Shoot!

by George Bowering

Fiction. Across Canada's wild west of the 1800s, brothers Allan, Charlie, Archie and sidekick Alex Hare were known as the McLean gang. They were also known as "breeds"—outcasts caught between the cultures—Alex Hare, a Metis, and Allan, Charlie and Archie, brothers of mixed Salish and Scottish blood. They roamed the high Chilcotin ranch country of British Columbia in the 1870s, cattle rustling, stealing and creating high-spirited mayhem. Until one frozen, crystalline morning in 1879, when they crossed the line and shot two men in cold blood, one of them, Johnny Ussher, the local sheriff. Tracked down by a posse of over 100 men, the McLean Gang were eventually trapped and besieged.

"With powerful imagery and crisp narration, Bowering delivers a stinging commentary on the desperation of racism in the harsh environment of the Canadian West."— Publishers Weekly

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Canadian Literature

240 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1995

About the author

George Bowering was born and brought up in the Okanagan Valley, amid sand dunes and sagebrush, but he has lived in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, and Alberta — great sources of hockey stars. Along the way he has stopped to write several books on baseball. He has also picked up Governor General’s Awards for his poetry and fiction, and otherwise been rewarded with prizes for his books, except in his home province of British Columbia. His earlier ECW book, His Life, was a finalist for the Governor General’s Award for 2000. He lives in Vancouver.

Reviews

[Peter B]

The McLean Brothers and Archie Hare killed two men in a reign of terror in the Kamloops Douglas Lake area and were eventually hanged in New Westminster. Research clearly gives the impression that these were young men who felt no social or moral restrictions on their behavior. Their victims were men against whom they had real grievances, and the first, Johnny Ussher, as a representative of the law, came to them unarmed. They brutally stabbed and shot him and then mutilated his corpse. Their second victim, Jim Kelly was a shepherd they came across and killed then robbed.
Bowering does not in any way try to underplay the horrible deeds of the young men. Much of the time they were drunk, and all of the time they did whatever they wanted. He does not try to excuse their actions. He does, however, clearly show how as half-breed children, they seemed to have no place to belong, and this need for identity was what fueled their crimes.
The style is a little confusing at first as it is not linear, and he interjects scenarios throughout the work that provide commentary as much as colour.
I enjoyed the reading very much. I enjoyed the learning even more.

[Marjorie]

I think this book should be required reading for all junior and senior high school students. It is the story of 3 McLean brothers and their friend Alex Hare. The tale tells about the lives of these 4 and their fate. It is our history and shows why there are always explanations for "bad" behavior.

[Linnea]

Books (almost) rarely make me cry, (or at least feel like I'm gonna). This one was initially difficult to get into because of its diction and style: at first, I wasn't sure if I could settle into something with such a patchwork format and with nineteenth century backwoods lingo.

But, then I fell in love with the McLean boys, for better or for worse. I find it strange that I'm drawn to this setting, but then again, I'm also a fan of "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford."

Oh. Canada. What a nation of desperation and hope and the tales there within. Will take me a while to decide whether the McLeans got what they thought they were seeking.

[Andrew]

It is a story about the McLean brothers, half breeds who rode the British Colombian Chilcotin in the 1870's. Allen the oldest takes issue with how they are treated by the white man especially a man named Mara who has got their sister pregnant. While frequently in trouble before, they now have murder on their hands when a constable is shot dead. Allen and his brothers now ride the country seeking weapons and food and help from Indians seeking with the goal of starting an uprising.

The story frequently goes off on strange tangents introducing you to seemly random people and also goes back and forth in time. The joining theme seems to be history from the point of Indians and half breeds and how their story had not been told. The book would have been better without the wild tangents with a more chronological story line.

[Lori]

The story jumped around too much, but I did learn more about the area. We live about 1.5 hours driving time from Kamloops, so it was interesting.

[keiths]

I can't rate something this heartbreaking

[Zvjezdana]

nope, I did NOT like it. neman neki pretjerano dobar razlog, samo mi je bilo dosadnjikavo, and frankly, analiza na predavanju nije pomogla (it usually makes a book better)

[Hamuel Sunter]

This book came highly recommended by a friend whose taste I trust.

I liked it, but didn't love it. Early on I found it a bit of a slog and that's in part because I missed some of the humour. As I got deeper in I came to enjoy it more and more, and was fairly devastated when I reached the end.

However, Bowering's stripped-down prose isn't to my taste. I feel like this says something bad about me but I prefer the pupleish prose of a Dave Eggers to Bowering's minimalism.

[Nafiza]

This is not for the faint of heart. God. So painful.

[Jas Deol]

I didn't mind it at first but then it just dragged on. Glad it's done.