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great-grandson and I, more than a century after my death.'
...so opens 'The Oatmeal Ark'. My second book is a wave-rocked, wind-tossed adventure story which
reaches from Scotland to Nova Scotia, across Canada by water, and
through three generations of extraordinary family history. It weaves
ghostly invention through true stories, stitching imaginary characters
into real events, to unravel Canada's epic history. It traces the dreams
of the courageous men and women who left Scotland - and England,
Ireland and all of Europe - in the hope of building a better world overseas.
Travel with me and my forefathers - the minister-mariner, paddle-wheel
publisher and boat-building broadcaster - across the world's
second-largest country. Seek out earthly Paradise! Canoe through the
lonely majesty of the northern woods! Cross the Prairies with a wild
Newfoundlander in an inflatable dinghy and a submarine! And discover the
history of a divided nation whose parts have grown greater than its
whole.
'The Oatmeal Ark' was nominated for 1999 International IMPAC Dublin Literary
award and read on BBC Radio Scotland. In 2008 it is republished with a new introduction by Jan Morris.
'One
of the most original and innovative travel books for years.' Alexander
Frater, Observer
'A fabulous adventure story, wise, witty and never self-indulgent, as if
Jack London had - in a fit of absent-mindedness - joined forces with Jane
Austen.' Alberto Manguel
'a truly astonishing performance' Jan Morris
'Such a book as this rather marvellously explains why literature still
lives.' John Fowles, Spectator
'The Oatmeal
Ark' is republished by Tauris Parke in 2008. It was first published by HarperCollins UK and Canada in 1997.
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to buy in Canada
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