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 foreveralter 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 commericial 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.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"I was a bit apprehensive about reading [Tim Bowling's] 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. . . . This is a truly British Columbian novel, not to be missed." ---booksunderreview.com
"There is a resolve, a high moral purpose to everything Bowling is doing here, coupled with a compelling melancholy and an astounding level of artistry. With his grasp of the human condition and his lyric gifts, he has the tools to become not just a good poet, but a great one."
-Arc
"This is a poet whose learning is a pleasure to be part of."
-Malahat Review
"It's a pleasure to read a book of poems that does even a few things well. But it's a deeper pleasure to read one that does many things well. Tim Bowling's second collection, Dying Scarlet, belongs to the latter category."
-The Fiddlehead
"Buoyantly optimistic and rich in imagery, these poems movingly depict rare moments of beauty in an otherwise harsh existence. Especially astonishing is the maturity of Bowling's vision, the breadth of his reading, and the ability to combine the abstract with the pragmatic in poems that shimmer like the scales of salmon he describes, particularly when he is writing about death. It's bloody and it's wonderful."
-Event
"His universe, suffused with the flux of water, is wondrous." ---Zoe Landale, UBC Chronicle (Praise for Tim Bowling's writing )
"There is a resolve, a high moral purpose to everything Bowling is doing here, coupled with a compelling melancholy and an astounding level of artistry. With his grasp of the human condition and his lyric gifts, he has the tools to become not just a good poet, but a great one."
-Arc
"This is a poet whose learning is a pleasure to be part of."
-Malahat Review
"It's a pleasure to read a book of poems that does even a few things well. But it's a deeper pleasure to read one that does many things well. Tim Bowling's second collection, Dying Scarlet, belongs to the latter category."
-The Fiddlehead
"Buoyantly optimistic and rich in imagery, these poems movingly depict rare moments of beauty in an otherwise harsh existence. Especially astonishing is the maturity of Bowling's vision, the breadth of his reading, and the ability to combine the abstract with the pragmatic in poems that shimmer like the scales of salmon he describes, particularly when he is writing about death. It's bloody and it's wonderful."
-Event
"His universe, suffused with the flux of water, is wondrous." ---Zoe Landale, UBC Chronicle (Praise for Tim Bowling's writing )
Review
"There is a resolve, a high moral purpose to everything Bowling is doing here, coupled with a compelling melancholy and an astounding level of artistry. With his grasp of the human condition and his lyric gifts, he has the tools to become not just a good poet, but a great one."
-Arc
"This is a poet whose learning is a pleasure to be part of."
-Malahat Review
"It's a pleasure to read a book of poems that does even a few things well. But it's a deeper pleasure to read one that does many things well. Tim Bowling's second collection, Dying Scarlet, belongs to the latter category."
-The Fiddlehead
"Buoyantly optimistic and rich in imagery, these poems movingly depict rare moments of beauty in an otherwise harsh existence. Especially astonishing is the maturity of Bowling's vision, the breadth of his reading, and the ability to combine the abstract with the pragmatic in poems that shimmer like the scales of salmon he describes, particularly when he is writing about death. It's bloody and it's wonderful."
-Event
"His universe, suffused with the flux of water, is wondrous."
-Zoe Landale, UBC Chronicle (Praise for Tim Bowling's writing )
-Arc
"This is a poet whose learning is a pleasure to be part of."
-Malahat Review
"It's a pleasure to read a book of poems that does even a few things well. But it's a deeper pleasure to read one that does many things well. Tim Bowling's second collection, Dying Scarlet, belongs to the latter category."
-The Fiddlehead
"Buoyantly optimistic and rich in imagery, these poems movingly depict rare moments of beauty in an otherwise harsh existence. Especially astonishing is the maturity of Bowling's vision, the breadth of his reading, and the ability to combine the abstract with the pragmatic in poems that shimmer like the scales of salmon he describes, particularly when he is writing about death. It's bloody and it's wonderful."
-Event
"His universe, suffused with the flux of water, is wondrous."
-Zoe Landale, UBC Chronicle (Praise for Tim Bowling's writing )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fishing Town Undercurrents,
By Angela Timmins (Delta, B.C.) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Downriver Drift (Paperback)
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.
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First Sentence:
In the middle of a March night, nearly thirty years ago, a heavy fog rolled in off the Gulf of Georgia toward the town of Chilukthan. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
dynamite ship, upper wharf, silt islands, gillnet fishermen, fish crate, government wharf, ling cod, jack spring, pike pole, other fishermen Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Miss Gallagher, Pheasant Island, Prairie Drift, Cedar Bay, Joe Meers, Dennis Petrovich, New Westminster, Fraser River, Adams River, Chilukthan Harbour, Laidlaw Street, Todd Brunov, Curt Brunov, Katie Emmons, Lady Jane, Margo Petrovich, North Atlantic New!
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Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
In the middle of a March night, nearly thirty years ago, a heavy fog rolled in off the Gulf of Georgia toward the town of Chilukthan. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
dynamite ship, upper wharf, silt islands, gillnet fishermen, fish crate, government wharf, ling cod, jack spring, pike pole, other fishermen Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Miss Gallagher, Pheasant Island, Prairie Drift, Cedar Bay, Joe Meers, Dennis Petrovich, New Westminster, Fraser River, Adams River, Chilukthan Harbour, Laidlaw Street, Todd Brunov, Curt Brunov, Katie Emmons, Lady Jane, Margo Petrovich, North Atlantic New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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