Saints of Big Harbour

Small town Nova Scotia is the backdrop for this well-paced novel. A teenaged boy named Guy Boucher goes through his rites of passage, with an overbearing and bombastic uncle dominating and challenging him. A chance meeting with a girl at a school dance leads to problems as she just wanted to play around, while Guy becomes obsessed, and soon becomes the victim of false stories and becomes a target. Meanwhile Guy gets caught up in hockey and boxing, trying to find his way and to show his uncle that he's a man. Other characters are interesting here too; the loyal unattractive best friend who clings to her popular pal desperately; the protective and unpredictable older brother; the popular yet intelligent guy who's forgotten about college so he can stay in town with his buddies, and the struggling single mother who has very little joy in her life. It's pure Canadiana here, you can see the lumberjack jackets and smell the Tim Horton's coffee. For most of the book it's a fun and engrossing read, and to me it's far superior to overblown CanLit such as Fall On Your Knees. Still, the pace slackens in the latter third of the book, the plot tends to go all over the place by then. It's still worthwhile and a fun read.

I read this book early in 2002. It was a pity that was published so early in the year as prize jurors completely ignored what was one of the top five books of 2002. I was enthralled by Coady's storytelling abilities. She wove a complex story about complex (sometimes hearbreaking sometimes hilarious) people and a year of their lives. She is a master of voice and tone. Saints of Big Harbour reads like it was written with the mastery of an older author but with the freshness of youth. Saints of Big Harbour is a perfect book.

Lynn Coady's writing reminds me of Roddy Doyle's. In Saints of Big Harbour, she draws a hilarious and energetic portrait of a pretty dysfunctional small town. Her dialogue is excellent, and her characters are well-drawn. I'd really recommend this book to anyone who likes fiction with a sense of humor, a sense of place and a great ear for the way people talk.