I am planning a trip to BC in August. Any reading suggestions? Novels set in/around Vancouver/ VI/ Whistler? Or interesting travel books? (Excluding Douglas Coupland).
Thanks

I'll have a think about this, but three non-fiction books which come to mind are

Joan Weir's Walhachin: Catastrophe or Camelot?, about a small town west of Kamloops, just off highway 1, which had the highest per-capita enlistment rate in Canada during World War I: it's a poignant story of hope, loss, and the acceptance of loss, not only with regard to war but with regard to the attempt to make a new life in Canada on the eve of war

Sarah de Leeuw's UnMarked: Landscapes Along Highway 16, a collection of sixteen beautifully-crafted essays about life in Northern BC - excellent evocations of landscape and character

Heart of the Cariboo-Chilcotin (edited by Diana Wilson), a beautiful and poignant anthology of essays, mostly autobiographical, about life in the Chilcotin over the past century.

As you see, none of these is set in Vancouver or Victoria, but maybe you'll enjoy a taste of writing from other regions of BC.

All three books are published by small, local publishing houses and probably aren't widely available (or known) outside BC. I'd be happy to provide publishing details if you're interested.

Another one, also non-fiction:

Letters from Windermere, by Daisy Phillips (edited by Cole Harris and Elizabeth Phillips) - it covers some of the same ground as Weir's Walhachin book. It's a collection of letters written to her family in England by a young bride who came to BC just before the outbreak of World War I and who settled, with her English husband, in Windermere, in eastern BC. It's an excellent read for its evocation of atmosphere, and insights into human nature and BC history in the early 1900s.

You'll really want to skim through this list:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of...ver_Book_Award

I'd highly, *highly* recommend the Concubine's Children, by Denise Chong. Such a touching story.

If you are into mystery/crime fiction, you may want to look into the writings of William Deverell, http://www.deverell.com/

Carmanah - good tip about the Book Award list. Many thanks.

Thank-you! Will check these out on Amazon & get back to you!

Great, I was able to order: The jade peony by Wayson Choy, Concubines'Children, Landscapes Along Highway 16 and Walhachin, catastrophe or Camelot? I hope they get to me before August!!
Thanks so much.

Thanks for posting this. I was just about to post the same question. So far I have read Sointula by Bill Gaston (novel)and the Curve of Time by M. Wylie Blanchet (memoir)

Hello Carrom,

I'm glad you were able to order some of the books.

The Walhachin story is my favourite - it's sad and haunting. If you are travelling along highway 1 between Kamloops and Cache Creek (about 10 miles east of Cache Creek), you can turn off the highway and see what is left of Walhachin: a few of the original houses from that period (1908-1914), and the bridge that the English immigrants built across the Thompson River. To the north of the highway, about fifty yards from the roadside, you can see the remains of the irrigation flume that they built to water their apple orchards. The flume runs for a few miles between Walhachin and Cache Creek.

Gordon Flowerdew, one of the English settlers in Walhachin, won a Victoria Cross during the First World War. It was awarded posthumously. There is talk in Walhachin of erecting a memorial to him and the other settlers from that period, and there is a fledgling museum in Savona (a few miles further along highway 1).

We try to get out to Walhachin at least once a year. Quite apart from the history, it's a beautiful spot and well worth a visit.

Thanks, I'm looking forward to reading it. Unfortunately we won't be heading that way this time but maybe it will inspire us for our next trip to canada!

I'd like to add 3 books which I really enjoyed reading while I was in Canada and which added to my experience of the place:
The Cure for death by Lightning by Gail Anderson-Dargatz which has a great atmosphere,
The Cottagers brand new first novel by Marshall N. Klimaswiski (set in East Sooke) and
Passage to Juneau by Johnathan Raban - it's all about the "inside passage" to Alaska and he actually stops in Minstrel Island which was exactly where we were so it was a great read.
Enjoyed all the other suggested books too. Thanks.

I enjoyed "The End of East" by Jen Sookfong Lee. Set in Vancouver's Chinatown and written by a young Vancouver writer - doesn't get more local than that!