In the forward to her latest book On Island, Pat Carney writes:
“Many of the events on these stories happened somewhere, sometime, on British Columbia’s coast. The characters are fictional. Since there are no names, no names have been changed. Who, where, and when? It is the reader’s choice.”
It’s an approach that immediately intrigues the reader and serves as a perfect segue into what is a compassionate, realistic and wholly whimsical look at island life on Canada’s west coast islands.
Pat Carney has been a journalist, educator, volunteer, social advocate, member of parliament and senator. Following an illustrious and varied political career, she was awarded the Order of Canada after her resignation from the senate in 2008.
Throughout Carney’s active and varied life, she has gained a unique perspective of human nature and the interaction of people of every age and occupation and she’s done it without ever losing her ability to observe life through a lens of wry humour.
Carney’s latest publication, a collection of short stories entitled On Island is a clear reflection of that fundamental ability. It also, once again, establishes her as a light-hearted and insightful author whose observations of life on a anonymous west coast island perfectly capture island life.
Herself a long time resident of Saturna Island, Carney has a profound understanding of the personalities and problems of island living.
While On Island features an unnamed island and unspecified characters, they are instantly recognizable to readers.
There’s the newly arrived retired couple who experience the three stages common to all new-comers–euphoria, alarm, and acceptance. There’s the church warden, the off–island newcomers, and the musician. And of course, there’s the cats.
Their lives all intersect to give readers a taste of what it means to be on-island.
Carney explores her characters as they weather the life’s storms with an ethos which is unique to coastal island living, making On Island a must read for every lover of the west coast.
Readers will have the opportunity to hear Carney discuss her collection of stories when she appears on CBC’s The Next Chapter on April 10 and on Gregor Craig’s On the Island morning show on April 18.
On April 20, fans will have a special opportunity to meet Carney and have a book signed when she arrives at Tanner’s Books in Sidney at 2 p.m.
— By Tim Collins/News contributor