British Columbia Books

This is a thread for listing and discussing books with a British Columbia setting.

I've read lots of books set in BC. Here are some of them:

The Olden Days Locket by Penny Chamberlain and Awake and Dreaming by Kit Pearson are two really great children's books set in Victoria.

Missing Sarah, Maggie de Vries (about the author's sister, who ended up living in the Downtown East Side and eventually becoming a victim of mass murderer Robert Picton).

The Sad Truth about Happiness, Anne Giardini

Eleanor Rigby, Douglas Coupland

The Jade Peony, Wayson Choy

Bachelor Brother's Bed & Breakfast, Bill Richardson

A Recipes for Bees, Gail Anderson-Dargatz

Alice, I Think, Susan Juby

Stanley Park, Timothy L. Taylor

I have Bachelor Brothers Bed & Breakfast among my unread books so it might be worth pulling that one out for this challenge!

Oh, it's a fun book! I recommend it.

Bachelor Brothers are great - and more than one book in the series, too.

Here are BC books in my library that aren't already in this post:

Fiction:
Vancouver, David Cruise
The Cure for Death by Lightning, Gail Anderson-Dargatz

Kids:
The Toothpaste Genie, Frances Duncan
Kap-Sung Ferris, Frances Duncan

Non-Fiction:
Voyages of Hope, Peter Johnson

I am going to start from 01-01-09 and my first book posted here is Eleanor Rigby and now onto the next province!

It seemed a good time to join this group as I am currently reading Seaweed On Ice by Stanley Evans, a mystery set in the familiar streets of Victoria, British Columbia. It seems that a lot of my Canadian reading has a BC connection so I'm looking forward to discovering new (to me) authors on our cross-Canada journey.

Now reading Turtle Valley for my next group discussion. Started off slow but has really picked up and is very good.

Picked up a copy of The Greenies second hand today. Based on this review it seems to be set in Vancouver:
http://www.umanitoba.ca/outreach/cm/vol11/no16/thegreenies.html

Jewish children and adolescents orphaned by the war are adopted into families in Canada.

Just finished Life After God, by Douglas Coupland. It is set in various locations around BC (Prince George, Kamloops, Duncan), but mostly in the Lower Mainland.

When i was younger i read this book about two kids who took their mentally handicapped young cousin to their family's cabin on on of the island's off Vancouver island to hide him because his mother wanted to put him into a home. I can't for the life of me remember the title or the author of this book and i was wondering if anyone can help me out?

>11 savannahsmiles: Doesn't ring any bells for me, but you could try this group:
http://www.librarything.com/groups/namethatbook

Starting to read The 100 mile diet which is sent in British Columbia.

Has anybody read any of Gwendolyn Southin's books such as Death in a Family Way, Death on a Short Leash, or 5455527::In the Shadow of Death? It looks as though they are set in Vancouver.

I just started Madame Zee by Luke and it's quite good so far. Part of it takes place in Saskatchewan but it looks like most is set in BC. Although fiction, it's based on the true story of Madame Zee, wife of a famous cult leader in BC. I have no idea who she is (so either she wasn't THAT famous or I don't get out much) but I hope to be an expert when finished and I will post a review.

Other good books set in BC are Three against the wilderness and The Forest Lover both of which were great. The Forest Lover is fiction based on Emily Carr's life and one book I recommend to visitors until my mother in law took my copy and gave it away! The Man Game is also set in BC but I cannot recommend it.

I just remembered The Golden Spruce by John Vaillant which I found to be a great read about forestry in BC and a very interesting person.

That book is on my every-growing TBR pile, so I am glad to hear that you liked it :)

I keep looking for a copy of the Golden Spruce on sale tables, but no luck so far. I might just have to pay full price for it.

Great Canadian books on Bravo is discussing The Golden Spruce right now!

I've read quite a few books set in BC . If you'd like a good mystery Still Missing by Chevy Stevens was a great read! It takes place on Vancouver Island and was written by a woman who lives on Vancouver Island.

A few other choices - Jade Peony by Wayson Choy was a great read about the Chinese settling into Vancouver, as was All That Matters by the same author.

The Promise of Rain by Donna Milner was a very enjoyable read. It takes place partly in Vancouver and partly in Hong Kong during the second world war. I really enjoyed it.

Thanks for the tips. Still Missing sounds great. As soon as I've dealt will all my ARCs this will be top of the tbr heap.

This was a re-read for me. I was given a copy of The Dunsmuir Saga by Terry Reksten which I used to own but has gone missing at some point. It's the story of Dunsmuir the coal baron who built Craigdarroch Castle in Victoria. Reksten did an excellent job of all the histories she wrote. Well-researched and very interesting. Rattenbury was fascinating - the biography of British Columbia's memorable architect with a true murder thrown in.

@ Nickelini - you can get The Golden Spruce fairly cheaply on Abe Books if you haven't gotten it already.

White Slaves of the Nootka is an interesting historical book set on Vancouver Island in 1803-05. I found the old style a little heavy going but enjoyed the perspective of life back then.

25: I had heard of that book, but hadn't talked to anybody who had read it. Would you say it was worth working through the old style of writing?

26: Clocking in at only 126 pages with pictures it is not hard to get through. If it were a long book I might say give it a miss but I really think that parts of it are quite amazing and other parts are very very slow and overly descriptive. I wish we could get a little more emotion in the writing. This guy really experienced something and parts of it must have been shocking and parts of it must have really made him feel alive. So I would not go out of my way to buy an expensive copy but if you can pick it up somewhere I would slot it in to your TBR.

Thank you! I will see if my library has a copy :)

William Deverell apparently writes a set of mysteries set in BC (Some on the island). Snow Job seems to have been shortlisted for the Stephen Leacock medal for humour in 2010.

After River by Donna Milner is another book set in BC, written by a BC author. And what a beautiful read it is.

I just finished Zero Gravity, by Sharon English, which is a collection of short stories set in and around Vancouver. This book was nominated for the 2007 Giller prize. English is from Ontario, and the stories don't sound as if they were written by a native Vancouverite. Still, the city plays a character in almost all of the stories, so if you're looking for a strong sense of place, I guess you could find it here. From her writing and tone, I suspect that English has read a lot of Alice Munro, so if you like that sort of thing you might want to check this out.

Annabel Lyon's collection of novellas, The Best Thing for You is quite beautiful. One's about a troubled and troubling relationship in Kitsilano, another is a historical murder tale that involves a young woman and her lover. But the stories are almost secondary, as Lyon's real strength in her writing. She adopts a different voice to suit each novella, and she nails each perfectly.

If you have a taste for adventure, try George Bowering's Caprice. It's older and pretty zany, but fun. Here's the description from his agent's website:

This is far from your average Western – the hombres have ethnic identities, the Indians debate metaphysical questions and the would-be avenger is the six-foot, red-headed French-Canadian Caprice, who writes poetry, carries a European bullwhip and has a schoolteacher boyfriend who plays baseball.

I'm just reading a book of short stories that takes place on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Wonderful so far! The title is not working with the touchstones yet - but it is called " The Beggar's Garden" and it's by Michael Christie. I purchased my copy at Chapters, and I noticed my local library has it too - so it's out there!

Thanks for all the suggestions, this is great! :)

New book to add to the list Tell it To The Trees by Anita Rau Badami. She's a Canadian author and this is the second of her books that I have read. I'm halfway through and totally riveted to the story! It takes place in Merritsville British Columbia - a northern town which does not exist -but good enough!

And one more book that I read just lately , reviewed and loved - Touch by Alexi Zentner. Fabulous book and on the Giller list . It takes place in a non - existent small northern town in BC, Sawgamet. Sawgamet is town that was originally created by the gold rush,but is now a logging town.

Hi Group - Not a member but am thinking about reading more books set in Canada. I am a U.S. citizen, live in California, just happen to love Canada. I've been in most of the provinces. My knowledge of world history is just a big whole in my head - not something that has interested me very much in the past. Now that I'm retired I have much more time for pleasure reading and just finished Sointula: Island Utopia by Paula Wild, a partial history of Malcolm Island off the coast of B.C. and enjoyed it very much. Wild's focus is on the utopian community started by a group of people originally from Finland. Anyone have any other suggestions for my reading about Malcolm Island or Vancouver Island or that area? I will be perusing this thread of course, just wanted to mention this book. Thanks.

Sointula is a fascinating place and story--most people don't know about it, even here in BC.

I don't know any books about it, but I do know Island books. Are you looking for fiction or non-fiction?

39 non-fiction that reads like fiction! ;)

Requiem by Itani is a beautiful novel. Bin is a Japanese Canadian who grew up during the war and was moved to an internment camp in BC. It's now 50 years later and he still hasn't come to terms with his life and all the things that happened to him while growing up so he decides to make a pilgrimage from Ontario to BC to try to make peace. As he drives, he reflects on his past so most of the novel is set during war time. Itani is fastly becoming one of my favourite authors.

I recently enjoyed Hey Nostradamus!. I don't think anyone writes Vancouver better than Douglas Coupland.

Itani sounds like a good read, thank you for the recommendation!

43 - she is great! I really, really loved Remembering the Bones as well. Oddly enough, I really didn't like her short stories all that much.

I just finished Shelter by Frances Greenslade and The Calling (the second book in the Darkness Rising trilogy which started with The Gathering) by Kelley Armstrong.

Coincidentally, both books are about teenage girls trying to survive in the BC wilderness, but otherwise, they are quite different! One is coping with the abandonment of her mother; the other has paranormal powers and is running away from Bad Guys.

I just read an excellent book about life on the BC/Washington border: Border Songs, by Jim Lynch. Here are some of my comments .....

Brandon Vanderkool grew up on a dairy farm that skirts the Canadian border. All his life, he has regarded the people across the road--in another country--as his neighbours. Socially awkward, due in part to being 6'8" and extremely dyslexic, Brandon excels at art, is an avid birdwatcher, and notices things that other people don't. Somehow he has fallen into a job as a border patrol agent, and surprises everyone by excelling at this too. With seemingly little effort, Brandon becomes a star employee by sweeping up human traffickers, possible terrorists, and a lot of drug smugglers.

Brandon is an endearing quirky character in a novel full of quirky endearing characters. There is his kind dad Norm, who is struggling to keep the family farm from collapsing; his wise mom who is showing signs of early-onset Alzheimers; his boyhood crush, Madeline, over on Zero Avenue, and her grumpy retired professor father, who likes to stand on his deck smoking pot and taunting his US neighbours. These are some of the characters that are seeing their lives change in a post-911 world where the US government jumps at every shadow that darkens the border.

This book is interesting, funny, smart--the whole package. Lynch obviously did his research well in exploring the subculture of life on the border. This is an area that I know fairly well (my dad's family dairy farm--which, like many of the dairy farms in the book, is now a raspberry farm--sits atop the Canadian side of the border), and the author gets the little details right. That always scores extra points from me. He also does an admirable job of weaving in facts and philosophy surrounding the multi-billion dollar marijuana industry (his journalism background shows here).

Love the sound of this book, I'll keep an eye out for it. Your review is excellent, thanks.

I've enjoyed:

Vancouver by David Cruise (A novel that spans several thousand years from the first inhabitation of B.C. through the 20th century.)

Stanley Park by Timothy Taylor

The End of East by Jen Sookfong Lee

as well as the two books by Wayson Choy previously mentioned.

The Incredible Gang Ranch by Dale Alsager. The same story, from a different viewpoint, Gang Ranch; the real story by Judy Alsager. Also, The Mighty Gang Ranch, by Chris King. There's also a whole batch of books written by Richmond P. Hobson, Jr. , such as The Rancher Takes a Wife.

Also, Peace River Chronicles, edited by Gordon E. Bowes.

Sointula, Bill Gaston, 2004


Cover comments: I like it. When I saw it at the bookstore, it jumped out at me, partly because I was familiar with the village of Sointula, and I thought "cool, someone wrote a book about Sointula!" and then I looked at the art and thought "interesting, and not what I'd put on the cover of a book about Sointula, so what is this all about anyway?"

.
Map showing the location of Sointula.

Comments: The real Sointula is a failed Utopian community off the coast of northern Vancouver Island. It was founded in the early 20th century by a group of Finnish settlers, and its name means “harmony.” The Sointula of the novel, Sointula, I suppose, has more of a symbolic meaning that anything else. In some ways, it is about a search for harmony, or inner peace. Or maybe not. Either way, not much of the book is actually set there, and it certainly isn’t a piece of historical fiction retelling the village’s story.

Instead it is the story of Tom Poole, a 26 year old with a dodgy past,who lives on a beach near Sointula working as a whale researcher. He may or may not be a sociopath, autistic, or a drug dealer. And it’s the story of Evelyn, his mother, who abandons her comfortable life in Ontario to be at the deathbed of Tom’s father, Claude. Her story begins 460 km south, at the other end of Vancouver Island, where she suddenly decides to drop her depression medication, live like a homeless person, and steal a kayak. And finally, it’s the story of British-American ex-high school biology teacher Peter, who wants to travel the Island and write a book about the experience (despite his frequent gall bladder attacks). He soon meets up with Evelyn and they decide to kayak to Sointula to find Tom, a journey for which they are in no way prepared.

What I didn’t like: None of the characters are particularly likeable, although they are sympathetic. Just when I was warming to one of them, they’d do something dumb, or selfish, or morally questionable. They were all a bit too quick to act like hobos. I found the frequent discussion of their dirty, smelly, starving bodies a bit tiresome---after all, like George Orwell in Down and Out in Paris and London, they could make it all go away in a phone call. I often felt trapped in the kayak , tent, or isolated beach right along with them, but then I think this feeling of being trapped is one of the author’s points. However, at times I found it made me feel a bit too claustrophobic.

What I liked: A lot. The writing is excellent and the book is well structured. The characters and situations were different, and right to the end there was nothing predictable or too coincidental. I appreciate that there is a map, even though I know the Island quite well and would have had a good idea where they were without it, I found myself flipping to it frequently. Gaston is one of those writers who weaves in bits of history, biology, and geography, and I love to learn while I read. But my favourite thing about the book is the author’s excellent sense of place—I personally love Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, and I can tell he does too.

Why I Read This Now: I’ve been eager to read it, and my mini-break on Vancouver Island this past weekend was the perfect excuse to start it. Even though I wasn’t at the exact locations he described, there was a lot that similar, which is always an enriching experience for me. For example, while I was at the beach looking at clams and oysters with my family, I could pull out some smarty-pants sounding facts that I had just read that morning.

Recommended for: Readers who like unusual literary fiction, anyone who is interested in Vancouver Island or the great outdoors of the Pacific Northwest. Not recommended for people who are uncomfortable when reading about bodily functions.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Here are some other BC books I've read that I forgot to post here:

Eating Dirt, Deep Forests, Big Timber, and Life with the Tree-Planting Tribe, by Charlotte Gill. The author won a very lucrative prize for this non-fiction book, and it's well-deserved., Great writing and very interesting.

The Book of Small, Emily Carr. How fair is that? Renowned painter AND talented writer? Although all educated Canadians are familiar with Carr's art, many don't know she was also a writer. This slim volume is memoirs and stories from her childhood. Fabulous sketches of pre-Empress Hotel Victoria.

The Devil You Know and Sugar Bush and other stories, by Jenn Farrell. Not all the stores are set in BC, but the ones that are have a strong sense of place. Farrell is a master at capturing place and character. Her stories all center on young women who tend to make some bad choices. Rather edgy stuff, but really wonderful.

Hey! Nostradamus and Girlfriend in a Coma, Douglas Coupland novels, and City of Glass, same author, non-fiction. Clever, insightful, humorous, sad. No one captures Vancouver like Coupland. Must a must read author for anyone who loves the city.

Thanks for that list. I will definitely be checking those out!

I would recommend the children's book The Whole Truth by Kit Pearson. It is set on a fictional island between Vancouver and Victoria in the 1930's.

#54 - Oh, my daughter has that on her TBR shelf. I've read the same author's Awake and Dreaming which has a pivotal scene set on the ferry that goes between Vancouver and Victoria. It's an excellent read too.

I can add When is a Man by Aaron Shepard which has just been released. A good read.

I just finished Adventures in Solitude set in Desolation Sound, BC.

This book has a very strong Victoria setting:

Before I Wake, Robert J Wiersema, 2006


Cover comments: It's okay, I guess but doesn't tell you what the book is about. I think it's misleading, actually.

Comments: Simon and Karen's three year old daughter is struck by a hit and run driver and is deemed brain dead. But when they take her off life support, she starts breathing on her own. They take her home, where it is slowly discovered that the little girl appears to have powers to miraculously heal others, including people with terminal illness. A shadowy character, Father Peter, appears to threaten their lives. There is a strong supernatural element to the novel. The story is told in short first-person narratives by a wide number of characters. This technique keeps the story moving, but I'm not 100% sold on this approach.

The blurb on the back cover, and the first quarter of the story, make Before I Wake seem like the story of a tragic life event. But then the book takes an unexpected turn. And another. And another. It definitely kept me guessing--and most of my guesses turned out to be wrong.

Why I Read This Now: it's been in my TBR for a while, and I recently read Before I Go to Sleep. As I always confused these two books, I thought I'd read them both so I could get them straight. Both titles make perfect sense in the context of their stories.

Rating: This was a good read. 4 stars.

Recommended for: As with Before I Go to Sleep, the reader must be willing to suspend disbelief in order to enjoy this book. If you can do that, then I recommend it. The book is set in Victoria, BC, and has a strong sense of place, so read Before I Wake if you're a fan of that city.

>58 Nickelini: Sounds like it would be fun to read this one, although I'm not a big fan of supernatural elements, the familiar setting would make up for it.

A Tale for the Time Being, Ruth Ozeki, 2013


Cover comments: At a glance, I find this arrangement pleasing in both its balance and its colours. On closer inspection, I find I'm actually delighted by it--starting at the top with the pop culture Japanese girl, down to the clear blue sky with the kamikaze pilot, then the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean, the diary, and finally the island across the sea in Canada. Well done book designer Jim Tierney.

Comments: A Tale for the Time Being is told in two intercepting stories--the diary of a suicidal teenage girl, Nao, in early 2000s Tokyo, and Ruth, a Japanese-Canadian writer who lives in a desolate island community and finds the diary washed up on the beach in a Hello Kitty lunch box sometime after the 2011 tsunami. Did it float across the Pacific? Or is it more likely that someone dropped it off a passing cruise ship, as others suggest.

This is a complex novel, full of ideas and symbolism. When I first heard about it, I was intrigued. However, many of my LT friends gave it less than glowing reviews, so I forgot about it. But now my book club read it, and I'm glad we did. There is so much going on her that is interesting. Sure, some parts dragged, and some of the philosophy was over the top, but I just sped through those sections. I'd say I really liked 3/4 of this book and the remaining quarter, not so much.

A Tale for the Time Being was nominated for a slew of awards, including the Man Booker Prize.

Rating: 4 stars

Recommended for: people who like books with lots going on.


Cortes Island, where both the character Ruth and the author Ruth Ozeki live.

The Silk Train Murder / Sharon Rowse
3.5 stars

It's 1899 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. John Granville has recently arrived from the Klondike and when he meets up with his old buddy, Sam, Sam gets Granville a job guarding a train. A couple of nights later, they find someone murdered and Sam is arrested and held for the murder. Granville is certain Sam didn't do it, but the police think otherwise and aren't looking into alternatives, so Granville does some sleuthing of his own.

I enjoyed this. Historical mysteries are iffy for me, but this was good. It did take a few chapters for me to get “into” it, but it was interesting enough, even at the start, that I backed up to reread what I missed when my mind wandered at first. I enjoyed the mystery and I enjoyed the secondary characters, Trent and Emily, who were helping Granville out. I also enjoyed the setting. It was also a nice quick read. This is the first in a series, and I will pick up the next one, as well.

Now and in the Hour of Our Death / Patrick Taylor

4 stars

Although this book is subtitled a novel of the Irish Troubles, a significant storyline takes place in BC. Patrick Taylor has lived in BC for many years although he was born in Northern Ireland. He obviously loves his adopted land and the details he works in are great.

Victoria's Castles / Paul G. Chamberlain
3.5 stars

This is a short book describing the castles in Victoria, B.C. It describes the architecture, as well as the history of the castles and the people who lived there.

I bought this book as a souvenir the first time I visited Victoria and have finally gotten around to reading it. I saw two castles while I was there (Craigdarroch Castle and Hatley Castle) and apparently there is one more still standing. I enjoyed the book, particularly the histories of the people who lived in them - some politicians, some businessmen. The book was short, and of course, included photos of the castles.

Those Girls / Chevy Stevens.
4.5 stars

Due to the abuse suffered at the hands of their father (their mother died a few years earlier), three sisters, Dani, Courtney, and Jess, run away, only to find themselves in a town where some initially seemingly nice guys help them out. But, this goes badly and they end up in another terrifyingly horrible situation! 18 years later, after having lived in Vancouver since then and having built a life for themselves, things take another turn and the past is back…

I was trying to describe that with no spoilers - at least nothing that was not mentioned on the back of the book (I may have mentioned less than what’s on the book blurb)! The first half of the book is told from Jess’ point of view; Jess is the youngest sister. Perspective switches for the second half. This was a book I just didn’t want to put down! I wanted to keep reading. There is a lot of violence, though, so be warned of that.

Never Let You Go / Chevy Stevens
4.5 stars

Lindsey’s ex-husband, Andrew, has been in jail for the past decade. He was abusive toward Lindsey, and she has since built a new life for her and her daughter, Sophie. Unfortunately when Andrew gets out of jail, he comes back to the town where Lindsey and Sophie live.

I have not yet been disappointed in a Chevy Stevens novel. I found this very fast-paced and suspenseful, and I wanted to keep reading. I listened to the audio, which was very well done; it was read by two different narrators, one for Lindsey and one for Sophie. The book does jump around in time (now and then) and perspective (Lindsey and Sophie). Very very good, in my opinion! There was what I thought of as a coincidence at the end, but without saying too much, it turned out to be planned, so not a coincidence, after all.

Starlight by Richard Wagamese
4.5 stars

Beautiful writing although unfinished because Wagamese died while he was still working on it. Frank Starlight, who showed up in Medicine Walk by the same author, takes in a woman and her daughter running from an abusive relationship and uses the land to help them heal and learn to trust.

I could have counted this for Alberta or BC, but decided on BC because more of the trip is in BC than in Alberta.

The Forgotten Explorer / Charles Helm, Mike Murtha (editors)
3 stars

Samuel Fay was an American hunter who explored the Northern Rocky Mountains (North and West of Jasper, Alberta) over a few years, in 1912, 1913, 1914. His longest trip was 4ish months between the end of June and November, 1914, when he was hunting and collecting wildlife for the US “Biological Review”. The bulk of this book is Fay’s journals while on that trip, though the foreword is someone else’s summary/account of the trip, and there are appendices that include articles Fay wrote about his travels afterward.

I hadn’t realized before starting the book that Fay was a hunter and that was the purpose of his travel. I don’t like hunting. I did enjoy the descriptions, especially of the wildlife; I just kept hoping the next sentence after any wildlife was mentioned wouldn’t be along the lines of “so we shot one (or more)...”. I think I won the book at a conference, and it’s just been sitting here, waiting for me to read it for a while now. It’s not a long book (page-wise), but I was kept from reading it for a long time due to the tiny font in the book! It’s now done and I will donate the book. Overall, I rated it ok.

Michelle Remembers / Michelle Smith, Lawrence Pazder
3 stars

This was published in 1980. In 1977, Michelle Smith recounted repressed memories (from when she was 5 years old in 1954/1955) to her psychiatrist (co-author Lawrence Pazder). This book follows that therapy. When Michelle was only 5, her unstable mother gave her away to a cult of Satanists to be abused and used in various rituals.

So, I’ve owned this since I was in high school, but I don’t think I read it back then. The first half was more interesting than the second half, when Satan appeared. The second half got much more religious, and it was less interesting to me. Now, this has since been debunked, and I found that out in the middle of reading it, but I don’t think it affected my rating (though it appears that many rated it 1 star, simply because it’s not true); I actually didn’t want that knowledge to affect how I rated the book.

>68 LibraryCin:

I was ready to ask if you actually believed any of it, and then I read your comment this has since been debunked. Whew. Talk about all the 80s touch-points tho-- Satanists! Repressed memories! LOL.

>69 Nickelini: In all honesty, it's not likely something I would have believed, anyway. Just read for entertainment value. :-)

Everything I've read this year set in Canada, has been in BC!

Hands Like Clouds / Mark Zuehlke
3 stars

Elias is the coroner in the small town of Tofino, on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. When a local environmentalist/activist (or “ecoterrorist”) is found hanging from a tree, the initial thought is suicide, but Elias quickly figures out that Ian was strangled before he was hung. The local RCMP, though, is busy preparing for a US Senator to tour the area, looking at the ancient rainforest (and the already clear-cut sections) that the logging companies want to continue to raze.

Especially with the environmental angle, I had hoped this would draw me in more. The mystery itself was interesting, but the characters weren’t as much so – at least to me – until at least the second half of the book. Zuehlke puts a lot of description in the book, which does paint a clear picture of Vancouver Island, but it’s a bit too much for me, overall. I did love the setting, though.

>71 LibraryCin:
Tofino has its own coroner? You'd think they'd just send one from Victoria or Nanaimo. LOL

>72 Nickelini: Well, for purposes of this series, anyway! LOL! He is not a medically trained doctor, but he was someone willing to learn and do it.

Another one set (partially) in BC:

The Brideship Wife / Leslie Howard
4 stars

It’s the mid-19th century, and Charlotte, at 21-years old, is desperate to find a husband. Well, she isn’t that excited about it, but her sister and brother-in-law, high society people, are insisting. The match they want her to make, however, is a jerk, to put it mildly. But, Charlotte doesn’t have a lot of options, until she finds out about a “brideship”. England is sending unmarried women to the colonies in the New World, specifically to Vancouver Island and British Columbia, in what would later become Canada, to provide the men there with potential wives. Although Charlotte is initially hesitant, she ends up on one of the ships...

I really liked this. I liked Charlotte – she is more independent than many women at the time, I think – certainly those of her social class. Although quick to read is nice, I did feel like the book could have gone into more detail/spent more time on many of the topics.

As I always hope for, the author did include a note at the end where she talks about where she learned of many of the issues she covered in the book, including treatment of women, social classes, smallpox in the Native population, the gold rush towns in BC, the culture in those towns, as well as the tendency toward fire in the buildings, and more. She also provided a master list (can’t think of what it’s called) of actual women who sailed on one of the brideships (she used many of the names). Many of the things that happened in the book were events happened to someone in real life.

The Back of the Turtle by Thomas King

This book is set in a community on the coast of British Columbia that suffered an environmental disaster that killed wildlife, marine life and people. Most of the people who died were indigenous from the local reservation and it has been completely closed down. Those indigenous who survived moved to other places; even many of the non-indigenous have moved away so the town is almost a ghost town. Two people move to the community though and this is their story mostly. It was excellent.

The Secret Lives of Saints / Daphne Bramham
4 stars

“Saints” in the title refers to the religion, “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints” (LDS), or more specifically, fundamentalist LDS (FLDS) – that is, the polygamous branch of the LDS/Mormons. This book includes info from various, mostly former, FLDS – that is, it includes some memoir-type info with regard to some people (again, mostly those who have left), but the second part talks about the law, courts, trials, and even that some governments look the other way (British Columbia in Canada seems the worst for that).

This book does focus more on the Canadian FLDS (and leader/prophet Winston Blackmore) than any other I’ve read, so that was interesting to me. I’m in Calgary, Alberta, and though I knew about Bountiful, BC (actually called Lister, which I didn’t know), I did not know that there is a small population of FLDS in Alberta, as well, mostly in/around Cardston. The FLDS is so intertwined, though, that it started with a history, and there is also much about the communities in Utah and Arizona, and of course, about Warren Jeffs.

I have read quite a bit about the FLDS so many names are already familiar to me in that I’ve read some of those memoirs. I know that a few of the Canadian FLDS had a trial wrap up in BC last year, so I’m going to look that up to refresh my memory on what happened there. This book was published in 2008, so things have happened since then (like the trial in BC). I found the second part of the book – the legal stuff – much more interesting than I expected, and found myself even more interested than in the first half of the book; I guess much of that was exasperation and frustration at all the laws they are breaking... and in some cases, flaunting (in addition to polygamy, there is, of course, all kinds of abuse, plus bilking the government (i.e. taxpayers) out of as much money as possible – they need all that extra income to feed their 15+ wives and 70+ children (ok, that might just be Blackmore with that many, but you get the picture)).

The Boat People / Sharon Bala
4 stars

In 2009 or 2010 a boat of refugees arrived in British Columbia. There were over 500 people aboard, coming from Sri Lanka. This really happened, and this book is a fictionalized version of this. The refugees were “detained” (basically, jailed) until they had their initial hearings (just as to whether or not they were allowed into Canada at all; later hearings determine whether or not they can stay.)

Mahindan is a mechanic and has arrived with a young son (5 or 6 years old); unfortunately, his son is not allowed to be detained with his father, so he is initially sent with some of the women detainees and their children, and later placed with a Canadian foster family. Priya is studying to become a lawyer; she wants to be a corporate lawyer, but is assigned to help as counsel for the refugees. Grace has been assigned as an adjudicator for the hearings; she has been informed by a government minister of (I think) public security to be wary and watch for the terrorists who are aboard, because he is certain some of them are.

The story is told from all three viewpoints. Priya has a Sri Lankan background, but does not speak the language. Grace’s background is Japanese and her family has been in Canada for a few generations now (her grandparents and parents were interred in the Japanese concentration camps during WWII. The two women learn more about their families’ backgrounds, as well.

This was really good. I was really frustrated with Grace for – what I felt was – relying too much on Fred’s (the minister’s) rhetoric. I guess I wanted to believe all of their stories. I wasn’t as interested in Mahindan’s background in Sri Lanka – well, some was interesting, but I did lose a bit of focus when talking about his courtship to his son’s mother. Without giving too much away, I really had no idea how it would end, and yet I was still surprised.

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
4.5 stars

Although parts of this book take place outside of Canada, the eponymous hotel is in BC on a remote island off the northern tip of Vancouver Island. The hotel is central to the main plot lines as the two main characters, a brother and sister, both work at the hotel when the owner, an investment manager from New York City, comes to visit. What happens in one night changes the fate of both main characters. The brother concentrates on his musical compositions, which gives him some measure of fame. The sister marries the hotel owner and they are together for about 3 years when his investment scheme is shown to be a Ponzi scheme and he is sent to jail for the rest of his life. I liked the book very much and it made me think about all the victims of fraud who can never recoup their losses.

The Devil's Making / Sean Haldane
3 stars

Chad Hobbes went to law school in England, but never wrote the bar exam. In 1868, he has come to British Columbia, a British colony, but not yet part of Canada (which was just recently formed in the east), but without having written the bar, he cannot practice as a lawyer, so he gets a job as a constable in Victoria. When an American “alienist” (psychiatrist - I had to look it up!) is found murdered in a very gruesome way, everyone assumes it’s the First Nations people who are closeby who killed him. One is arrested and it is assumed he will soon hang for it. Hobbes, though, doesn’t think he (nor any of the other natives) did it, and he sets out to find who really did it. In the meantime, Hobbes finds himself attracted to the sister of the man who was arrested.

Be warned: this was quite gruesome in the details. Also, there was a lot of investigation into sexual things. There is definite racism here, primarily against native people. Overall, I’m rating this ok. There were parts that just didn’t interest me, so I kind of tuned out, but other parts were fine and I followed without an issue. I’m thinking maybe the writing style? The odd thing is that I love historical fiction, I also like mysteries (though some types more than others), but oddly, more often than not, historical mysteries don’t interest me as much. I have no idea why.

I did like the Canadian background in this, though. I’ve been to Victoria a couple of times, so I could picture some of the places mentioned. There was an odd (I thought) twist and I felt like the end was a bit too much all tied up – except for one thing. That one thing wasn’t a happy one (and it was apparently a real event). The brief afterword also explained that many of the people were real people.

Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast / Bill Richardson
3 stars

50-something year old twins, Virgil and Hector, run a bed & breakfast on a small island between Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia. There really isn’t much to do there beyond relax and read. Yet, the B&B has plenty of guests and the brothers are kept busy. This book includes anecdotes from both brothers, as well as some of the people who have stayed with them. Also included are a few “top 10” books (and authors) with various themes.

This is a bit of Canadian humour, parts made me smile and a few even made me laugh. I was ready to rate it “good” and I (mostly) did like it, but more so in the first half. The second half felt like it got a bit too philosophical for my liking. I liked that so many of the top 10 lists included Canadian authors.

>79 LibraryCin: There were people named "Chad" in the 1800s? Who knew

>80 LibraryCin: I liked this one better than you did, but I've spent time in the Gulf Islands, so it brought back the Gulf Island Mood for me. Isn't Bill Richardson a CBC host? (or former CBC host)

>81 Nickelini: LOL! I never thought of that (Chad). So, you had me looking up the history of the name:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chad_(name)

I know the name Bill Richardson is familiar, but I can't think of where from. You are correct: broadcaster and author:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Richardson_(broadcaster)

Wild Awake / Hilary T. Smith
3 stars

Kiri’s parents are away on a cruise and have left her on her own. I think she’s 17? She is part of a musical duo with her best friend, Lukas, and they have Battle of the Bands coming up. Kiri is also a very good piano player and has a test(? competition?) coming up. When she receives a strange phone call about her (long-dead) sister, she learns something (big) her parents never told her about her sister’s death. This starts a series of events that has Kiri spiralling out of control.

I didn’t like Kiri, nor many of the choices she made. The book became kind of chaotic as we moved more and more toward the end. I did like the Vancouver setting – it’s always fun recognizing places. I also thought the idea of Kiri never learning what she does about her sister’s death until the start of this book (5 years later) is pretty unrealistic. I can’t imagine she wouldn’t have heard it somewhere, even if not from her parents or brother. The book still (at least more at the start and throughout the first half or so) interested me enough to consider it “ok”.

Offshore / Catherine Dook
3.5 stars

Catherine and her husband John live on a boat off the coast of British Columbia. This book details a few short sailing trips they took, mostly with the intention of being gone longer than they were, turning back mostly due to weather issues (and not really being very good sailors!). On the trip where they’d hoped to sail to Hawaii, they brought two additional crew members, Aussie John and Kiwi John; at that point, Catherine’s husband was “John Darling”.

This was short and I had to shake my head a bit at the foibles. But it was entertaining and a bit amusing with some humour thrown in. I enjoyed it.

The Last Wild Wolves / Ian McAllister.
4.5 stars

The author is a photographer and lives on the northern coast of British Columbia. He has taken many wildlife photos and helped with studies of the local wolf populations where he is. This is a coffee-table-style book with plenty of large photographs, alongside information about the wolves, and an epilogue that includes information about the destruction and conservation of the area.

Oh, they are beautiful. And sadly, so vilified. I hate people. I hate hunters – there are stories in the epilogue of some awful hunters. I hate the humans behind the companies that only want to make money and don’t care what they destroy to do it, as they destroy the habitats for most animals. These wolves are in an area that is less disturbed by humans, but it’s hard to say if that will last.

Getting beyond that, the wolves and the photos are beautiful. The area itself is beautiful, and there are a few photos that are not of the wolves, though of course, the bulk of the photos are. The information about the wolves was interesting – I didn’t know that wolves and ravens have a symbiotic relationship; wolves will hunt and eat many birds, but there has never been remains of ravens found in their scat. There is also a 20-ish minute DVD included with the book, a short documentary that says some of the same as what the book says, but of course the “photos” are now a video. And have I mentioned how beautiful they are!?

Five Little Indians / Michelle Good
3.5 stars

This book follows a few First Nations people who went to a residential school in B.C. when they were young. It follows them from the school, as they leave, and as they try to make lives for themselves after the traumas they experienced at the school. They wind in and out of each other’s lives.

Lucy is 16 when she is put on a bus to Vancouver from the school; luckily she knows Maisie who left the school a year earlier; unfortunately, she does get into a sticky situation before making it to Maisie’s place. Kenny managed to escape the school when he was younger, but he and Lucy had crushes on each other back then. Carla is a friend of Maisie’s. Howie gets into trouble with the law when he encounters “Brother” from the school as an adult.

I listened to the audio book. It was good. I wasn’t as interested in Carla’s story, so I missed a few things there. I also don’t think I liked Carla very much; she was very pushy. The book jumped between characters, and it often jumped forward large amounts of time, so at the start of some of the chapters I needed to try to figure out how many years later it was (and there was one bit with Carla that felt like the timing was out of sync with her character vs the rest of the story… but I’m not sure – that’s where I lost a bit of interest and missed a few things). And of course, there were memories of the school for all of them. There was at least one event that I think I missed altogether and when it was mentioned later in the book, I wondered what exactly had happened about that, so not sure if I missed it or it just wasn’t detailed or what happened there.

Last Winter / Carrie Mac
3.5 stars

Early in the book, we learn that 5 children died in an avalanche. One adult also died. 8-year old Ruby was one of 2 children who made it out alive, along with one other adult.

Leading up to the avalanche, we follow Ruby, her mother Fiona, who has a mental illness, and Ruby’s father Gus, who is a former Olympic snowboarder and now runs a backcountry guiding company and was one of the adults on the trip when the avalanche happened. Fiona and Gus’s relationship is in bad shape and they fight a lot. Fiona often does not take her medication, so is quite shocking in some of the things she says and does with friends.

It took me a long time to get “into” the book. It was hard to follow for the first 1/3 to ½ of the book, as there were a lot of characters I had trouble keeping straight (who was who, and how are they “related”?). There were also a couple of shifts in time that I struggled with. Fiona was extremely unlikable; I guess I should try to have more sympathy, but it’s hard when she won’t take her mediation. But, the book really picked up in the second half as the avalanche hit, along with the aftermath.

Tell it to the Trees / Anita Rau Badami
4.25 stars

Varsha is 13-years old (or 12?) when her half brother, Hemant, is born. Varsha’s had a tough life until now: her mother was leaving her father when she was in a car crash and died. Not long after, her father headed to India to bring home a new bride. Varsha is so scared of her new Mama leaving that she hides Suman’s passport so she is unable to.

Why might Suman want to leave? Abuse. It’s why Varsha’s mother tried to leave. When Vikram (Varsha’s father) decides to rent out the little house behind theirs in this tiny rural area in B.C. a former classmate (whom he does not remember), Anu, comes from NYC in hopes of getting some writing done. While there, she befriends Suman and Vikram’s mother, Akka. And slowly figures out something is wrong with the family.

This was told from many different points of view, including Suman, Anu, Varsha, and Hemant, so we got to see almost everyone’s perspective of what was going on. Varsha became very possessive – she was very controlling (reminiscent of her father?); I initially felt badly for her, but came to quite dislike her. And the end? I liked it although many might not due to it being open-ended, so we don’t really know how it continues or what happens, though I suppose we can guess. I think this would make a good book club book with lots to discuss.

Greenwood / Michael Christie
4 stars

In 2038, Jake works on Greenwood Island in British Columbia; it’s one of the only truly livable/habitable places left with its giant trees. A biologist, Jake loves living here, though she’s not as enamoured with the job, touring around “Pilgrims” (tourists). Unfortunately, she’s also discovered a couple of trees that appear to be sick; these trees are hundreds of years old.

Her ex-fiance (a lawyer) shows up and books a private tour with her to tell her she might actually “own” the island, given her family history and the history of the island (that is, it may be part of an inheritance for her). The book continues by backing up in time through a few generations of Greenwoods to when Jake’s grandmother was a baby… and one generation earlier in 1908 when Jake’s great-grandfather was a kid (along with his brother). The brothers were very different: Everett ended up a vagrant and in jail; Harris was hugely wealthy via his lumber business, cutting down all the beautiful trees that Jake loves so much.

The bulk of the story followed Harris and Everett and that’s what I liked the best. Have to admit it took a short bit for me to get interested and to figure out what was happening and who the different characters were as we went back in time. I liked the way this one was done: we actually started in 2038, and gradually made our way to 1908 through the generations, then moved forward again back to 2038.