couple hundred pages you'd just read before.
I won't go any further here, for fear of spoilers, but I really do highly recommend this book to anyone looking for something out there that is different and/or will make you sit there and ponder for a while after you've turned the last page.
Definitely worth my 8 or so dollars.
First off, the prose was delightfully surprising. It was rich, and eloquent, and still edgy enough to be appropriate for Gabriel's sickness and for Finnigan. It was also a slight challenge to read at times, which was surprising. Within the very first few pages, there were at least two words I had to look up because I didn't know them and couldn't figure them out using context clues - something I'm usually very good at (along with vocabulary in general, seeing as I possess a rather large one for my age). But what made it even better was the fact that you could tell that these words weren't the result of an author frantically perusing a thesaurus in order to make their sentences sound smarter. No, in the case of Ms. Sonya Hartnett here, it was easy to see that, contrastly, she knew these words, intended for them to be there from the start, and it was just part of how she wrote, part of her voice. And that commends great respect to me.
And the story itself - talk about a thriller and/or a plot twist! Hartnett spins a strong, tight web of words, pictures, and your assumptions, but then yanks it out from under your feet in the last few pages leaving you stumbling around dazed, wondering what the heck just happened and second guessing everything that happened in the couple hundred pages you'd just read before.
I won't go any further here, for fear of spoilers, but I really do highly recommend this book to anyone looking for something out there that is different and/or will make you sit there and ponder for a while after you've turned the last page.
January 12, 2009
It's not very often that I get to the end of a book and am left unsure as to what just happened. That being said, I'm not sure it was a bad thing. Just a new one.
This is the story of Gabriel, now 20 and dying, as he looks back over his life and childhood, which was far from easy. His parents were always looked down upon in the town, even before his father made himself an enemy of the constable.
Gabriel, who's real name is Anwell, had a lonely childhood. Though he had a brother, Vernon was ill, and couldn't leave his room, or talk. His parents considered him only a burden. Anwell was left worried about him constantly. And then he died.
This left Anwell truly alone. Until the appearance of Finnigan, the wild boy who one day simply appeared, and ever after appeared and disappeared as he chose.
After making a pact that Gabriel would be all things good and Finnigan all things bad, Finnigan spent years tormenting the town with fires. Never caught, he eventually gave up. He had burned everything. There was no more point.
But he had ruined the town. They'd resorted to vigilante mobs. They no longer trusted one another. Things were simply not the same.
Gabriel struggled on, trying to make do with his outcast place in the little world that was his town. His one ray of hope came in the form of Evangeline. Though they never spoke in public or at school, they shared some walks, and random afternoons in the country where they had run into one another.
Finnigan is displeased. Gabriel is at a loss.
To make matters worse, his only other solace, his dog Surrender, has been caught by a farmer attacking his goats. His father says he must do the right thing and kill the dog. It's all more than he can bear.
When he finds himself being led home by his mother, who followed him to Evangeline's, where he was trying desperately to warn her about Finnigan, he knows there's nothing left to lose.
This is the story of Gabriel, now 20 and dying, as he looks back over his life and childhood, which was far from easy. His parents were always looked down upon in the town, even before his father made himself an enemy of the constable.
Gabriel, who's real name is Anwell, had a lonely childhood. Though he had a brother, Vernon was ill, and couldn't leave his room, or talk. His parents considered him only a burden. Anwell was left worried about him constantly. And then he died.
This left Anwell truly alone. Until the appearance of Finnigan, the wild boy who one day simply appeared, and ever after appeared and disappeared as he chose.
After making a pact that Gabriel would be all things good and Finnigan all things bad, Finnigan spent years tormenting the town with fires. Never caught, he eventually gave up. He had burned everything. There was no more point.
But he had ruined the town. They'd resorted to vigilante mobs. They no longer trusted one another. Things were simply not the same.
Gabriel struggled on, trying to make do with his outcast place in the little world that was his town. His one ray of hope came in the form of Evangeline. Though they never spoke in public or at school, they shared some walks, and random afternoons in the country where they had run into one another.
Finnigan is displeased. Gabriel is at a loss.
To make matters worse, his only other solace, his dog Surrender, has been caught by a farmer attacking his goats. His father says he must do the right thing and kill the dog. It's all more than he can bear.
When he finds himself being led home by his mother, who followed him to Evangeline's, where he was trying desperately to warn her about Finnigan, he knows there's nothing left to lose.
August 31, 2011
It was super dark and really just messed up. The writing style was very detailed and i loved the metaphors but sometimes i thouhgt she could have toned down the descriptions which is why i gave it a four instead of a five. I really loved the duel meaning of surrender as well. Gabriel having to surrender his freedom to darkness only to infect his life with the shadow of it...there was some really deep goings on. However the end deeply confused me, i suppose that was the point. ***SPOILERS*** I questioned whether Finnigan (his alter ego/twin) was really his sick friend who had done all terrible things or if Finnigan was someone Gabriel made up in his severly troubled mind. Hartnett makes it clear that he is severly troubled but, the question is, whether he is delusional enough to create a second him and alter ego with a deeply poisoned mind. who knows It was almost like a stephen king thing. I guess the author really leaves it up to you to decide if most of its real but it really eats at my brain, beacuse the whole time we believe one thing to be true and that truth is a great story with dark parts yes but with hope, hope in the good intentions of our great angelic character. only for the author to destroy that with subtle lies that grow into a larger one, that brusts in you face leaving you reeling, hoping and wishing to grasp on to some true sense of reality, proving to you that at least one of the previous events actually happened hoping that all along the angel was not indeed the devil himself. I really don't know what to call this book a masterpiece or a dissapointment...the author clearly leaves it up to you to chose and for me that chose was a hard one and i'm still confused about it. So really all that's left to say is good luck, if you ever decide to read this book. The choice is yours....or is it?
August 7, 2014
This book is so, so creepy. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Gabriel, the narrator, is dying from an unnamed illness. He's only twenty, but he spends his days wasting away in bed. He's never been able to forget the terrible thing he did when he was seven years old—Finnigan won't let him forget.
Finnigan is Gabriel's only friend. He lives wild, like an animal, and Gabriel never knows when he'll show up. But they're bound together no matter what. They made a pact when they were kids, and Finnigan at least is determined to keep it.
As Gabriel slowly sifts through his memories, the full horror of his past becomes clear. Finnigan is dangerous, remorseless. Gabriel depends on him, but he's also scared of what Finnigan might do—to him, to his family, and to the small town of Mulyan where they live. When fires start cropping up around town, destroying homes and possessions, the hapless constable has no idea who's behind it. Gabriel knows, but he also knows he can never tell.
I read with my mouth hanging open. I couldn't wait to get to the end, to find out the full history between Gabriel and his sinister shadow. I've read lots of great books with unreliable narrators, but this one stands apart. Hartnett's writing is lush, gorgeous, even as she's describing the unthinkable. Gabriel's voice is so convincing, I had to look up occasionally to make sure I wasn't being sucked down into the insanity along with him. Fortunately I was always reassured by the familiar trappings of my own little house. I was still in my favorite chair, the cat was still sleeping on his back in the sun. My coffee mug, long cooled, still sat on the table.
But Gabriel's twisted world felt so real, I wouldn't have been surprised to see flames.
See more of my book recommendations for grades 6-12 at .
Gabriel, the narrator, is dying from an unnamed illness. He's only twenty, but he spends his days wasting away in bed. He's never been able to forget the terrible thing he did when he was seven years old—Finnigan won't let him forget.
Finnigan is Gabriel's only friend. He lives wild, like an animal, and Gabriel never knows when he'll show up. But they're bound together no matter what. They made a pact when they were kids, and Finnigan at least is determined to keep it.
As Gabriel slowly sifts through his memories, the full horror of his past becomes clear. Finnigan is dangerous, remorseless. Gabriel depends on him, but he's also scared of what Finnigan might do—to him, to his family, and to the small town of Mulyan where they live. When fires start cropping up around town, destroying homes and possessions, the hapless constable has no idea who's behind it. Gabriel knows, but he also knows he can never tell.
I read with my mouth hanging open. I couldn't wait to get to the end, to find out the full history between Gabriel and his sinister shadow. I've read lots of great books with unreliable narrators, but this one stands apart. Hartnett's writing is lush, gorgeous, even as she's describing the unthinkable. Gabriel's voice is so convincing, I had to look up occasionally to make sure I wasn't being sucked down into the insanity along with him. Fortunately I was always reassured by the familiar trappings of my own little house. I was still in my favorite chair, the cat was still sleeping on his back in the sun. My coffee mug, long cooled, still sat on the table.
But Gabriel's twisted world felt so real, I wouldn't have been surprised to see flames.
See more of my book recommendations for grades 6-12 at .
November 27, 2017
Plot Summary-
Anwell is dying at 20 years old and is reflecting on his life- mostly on his childhood friends and their adventures. Finnigan is Anwells best friend since childhood, when they caused trouble and made a deal that Anwell would only do good things, and Finnigan would only do bad things. One day Finnigan takes it too far and doesn't want to stop. Anwell meets a girl he likes named Evangeline, and Finnigan gets extremely jealous and mad at Anwell, and wants to get revenge on Evangeline.
Personal Response-
This book was something I normally wouldn't read but it was interesting. I think it was a little above my level because a lot of the parts confused me, and it didn't specify specific things, like if Finnigan was actually real, or if Anwell had a mental illness and came up with Finnigan one day. Other than that it was a good read and I enjoyed the parts I understood.
Characterisation-
Anwell started off his story when he was 10 years old, when he meets Finnigan by his yard fence. Finnigan stole money from Anwell's parent. Finnigan was 15 years old when he met Evangeline, and Finnigan got very jealous. The book ended when Anwell was 20 years old and dying, unable to see Finnigan, and afraid.
Recommendations-
I recommend this book to anyone who likes a mysterious adventure that's full of action. I think this book would be good for teenagers or young adults because the main characters are around that age and it's interesting to see Anwell's point of view with Finnigan.
Anwell is dying at 20 years old and is reflecting on his life- mostly on his childhood friends and their adventures. Finnigan is Anwells best friend since childhood, when they caused trouble and made a deal that Anwell would only do good things, and Finnigan would only do bad things. One day Finnigan takes it too far and doesn't want to stop. Anwell meets a girl he likes named Evangeline, and Finnigan gets extremely jealous and mad at Anwell, and wants to get revenge on Evangeline.
Personal Response-
This book was something I normally wouldn't read but it was interesting. I think it was a little above my level because a lot of the parts confused me, and it didn't specify specific things, like if Finnigan was actually real, or if Anwell had a mental illness and came up with Finnigan one day. Other than that it was a good read and I enjoyed the parts I understood.
Characterisation-
Anwell started off his story when he was 10 years old, when he meets Finnigan by his yard fence. Finnigan stole money from Anwell's parent. Finnigan was 15 years old when he met Evangeline, and Finnigan got very jealous. The book ended when Anwell was 20 years old and dying, unable to see Finnigan, and afraid.
Recommendations-
I recommend this book to anyone who likes a mysterious adventure that's full of action. I think this book would be good for teenagers or young adults because the main characters are around that age and it's interesting to see Anwell's point of view with Finnigan.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 4, 2009
In a muggy and tired Australian country town, a delicate boy by the name of Anwell lives with his oppressive parents. At age 20, Anwell is wasting away on his deathbed, the victim of an unidentifiable disease. In the meantime, his childhood friend, the wild child arsonist Finnigan, roams with his dog, Surrender, who used to be Anwell’s. Told in flashbacks, Anwell remembers his moments with Finnigan, his psychotic control-freak parents, his crush Evangeline, Surrender, and the time he and Finnigan came up with a nickname for himself: Gabriel, the angel. So Gabriel was the good boy and Finnigan the bad.
The town of Mulyan has been rampaged by a firebug on and off for the past few years. These fires tear the town apart and alienate Gabriel’s family even more from everyone. The firebug was never caught, and suspicions and accusations abound and break down any sense of trust this small town could have. The years pass and Gabriel’s parents become more controlling and restrictive. It is only some time before Gabriel finally snaps, and when he does, what secrets do we the readers learn as a result?
Sonya Hartnett has written a beautiful yet tortuous novel. Poetic elegance flows within every sentence. Every single word has been painstakingly chosen for its significance. And from this prose foundation grows a touching and haunting story about the power of parental abuse on a vulnerable child’s mind.
The town of Mulyan has been rampaged by a firebug on and off for the past few years. These fires tear the town apart and alienate Gabriel’s family even more from everyone. The firebug was never caught, and suspicions and accusations abound and break down any sense of trust this small town could have. The years pass and Gabriel’s parents become more controlling and restrictive. It is only some time before Gabriel finally snaps, and when he does, what secrets do we the readers learn as a result?
Sonya Hartnett has written a beautiful yet tortuous novel. Poetic elegance flows within every sentence. Every single word has been painstakingly chosen for its significance. And from this prose foundation grows a touching and haunting story about the power of parental abuse on a vulnerable child’s mind.
April 1, 2012
Wow, what a story. When beginning Surrender I thought it was sort of predictable, but the intense nature and the vivid descriptions kept me reading. I believe the story is realistic fiction made for advanced readers. Anwell, also known as Gabriel, is sick and dying and reflecting back on his short 20 years of life. In recalling his past, he describes the humiliating, uneventful life he has had. Friendless, he was more than happy to become friends with the wild child Finnigan. Finnigan is certainly a bad friend and has a negative outlook on life. As the friends struggle to see each other’s views and understand the meaning of life, events spiral out of control to lead Gabriel to the room he lays in now, dying and killing. I found the story to be very interesting and enjoyed each and every page of Hartnett's beautiful writing. I think every person will take different things from this book, as the author leaves things open to how you interpret them. Overall, I think everyone will understand and see the strong theme of good versus evil. Other evident themes include love, trust, and betrayal. This book is appealing to young readers because of its mysterious nature and the relevant struggles they may face in their early lives. It is important for children to realize how to deal with certain struggles in life and I think Anwell and Finnigan convey the importance of choosing friends carefully.
April 8, 2012
Surrender is a work of Fantasy/Science Fiction. This book received the Michael Printz Award in 2007. It is designed for the A: Advanced readers (ages 14 to adult).
Surrender was about two young boys named Finnigan and Gabriel who are life-long friends. As Gabriel reflects on his life, he shares the struggles of he and Finnigan.
I rated the book with 4 stars. I enjoyed the book because each chapter made me want to continue on to see what was to happen next. At the same time it seemed to me that the book was above the age of a 14-year old. The word choice was very mature and seemed that young readers would have some difficulty understanding what the story was about. I did, however, enjoy reading the book because the characters and the plot were interesting. The way the chapters highlighted Finnigan and Gabriel and how the story bounced back and forth made the reader want to know how the story was going to connect in the end. If I had to use this story in a class, I would bring up the themes that seemed to occur in the story. For example, peer pressure. The fact that Gabriel was friends with Finningan when he really didn't want to.
Surrender was about two young boys named Finnigan and Gabriel who are life-long friends. As Gabriel reflects on his life, he shares the struggles of he and Finnigan.
I rated the book with 4 stars. I enjoyed the book because each chapter made me want to continue on to see what was to happen next. At the same time it seemed to me that the book was above the age of a 14-year old. The word choice was very mature and seemed that young readers would have some difficulty understanding what the story was about. I did, however, enjoy reading the book because the characters and the plot were interesting. The way the chapters highlighted Finnigan and Gabriel and how the story bounced back and forth made the reader want to know how the story was going to connect in the end. If I had to use this story in a class, I would bring up the themes that seemed to occur in the story. For example, peer pressure. The fact that Gabriel was friends with Finningan when he really didn't want to.
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