Downriver Drift

By Tim Bowling

In the middle of a March night nearly thirty years ago, a heavy fog rolls in off the Gulf of Georgia to smother a small fishing town at the mouth of the Fraser River. Ominous and unsettling, the fog sets the scene for a compelling series of events that will forever alter the town and the people who live there - especially the Mawsons, one of the many families whose survival depends on the rollercoaster fortunes of BC's commercial fishing industry.Tense and timely, and set against the backdrop of one of the world's great rivers, Downriver Drift celebrates and mourns a traditional way of life that is rapidly disappearing. Bowling draws on the mysterious, powerful life cycle of the Pacific salmon to create a mythic narrative of human discovery, loss, conflict and forgiveness. With a poet's eye for detail and a storyteller's instinct for drama, he paints an unforgettable portrait of west coast fishing village, a world that has never been more stirringly represented in Canadian fiction.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1550172204
• ISBN13: 9781550172201
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Harbour Publishing
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Fishing Town Undercurrents

I am a fan of Tim Bowling's poetry. I was a bit apprehensive about reading his first novel, Downriver Drift, after having enjoyed his poetry so much. I was not disappointed. Living in a British Columbia fishing community for 14 years, I found this book enlightening and engaging. I was most intrigued with the theme of the book, which is the Fraser River. We learn about the life of a fishing family--parents, Kathleen and Vic, their sons Corbett and Troy and young daughter Zoe. Kathleen maintains great pride in the lifetyle of her fishing family through good times and bad and she teaches this to them. The entertaining subplots add to the interest of the novel and show small town pastimes. We come to know the butcher and other unusual characters who live in Chilukthan. This is a truly British Columbian novel, not to be missed.