In her debut novel, Newfoundland native Donna Morrissey, who now lives in Halifax, tells us more than we need to know about her characters. The novel establishes its setting – 1950s outport Newfoundland – quickly, credibly, and with poetic language: “a fleet of painted punts and motorboats … were scattered across the lopping waters of the harbour like a handful of slung jellybeans.” The good guys are 14-year-old Kit Pitman, her grandmother Lizzie, and Kit’s mentally handicapped mother, Josie. Their defender is the kindly Dr. Hodgson. The bad guys are led by Reverend Ropson who is determined to institutionalize Josie and send Kit to an orphanage, and Shine, an evil bully who terrorizes the community.

The problem is that once these characters are established, they are re-established again and again in scenes that add little to the story. Judicious editing could have shed one-quarter of the book, in return making it much stronger.

The Reverend Ropson’s son, Sid, becomes Kit’s ally, and they fall in love. The menacing Shine attacks Kit and sets off a chain of somewhat unlikely events that result in a terrible revelation, one that causes Kit and Sid to question the laws of God and mankind, and the reader to wonder how much misery two young people can tolerate. There are echoes of Thomas Hardy here, the clash between fate and free will, and rampant coincidence.

Early in the story the strong Newfoundland dialect illuminates the dialogue, contributing beautifully to the sense of place. However, by the end the characters are speaking in nearly standard English. There are other technical problems, such as the presence of birth control pills – the FDA didn’t approve birth control pills until 1960, and the odds of their availability in 1950s outport Newfoundland are slim.

Morrissey does show a talent for poetic description, and while this debut has some difficulties, Kit’s Law is still a promising first effort.