Spinner's Inlet

Lovely book i've read many times, usually a few snippets at a time. Short (2-4 pages) tales of life on a small unnamed Gulf Island (think, between Vancouver and Vancouver Island, BC). Life is slower, but just as complicated as on the Mainland. The chief delight of the book is in Hunter's wonderful depiction of the characters ~ using the word in its best, fullest sense ~ who inhabit Spinner's Inlet; these characters include several Spinners, as one might guess, and a number of other stock productions such as the Brigadier, the Vicar, the local curmudgeon, the horsey woman. The joy arises, though, in the interplay of these characters and others, perhaps less common, the simple descriptions of the Inlet's lifestyle, the easily shown lessons for living well amongst our fellows which Hunter brings to the tales. There is a gentle humour in the tone of almost every page, and a great love for the places which inspired the Inlet.

The Gulf Islands of British Columbia is the setting that binds this series of short stories together with the comic friction provided by an eccentric cast of locals. The stories themselves are surprisingly short, often only a few pages. The comedy is of the heartwarming Andy Griffith Show school of humour: all Opie, Aunt Bee and Barney Fife with Canadian accents and island problems. Generally, the plots focus on the various misunderstandings between characters with a rose-coloured tinge. Island idyllism through and through. But funny.