This book kept me riveted right to the end. It is well-researched and well-paced, and you will enjoy it if you love the lilt of an Irish tale told in a Canadian historical setting.

In reading Unrest, I was drawn into the time and places: Ottawa's Bytown area and its rough beginnings, the Ottawa River valley logging camps and tankards of booze, womanizing, and women finding freedom. At times, this book shows the cutting ruthlessness of the period. It highlights how Irish immigrants had to fight their way to gain equal footing. Lives were cheap. Living was difficult. The time necessitated a woman tying herself to a man to gain safety—such as it was. Things aren't always what they seem.

This book is well-researched and represents the period perfectly. It would easily translate to a screen adaptation. The characters are full and alive. It's a well-done piece of historical fiction.

The title seems appropriate as in this exploration of Canadian history, we encounter a family in turmoil - a boy on the cusp of adulthood struggling against familial obligation, a marriage full of tension, two sisters with a history of scorn between them. On top of the interpersonal unrest, we find a society stacked against the Irish immigrant with agitation being stirred up among the classes. This book was not a hopeful, bright work of historical fiction but delivers angst, trauma, and a better understanding of the dark layers of a city that the history books gloss over. It's gritty, and the characters are not always likable. That being said, I found it to be well crafted and found myself comparing it to One For The Blackbird, One For The Crow by Olivia Hawker in tone or telling - a reminder that sacrifice and resilience often meant survival in a cruel, harsh world set up to guarantee failure. A recommended read from me but going knowing it's not all sunshine and roses.

Unrest by Gwen Tuinman gives the reader a very interesting history of the Bytown (Ottawa) Ontario area in 1836. Jam packed with drunken Irishmen, ladies of ill repute, snooty English folk and the life of the downtrodden, this book is a great historical fiction read.
Mariah lives with her sister and brother-in-law and their three /four children. She was scarred as a teenager after a dog attacked and bit her face. With very little hope of ever finding a husband, she lives there, basically treated as a servant, by her sister (Biddy) and her children. Pregnant with another child, Biddy is left to keep the home while her husband goes away for the winter to chop wood and bring home some money. The house catches fire and the family is forced to live with friends. Unfortunately, Biddy blames her for the fire and Mariah leaves. With no options on how to live with no money, Mariah must make her way in a man’s world.
I really enjoyed this book. It dragged in a few places but those were minor glitches during my reading time. Rate at 4.5
I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys Canadian historical fiction. You’ll learn about Irish immigrants, the Shiners, the Ottawa area and Peter Aylen (a real person).

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for my eARC.

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for providing me with a digital galley of Unrest.

Wow. Gwen Tuinman deftly plunges us into the fractious tensions of our burgeoning nation’s capital, 1836 Bytown. Unrest is historical fiction at its finest. Through the language, characterizations, morays, social conflicts and exquisite depiction of everyday life as a Canadian homesteader, I feel I’ve not only learned more about the lives of my country’s founders than from anything I learned in history class, but have experienced them. The struggle for survival physically and relationally throb like a pounding pulse throughout the novel as the plot twists and characters fight their grim circumstances. An eye-opening and vivid read.

I found the history in this book interesting, but I had problems getting into the story. I found most of the characters unlikable, and some of the writing seemed to jump around a lot. It also seemed to me that the ending was a very quick one that left me unsatisfied as to how we got there. My thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this book.

The further I got in this book the more invested I became. I loved reading Canadian historical fiction and found the author’s endnotes very interesting. My knowledge of the Irish settlers in Ottawa area has increased greatly. I will most definitely be watching for more books from this author! I’m familiar with the setting of this novel so that even made the book better for me….and the author lives in the Kawartha Lakes area where we have a multigenerational family cottage! Maybe a future book will have a Kawqrtha Lakes setting!

I tried many times to invest myself in this novel, however I did not enjoy it. The writing is very scattered, and while the imagery is wonderful, it’s very hard to follow at times. In comparison with my fellow reviewers, I feel the history in the book is convoluted at times and the writing takes away from understanding the history. It is a very savage and gory novel, to the point that I had to put the book down given certain events or the general energy of the novel. The characters are very stereotypical, despite the premise being intriguing and unique. From the beginning, you could probably guess their characters arcs. We’re also not given a lot of reason to care for the characters since they’re all very dislikeable. I do love the cover design, especially since we learn early on how it echoes the protagonist appearance.

4 stars!

This was my first time reading historical fiction and it will not be my last!

I live in Ottawa and realized I knew close to nothing about it's history, it was very fascinating to learn.

I would definitely recommend this book to whoever is debating on getting into historical fiction! I usual stay within my preferred genres and never venture out, but I took a chance and did not regret it at all.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the ARC!

I didn't like this novel very much at first because I found the characters' POV narrations repetitive and somewhat boring. But as the story moved forward and the plot picked up, I became more and more interested in how the characters' arcs would end. So the plotting and the pace of the novel was satisfying but the writing could have been improved.

I don't know enough about Ottawa/Bytown during this particular era to comment on the historical accuracy of the story.

I learned a lot of Canadian history in this book which focused on the settling of Upper and Lower Canada in the early 1800’s. This book described how Irish immigrants came here seeking a better life. This was not the case as the work was hard in the forests, on the canal and the harshness of the climate especially in the winter contributed to a difficult existence. Women were also treated harshly and their work in and around their homes was gruelling as well. The well to do flourished at the expense of the newcomers. The main character Mariah carried scars both physically as well as emotionally. Her spirit of determination held her fast in many heart wrenching situations. Unrest is a thoroughly researched book that brings to light a period in Canadian history that was not known to me. A little long and detailed at times but for the most part an entertaining read.

Fascinating read, well written, so much detail, I would love to see a movie or a series based on this book. I knew nothing about struggles of Irish in this period and I appreciate the author's note explaining some of the facts. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this advance copy of Unrest, I thoroughly enjoyed the novel.

Unrest by Gwen Tuinman is at times heart-wrenching, and at other times triumphant, making for a powerful historical novel set in Canada's early days in the Ottawa area that keeps the reader turning the pages to the very end.
The character of Mariah is extremely well-written, and her growth from an abused and fearful family-in-name-only sister and aunt to a strong and determined woman in control of her own destiny is fascinating and one cannot help but cheer her on. Her son Thomas's struggles to establish himself as his own man result in numerous mistakes that see him growing as well. Even the despicable characters, such as Mariah's bitter and controlling sister and her entitled niece, are riveting and watching their lives change as Mariah's does holds a lesson.
The book is clearly well-researched, and it brings to life the historical period and the strife between English citizens and the Irish immigrants they both need for labour and resent. There is definitely unrest at every turn, making for a fast-paced and, dare I say, educational novel.
I am happy to have received an ARC of #Unrest from #NetGalley and highly recommend the novel.

Being Canadian I really love that this book was set in Ottawa. Gwen Tuinman did a great job creating characters that make you feel. I felt so badly for Mariah at times. The title for the book is perfect. I really like the way the book came together at the end. I would recommend this book for anyone who likes historical fiction, as well as Canadian content.

I enjoyed the story. I at times had a hard time reading it and needed to put it down and come back to it, mostly because I felt so bad for the main character, Mariah. The hard life that she had endured at the hand of her sister and her niece was difficult to not get my dander up. Gwen did a good job of describing some of the realistic hardships I’ve heard the Irish immigrants endured after coming to Canada. As well as the hardships that women endured. I was worried for Thomas as he was making his way to becoming a man and sad for the hardships he endured to get there. I liked that there was a happy ending in both storylines. I definitely recommend this book for reading.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a n novel with roots in Ottawa Canada which intertwines murder and mayhem. Mariah tries to claim her place in the world but along the way she is met with Thomas so is a blacksmith in Bytown.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Canada for an ARC of this novel.

Lots of people, mostly Canadian, think Canadian history is boring. Historians can’t persuade them otherwise, but maybe novelists can. Certainly no one who reads this novel will use the B word to describe it.

On the opening page, the main character, Mariah Lindsay, declares that ´Menace lurks high and low in the snake pit known as Bytown, ‘ where the story unfolds in the mid 1830s. A rough resource town of about 1,000 people, Bytown (later Ottawa) was populated by an exploited underclass of famine Irish who did the gruelling, badly paid, often dangerous labour of canal and railway building and lumbering in the ambitious colony of Upper Canada. As they were overseas, the Irish, especially Catholics, were held to be ignorant, dirty, disease-spreading drunkards who needed to ´know their place’ at the bottom, and stay there. French Canadians were treated little better. The Algonkian peoples whose land the settlers appropriated were so utterly marginalized that they didn’t even rank in the social order. Those of British heritage and their circle held tight to wealth and power, administering justice as suited their interests.

The « unrest » of the title permeates the story. It starts even before Mariah, her older sister Biddy, and Biddy’s new husband Seamus O’ Daugherty, leave an oppressed and starving Ireland for the unwelcoming British North American colonies. On both sides of the Atlantic, violence, hatred, and vengeance are a way of life. Mariah’s ravaged face and psyche, explained in the opening pages, symbolizes the world of these people and their outlook. Unrest seethes through their lives, from the poorest in the Corktown shanties, to the corrupt businessmen-politicians of Uppertown who use imported sectarian hatreds to control and rule. There are rumours of unrest in Lower Canada (Quebec), in York (Toronto), in the western townships (London). The Irish manifest their historic discontent in marauding gangs of Shiners, performing ruthless acts of violence, even against their own. They are led by a newly wealthy Irish timber man Peter Aylen, and his henchmen Andrew Leany, Hairy Barney, and John Gleeson, all real historical figures. These men and their followers fuel unrest with rhetoric, booze, prostitutes and many false promises. Irish men, young and old, are swept away in the lawless politics of despair. The unrest destabilizes their families, rich and poor, because women and children, dependent on their men, are most vulnerable to their alcohol-fuelled deprecations.

The author brings this unrest to life on all these levels, a real strength in a novel that in no way sanitizes or romanticizes the past. The grit, gore, savagery and suffering are all here. But this strength also becomes a problem at times. The unrest in their lives and their souls is so unremitting that the main characters, especially Mariah, become hapless victims of seemingly unending random, misfortune, often of the ugliest kind. Of course none of them can avoid being affected by circumstances, but every step Mariah takes on her own behalf tosses her several steps backward, renewing her original physical and emotional trauma. The few gentle moments, when people get to be kind and Mariah gets to be hopeful, get buried under the barrage of ongoing Terrible Things. Her ability to gather herself up and go on to the next battle is admirable, but the battles are frequently unbelievable, which results more in eye-rolling than sympathy. Her one great hope of deliverance slides in and out of her hands, literally, and she fights terrible odds (I’d say ridiculous odds) to hold on to it/retrieve it.

The high drama surrounding each character tends to make them one-dimensional, often stereotypical. Older sister Biddy and her hapless husband Seamus, who accompanied the unwed pregnant Mariah from Ireland to hide her shame, are superficially drawn from the start. Biddy predictably grows more narcissistic and vengeful, Seamus more cowardly and duplicitous. Mariah’s son Thomas, who knows (and disdains) her only as his maternal aunt, ruins every chance he gets, honest or otherwise, to improve his lot. He can’t decide between, and therefore manipulates, two women who are always ready to save him from his own stupid misdeeds as he tries to curry favour with the Shiners. It’s hard to care about his fate, though that fate is central to the story.

The Shiners’ actual demise, as well as the rebellions, are skipped. Presumably the unrest has ended for all concerned, as for Mariah, whom the epilogue shows to have prevailed. But, since Biddy and Seamus and their children were left in an extremely precarious state in the story’s final chapter, I wanted to know whether they did too.

There are a lot of ugly things in every nation’s history, and the history is very well done here. Thanks to the lucid writing, this is a very visual novel, even if the focus on the darker details mean that those images are seldom pretty.