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The Republic of Nothing
A small Canadian island declares its independence to the world and benign anarchy reigns. A god-like ocean deposits many a thing, yet it also takes away. The 1960s blaze off shore and draw the island�s inhabitants into politics, the Vietnam War, and the peace movement. Sound impossible? Not on Whalebone Island, AKA the Republic of Nothing. Where else can a dead circus elep...more
Paperback, 382 pages
Published
February 1st 2007
by Goose Lane Editions
(first published February 1st 1994)
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This book is on the recommended reading list for English 30-1 in Alberta, and although her class didn't study it, my daughter decided to read it anyway. I had never heard if it, so was curious and read it too. Most of the books that English students read are either very old, very depressing, or both. This one is most definitely an exception. It is one of those delightfully quirky books about very eccentric characters that seem to periodically come out of Canada's maritime provinces. Maritimers s...more
There is a whole sub-genre of Canadian novels that celebrate lovable eccentrics, and while Choyce certainly embraces the form, Republic quickly expands as the story crosses years and decades, transforming from the tale of a young man into the chronicle of an age. The upbeat fifties give way to the turbulent sixties as Choyce brings the world to Whalebone's shore and broadens the narrative with Dickensian twists of plot that delight and astonish. Ian's father becomes swept up in the power of poli...more
This is another of my all-time favourite books. People speculate that the island is Cape Breton, or is at least representative of it, but I hesitate to think so. I first read this in high school and love it still 10 years on.
This book had a little bit of everything. Part coming of age story, fantasy, politics, great character developement, all wrapped into this great novel.
Magical and lovely.
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Lesley Choyce was born in New Jersey in 1951 and moved to Canada in 1978 and became a citizen. He teaches part-time at Dalhousie University, runs Pottersfield Press and has written more than 40 adult and young adult books.
His YA novels concern things like skateboarding, surfing, racism, environmental issues, organ transplants, and rock bands. Lesley surfs year round in the North Atlantic and live...more
More about Lesley Choyce...
His YA novels concern things like skateboarding, surfing, racism, environmental issues, organ transplants, and rock bands. Lesley surfs year round in the North Atlantic and live...more
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