A baker’s dozen of engrossing stories range broadly—from militaristic dystopias to the Vietnam War—and often portray the volatile dynamics of men in imbalanced relationships. —Theo Dombrowski reviews Unsettling Dreams, by Michael Whatling (Victoria: Mortal Coil Books, 2024) $16.99 / 1777569958
“Like many other books in this genre, Murray’s stories speak of the victimization of Indigenous people. But Murray is nobody’s victim and by his example others may heal themselves and their loved ones from intergenerational trauma, just as he had.” Richard Butler reviews Who We Are: Four Questions for a Life and a Nation by The Honourable Murray Sinclair CC, Mazina Giizhik (as told to Sara Sinclair and Niigaanwedom Sinclair), (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2024) $29.95 / 9780771099106
Captivating historical novel set on the BC coast features diplomatic posturing, a restless crew, a Nuu-chah-nulth chief, and a dash of magic realism. —Ron Verzuh reviews The Wind from All Directions, by Ron Thompson (Toronto: Double Dagger Books, 2024) $22.99 / 9781990644900
2024 donors to the British Columbia Review, a thank you from Richard Mackie.
“The poor will always be with us. Reverend Al’s book challenges each of us on how we are going to respond. Do we, in Sonia Furstenau’s memorable phrase, continue to ‘drive our Lamborghinis through the tent city on Pandora Avenue?’ We can do better.” Richard Butler reviews Muddy Water: Stories from the Street, by Al Tysick (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers [Resource Publications], 2024) $25 (USD) / 9798385215010
“Throughout this book, the reader is taught that Yah’guudang (respect) should guide all aspects of daily living, and as the book progresses, we see more specifically how this practice should be carried out while one is out on the land for harvesting and when materials are being processed for basketry.” Sharon Fortney reviews From A Square to A Circle: Haida Basketry by Ilskyalas, Delores Churchill (Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2024) $34.95 / 9781990776854
BCR asked some of our regular contributors about books they read in the past year that really stuck with them. “Eclectic” is our word of the year.
An “honourable and compassionate compendium of heartfelt statements from people who were willing to go to jail for their beliefs.” Sadly, it’s “over-long and at times tediously repetitive” too. —Ron Verzuh reviews Standing on High Ground: Civil Disobedience on Burnaby Mountain, edited by Rosemary Cornell, Adrienne Drobnies, and Tim Bray (Toronto: Between the Lines Books, 2024) $29.95 / 9781771136631
“George went back to post secondary school at the University of Lethbridge with the goal to becoming a high school history teacher. With every history course she made the point of viewing the narrative through an Aboriginal lens.” Sage Birchwater reviews ALHA DISNII – My Truth: Words from a Wet’suwet’en Woman by Corinne George (Calgary: Medicine Wheel Publishing, 2024) $19.99 / 9781778540417
The selection of 50 poems highlights “sites of feeling,” which is to say “sites of inquiry, resistance, resilience, regret, provocation, play, grief, desire, glee.” —Mary Ann Moore reviews Best Canadian Poetry 2025, selected by Aislinn Hunter (Windsor: Biblioasis, 2024) $23.95 / 9781771966320
“Eager to explore the tale during the centenary of B.C.’s joining Confederation, their objectives were to ‘separate fact from fiction in Pitt Lake’s lost-creek gold-mine story.’ The authors write: ‘What we discovered instead was a fabulous collection of fabrication, mistruths, and wilful embellishments, all construed into an astonishing tale.'” Daniel Gawthrop reviews Slumach’s Gold: In Search of a Legend—and a Curse by Brian Antonson, Mary Trainer, and Rick Antonson (Victoria: Heritage House, 2024) $32.95/ 9781772035186
“Aside from the copious illustrations and comparisons of passages from Kane’s primary journals, the scribes account, and the final publication, there are the 14 sections of the preface, detailed maps, “Discussion” and “Notes” for each of the 25 chapters, which bring to life the “times, which is academically thorough and comprehensive.” Christina Johnson-Dean reviews Paul Kane’s Travels in Indigenous North America: Writings and Art, Life and Times, by I.S. MacLaren (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2024) $450 (cloth, boxed four-volume set) / 9780228017479
“Voicing Identity is about avoiding cultural appropriation in the re-telling of Indigenous Peoples’ stories—purporting to take something of cultural worth, tangible or often intangible, without permission, and make it in some way one’s own.” Richard Butler reviews Voicing Identity: Cultural Appropriation and Indigenous Issues by John Borrows and Kent McNeil (eds.)(Toronto: University of Toronto, 2022) $36.95 / 9781487544690
Set in the late ’70s, a hearty story for young readers portrays the triumphs and setbacks of a 12-year-old child named Truly. —Alison Acheson reviews Elvis, Me, and the Postcard Winter, by Leslie Gentile (Toronto: DCB Books, 2024) $14.95 / 9781770867666
“Rhenisch jam-packs his songs with ideas, zooming and spanning, yet with the grace of a skilled composer; a song might jar and rattle while at the same time carry a croon that compels. A reader cannot help but be swept and stilled simultaneously in the lyric experience.” —Steven Ross Smith reviews The Salmon Shanties: A Cascadian Cycle, by Harold Rhenisch (Regina: U Regina Press, 2024) $19.95 / 978177940154
“[Neering] begins the book with some powerful words: ‘More than 30 years ago, wandering the province for a book on small town life in B.C., I sat with one of the Ktunaxa band counsellors on the St. Mary’s reserve near Cranbrook. David talked about ‘that place over there’ —the hated residential school that dominated the centre of the reserve. He described the beatings, the deprivation—but he also described the traditions and rebirth of pride among the Ktunaxa.'” Valerie Green reviews A Traveller’s Guide to Historic British Columbia (revised), by Rosemary Neering (Vancouver: Whitecap Books, 2023) $34.95 / 9781770503700
“The text is an accessible reference resource that will be useful to students and budding archaeologists, field technicians working with/for First Nations communities, and any interested visitors traveling through coastal First Nations’ territories.” Bryn Letham reviews Indigenous Heritage Features Handbook by A. Mackie, R. Inglis, Qixitasu (E. White), and K. Neary (The Province of British Columbia and Coastal First Nations Great Bear Initiative, 2024)
A note from Richard Mackie, publisher, The British Columbia Review. * Dear friends, supporters, and readers, On behalf of the Board of Directors and Advisory Board of The British Columbia Review, I must mention our pressing need for continuing financial support from our reading community. We make this request for private donations annually to keep the…
Read more BC Review Annual Fundraiser, 2024
With “each new offering, Van Camp reminds us of his remarkable gift for storytelling. ‘Beast’ is no exception.” —Zoe McKenna reviews Beast, by Richard Van Camp (Madeira Park: Douglas & McIntyre, 2024) $24.95 / 9781771624145
“On a recent summer hike along Vancouver Island’s Cowichan River, we enjoyed referring to Collin Varner’s flora pocket guide to keystone species, “keystone” being organisms that define and support an entire ecosystem thus filling a vital ecological niche.” Isabel Nanton reviews 50 Keystone Flora Species of Coastal British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest: A Pocket Guide & 50 Keystone Fauna Species of Coastal British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest: A Pocket Guide by Collin Varner (Victoria: Heritage House, 2024) $19.95 / 9781772034776 / 9781772034943