About BC Books Online
BC Books Online was created for anyone interested in BC-published books, and with librarians especially in mind. We'd like to make it easy for library staff to learn about books from BC publishers - both new releases and backlist titles - so you can inform your patrons and keep your collections up to date.
Our site features print books and ebooks - both new releases and backlist titles - all of which are available to order through regular trade channels. Browse our subject categories to find books of interest or create and export lists by category to cross-reference with your library's current collection.
A quick tip: When reviewing the "Browse by Category" listings, please note that these are based on standardized BISAC Subject Codes supplied by the books' publishers. You will find additional selections, grouped by theme or region, in our "BC Reading Lists."
Description
A powerful novel of redemption and revenge inspired by a real American Civil War mystery.
For Clayton Monroe, the last hope for refuge is a struggling settlement at the far northwest corner of Vancouver Island. San Josef is his sanctuary from the imagined demons and real enemies who have pursued him for three decades, from the Civil War battlefields of Virginia and across the plains of Kansas to the gold rush gateway of Seattle.
For Anika Frederickson, San Josef is her new home and her dream, a now failing community built on the promises of provincial government officials. The future of her colony, carved from the coastal wilderness by the tenacity of her fellow Danish idealists, is as uncertain as the storms that batter their farms.
A man like Monroe leaves a burning trail behind him, and the autumn winds of 1899 bring a new arrival to Cape Scott, sparking an inevitable challenge to Clayton's safety and Anika's family.
At San Josef, the rainforest and the river will bear witness.
Contributor Notes
Harold Macy is a forester based in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island, where he and his sons and dog manage a thousand-acre family woodlot. His work has appeared in PRISM International, The Malahat Review, Orion, The Broken City, Rhubarb and others. San Josef is his first novel.
Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age:
- 16 to 18
- Grade:
- 11 to 12
Editorial Reviews
"Reading Harold Macy's book San Josef was a remarkable education for me. His book places the reader into life as it must have been lived in that remote area in 1898. With the use of resilient and colourful characters plus a compelling descriptive text, Macy's novel takes the reader into a completely different world. The book holds your attention from the beginning — as every good story should.
"From the opening paragraph, the author grabs the reader's interest by resolutely placing you in the location with his words "the conflict (between) the might of the Pacific against the sodden runoff from the forested hills and swamps of this north end of Vancouver Island"."
— The Ormsby Review
"The characters are as complex as a spider’s web, the language poetic and the environment a tangible force. Harold Macy paints a visual and psychological picture in every paragraph." PAULA WILD, author of Return of the Wolf: Conflict & Coexistence
"In Harold Macy’ remarkable novel, Vancouver Island’s wild and beautiful northernmost region is the stage for an intriguing tale. San Josef does what novels do best—brings us in close to witness an unfolding drama (both personal and communal) that we can believe in. As in many of the best stories, much is at stake here for both the main characters and their community. At the same time, much is to be enjoyed by the reader." JACK HODGINS, CM
"Reading Harold Macy’s book San Josef was a remarkable education for me. His book places the reader into life as it must have been lived in that remote area in 1898. With the use of resilient and colourful characters plus a compelling descriptive text, Macy’s novel takes the reader into a completely different world. The book holds your attention from the beginning — as every good story should." VALERIE GREEN, The British Columbia Review.
