1917. On a battlefield near the River Escaut, John lies in the aftermath of a blast, unable to move or feel his legs. Struggling to focus his thoughts, he is lost to memory as the snow falls--a chance encounter in a pub by a railway, a hot bath with his lover on a winter night.

1920. John has returned from war to North Yorkshire, near a different river. He is alive but still not whole. Reunited with Helena, an artist, he reopens his photography business and tries to keep on living. But the past erupts insistently into the present, as ghosts begin to surface in his pictures: ghosts with messages he cannot understand.

So begins a narrative that spans four generations of connections and consequences that ignite and reignite as the century unfolds. In radiant moments of desire, comprehension, longing, and transcendence, the sparks fly upward, working their transformations decades later.

Held is affecting and intensely beautiful, full of mystery, wisdom, and compassion, a novel by a writer at the height of her powers.

1917. On a battlefield near the River Escaut, John lies in the aftermath of a blast, unable to move or feel his legs. Struggling to focus his thoughts, he is lost to memory as the snow falls--a chance encounter in a pub by a railway, a hot bath with his lover on a winter night.

1920. John has returned from war to North Yorkshire, near a different river. He is alive but still not whole. Reunited with Helena, an artist, he reopens his photography business and tries to keep on living. But the past erupts insistently into the present, as ghosts begin to surface in his pictures: ghosts with messages he cannot understand.

So begins a narrative that spans four generations of connections and consequences that ignite and reignite as the century unfolds. In radiant moments of desire, comprehension, longing, and transcendence, the sparks fly upward, working their transformations decades later.

Held is affecting and intensely beautiful, full of mystery, wisdom, and compassion, a novel by a writer at the height of her powers.

Nine-year-old Hannah doesn't know what to expect when her family moves from the town they've always lived in to an isolated lighthouse on the rugged Newfoundland coast. What she discovers is a life filled with adventure, wonder-and danger.

As Hannah grows into a young lady, she's determined to create the best life possible, despite ever-present adversity. Facing everything from the fury of Mother Nature to illness, the Great Depression, and World War II, Hannah must find the strength to follow her dreams. When a stunning loss upends her world, Hannah decides to take a bold step along a new path. But at what cost?

In the tradition of Little House on the Prairie and Anne of Green Gables, this novel of a spirited girl growing into a strong woman is based on a true story.

Fall 1913, St. Catharines, Ontario. Thirteen-year-old Hoi Wing Woo, the son of a scholar, is forced to give up his dreams of an education when he is sent to work in a Chinese laundry in Canada.

Hoi Wing is immediately thrust into relentless, mind-numbing toil, washing clothes by hand for sixteen hours a day, six days a week. Isolated and friendless, he falls into despair.

When he meets Heather, an Irish scullery maid who shares his love of books, Hoi Wing's life immediately brightens. Together, they escape the drudgery of their work by reading novels in a secret hideout. As their friendship grows, they defy the restrictions of their servitude and embark on a plan to better their lives.

But Hoi Wing's dreams will not go unchallenged. Jonathan Braddock, a wealthy and influential entrepreneur who heads the Asiatic Exclusion League, has decided to run for mayor. If Braddock is elected, Hoi Wing will be sent back to China.

The Laundryman's Boy is a moving coming-of-age story that bravely examines notions of race, duty and friendship in early Canada.

Anne of Green Gables Series - First Three Books Collection

Anne of Green Gables recounts the adventures of Anne Shirley, an 11-year-old orphan mistakenly sent by mistake to two middle-aged siblings, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, who had originally intended to adopt a boy to help them on their farm. Yet Anne's quirky personality and good-natured spirit causes the siblings to grow to love her anyway, and soon the entire town falls for the precocious little girl with bright red hair.

Anne of Avonlea, the second novel in the Anne of Green Gables Series. It follows the grown up redhead as she enters maturity and develops as a young adult. Although Anne is now a responsible adult and teacher, she continues to get herself into all manner of imaginative predicaments. There are lots of adventures to be had with her new problematic neighbour, the twins and her band of trusty friends.

Anne of the Island is the third book in the Anne of Green Gables series, new adventures lie ahead as Anne Shirley packs her bags, waves good-bye to childhood, and heads for Redmond College. With her old friend Prissy Grant waiting in the bustling city of Kingsport and her frivolous new friend Philippa Gordon at her side, Anne tucks her memories of rural Avonlea away and discovers life on her own terms, filled with surprises ... including a marriage proposal from the worst fellow imaginable, the sale of her very first story, and a tragedy that teaches her a painful lesson. Little does Anne know that handsome Gilbert Blythe wants to win her heart, too. Suddenly Anne must decide whether she's ready for love.

In Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town, Stephen Leacock masterfully captures the charm and quirks of small-town life in early 20th-century Canada. Set in the fictional town of Mariposa, these stories offer a humorous yet affectionate portrayal of the everyday lives of its inhabitants.

Through a series of vignettes, Leacock introduces us to memorable characters, each embodying the universal traits and foibles of small-town archetypes. His sharp wit and keen observations bring out the humor in their flaws, while also celebrating their humanity.

A timeless classic, this collection not only entertains but also offers insightful reflections on the enduring nature of community life.

Anne of Green Gables Series - First Three Books Collection

Anne of Green Gables recounts the adventures of Anne Shirley, an 11-year-old orphan mistakenly sent by mistake to two middle-aged siblings, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, who had originally intended to adopt a boy to help them on their farm. Yet Anne's quirky personality and good-natured spirit causes the siblings to grow to love her anyway, and soon the entire town falls for the precocious little girl with bright red hair.

Anne of Avonlea, the second novel in the Anne of Green Gables Series. It follows the grown up redhead as she enters maturity and develops as a young adult. Although Anne is now a responsible adult and teacher, she continues to get herself into all manner of imaginative predicaments. There are lots of adventures to be had with her new problematic neighbour, the twins and her band of trusty friends.

Anne of the Island is the third book in the Anne of Green Gables series, new adventures lie ahead as Anne Shirley packs her bags, waves good-bye to childhood, and heads for Redmond College. With her old friend Prissy Grant waiting in the bustling city of Kingsport and her frivolous new friend Philippa Gordon at her side, Anne tucks her memories of rural Avonlea away and discovers life on her own terms, filled with surprises ... including a marriage proposal from the worst fellow imaginable, the sale of her very first story, and a tragedy that teaches her a painful lesson. Little does Anne know that handsome Gilbert Blythe wants to win her heart, too. Suddenly Anne must decide whether she's ready for love.

First published in 1928, this Canadian classic describes the lives of the people that make up an isolated fishing community on the fictional island of Rockbound, off Nova Scotia.

The book is set just before the start of the First World War, in the opening years of the twentieth century.

This novel may be described as being of its time, but it still evokes the eternal battle between humans and their environment: the struggle of the fishermen to survive working in the harsh seas in order to earn their livings.

Frank Parker Day (1881-1951) was a native of Nova Scotia and would have been able to draw on his own life experience to describe the island of Rockbound and its inhabitants.

La esperada nueva novela de la autora de Piezas en fuga, ganadora del Orange Prize y del Guardian Fiction Prize y Una de las cien novelas que dan forma al mundo según la BBC: una historia arrolladora e íntima de amor y lealtad entre generaciones.

«La poderosa novela de Anne Michaels no podría ser más oportuna: la guerra y sus daños, pasando de generación en generación a lo largo de un siglo .--Margaret Atwood

1917. En un campo de batalla cerca del río Escaut, John yace sin poder moverse ni sentir las piernas tras una explosión. Luchando por concentrar sus pensamientos, se pierde en la memoria mientras cae la nieve.

En 1920 John ha regresado de la guerra a North Yorkshire. Está vivo, pero no entero. Vive con Helena y reabre su negocio de fotografía, intenta seguir viviendo, pero el pasado irrumpe insistentemente en el presente, cuando los fantasmas empiezan a aparecer en sus fotografías.

Así comienza una narración que abarca cuatro generaciones de conexiones que se encienden y reencienden a medida que avanza el siglo y a veces, en momentos radiantes de deseo y trascendencia, unas chispas vuelan hacia arriba, obrando sus transformaciones décadas después.

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

One of The Best Historical Fiction of 2024 of the New York Times Book Review

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2024 - LONGLISTED FOR THE GILLER PRIZE

A breathtaking and ineffable new novel from the author of the international best sellers Fugitive Pieces and The Winter Vault--a novel of love and loyalty across generations, at once sweeping and intimate

1917. On a battlefield near the River Escaut, John lies in the aftermath of a blast, unable to move or feel his legs. Struggling to focus his thoughts, he is lost to memory as the snow falls--a chance encounter in a pub by a railway, a hot bath with his lover on a winter night.

1920. John has returned from war to North Yorkshire, near a different river. He is alive but still not whole. Reunited with Helena, an artist, he reopens his photography business and tries to keep on living. But the past erupts insistently into the present, as ghosts begin to surface in his pictures: ghosts with messages he cannot understand.

So begins a narrative that spans four generations of connections and consequences that ignite and reignite as the century unfolds. In radiant moments of desire, comprehension, longing, and transcendence, the sparks fly upward, working their transformations decades later.

Held is affecting and intensely beautiful, full of mystery, wisdom, and compassion, a novel by a writer at the height of her powers.

A surreal story of honeyed sweetness, predatory stings, and metamorphosis.

In a coming-of-age story inspired by second-wave feminism, the intelligent and curious Habella confronts her passions and those of the men around her. From her first period, to unsettling sexual encounters, to her dissatisfying life as a mother and wife, The Bee Book follows Habella as she negotiates the complexities of her desires as they conflict with the oppressive norms of patriarchy. In this genre-defying work that brings together fiction, poetry, visual art, games, and more, we follow Habella--deeply inspired by the lives of bees--as she seeks self-liberation.

Originally published in 1981, this new edition features an introduction by Stephen Cain and Eric Schmaltz.

STORIES IN THIS VOLUME (all written between 1966 and 1974)
The Lady and the Travelling Salesman:
This was originally a sixty-minute radio play broadcast on CBC Stage, and has been adapted for television for the CBC's Performance series of TV. It was published by Oberon in New Canadian Stories 75, edited by Joan Harcourt and David Helwig, Oberon Press, September, 1975.
Night and Morning Wounds:
Was originally broadcast on CBC Anthology in an earlier form, under the title The Wounded King.
The Ferris Wheel:
Originally a short story broadcast on the CBC literary program New Writing, this was adapted as a thirty-minute radio play and broadcast on CBC Playhouse in Canada, and on National Public
Radio in the U.S. It was adapted for television by David Peddie, and produced by him in his television drama series To See Ourselves. The story appeared in print for the first time in New Canadian Stories 72, edited by Joan Harcourt and David Helwig, Oberon Press, 1972.
Recipe For a Rebel:
Was originally broadcast on the CBC literary program New Writing.
The Savages:
Originally appeared in New Canadian Stories 73, edited by Joan Harcourt and David Helwig,
Oberon Press, 1973.
The Cahershannon Heresy:
Originally appeared as a story in Saturday Night magazine, and was later adapted for radio as a sixty-minute play and broadcast on CBC Stage.
A Single to El Paso:
Was originally broadcast on CBC Anthology.
The Ivy-Covered Manner:
A new story, appears in this collection for the first time.
Visiting the Future:
Was originally broadcast on CBC Anthology in an earlier form, under the title Paddy Carmody's Place.
Where Does a Giant Gorilla Sleep?:
Was written originally as a radio play, and broadcast on CBC Stage in Canada, and on National Public Radio in the U.S. It appears as a story for the first time in this collection.⁠

The HIPPIES WHO MEANT IT takes readers through the life experiences of young people within the hippie / back-to-the-land culture. The story takes place in 1960s Nova Scotia, which like many other Canadian regions, attracted young Americans who chose to head north rather than go to Vietnam. The characters, after harrowing experiences in their own histories, come together to make a life for themselves. The characters seek escape, solace, self-discovery, personal growth, and new beginnings in which to make peace with their pasts, and find their place in life. This they must do against a backdrop of the Vietnam War, social change, survival and family issues, injustice and prejudice, the emotional impacts of war, and the burden of self-expectations. The characters evolve, heal, and navigate the joys and challenges of their new surroundings, facing love, death, fear, friendship, betrayal, and despair. The twists and turns of the main characters' journeys are often unexpected, surprising and sometimes humorous as they weave toward an unconventional resolution.