Galveston

by Paul Quarrington

From one of Canada’s beloved fiction writers comes a tale of love and loss, guilt and forgiveness -- and finding redemption in the eye of a hurricane.

Few people seek out the tiny Caribbean island of Dampier Cay. Visitors usually wash up there by accident, rather than by design. But this weekend, three people will fly to the island deliberately. They are not coming for a tan or fun in the sun. They are coming because Dampier Cay is where it is, and they have reason to believe that they might encounter something there that most people take great measures to avoid -- a hurricane.

A lottery windfall and a few hours of selfishness have robbed Caldwell of all that was precious to him, while Beverly, haunted by tragedy and screwed by fate since birth, has given up on life. Also on the flight is Jimmy Newton, a professional storm chaser and videographer who will do anything for the perfect shot. Waiting for them at Dampier is the manager of the Water’s Edge Hotel, “Bonefish” Maywell Hope, who arrived at Dampier by the purest accident of all -- the accident of birth. A descendent of the pirates who sailed the Caribbean hundreds of years ago, Hope believes if he works hard enough, he can prevent the inevitable. Until, that is, the seas begin to rise . . .

Cinematic and harrowing, spiced with Quarrington’s trademark humour, Galveston shows just how far people will go to feel alive.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Fiction, Canada, Contemporary, Literature, Literary Fiction, Canadian Literature

256 pages, Paperback

First published May 11, 2004

About the author

Paul Quarrington was a novelist and musician, an award-winning screenwriter, filmmaker, and an acclaimed non-fiction writer. His last novel The Ravine was published in March 2008. His previous novel Galveston was nominated for the Giller; Whale Music won the Governor General’s Award for Fiction. Quarrington won the Stephen Leacock Medal for King Leary, a title that also won the 2008 Canada Reads competition. As a musician, he played in the band PorkBelly Futures; their self-titled second CD was released in April 2008; the first CD Way Past Midnight was extremely well received. His screenplays and story editing have won many awards, most recently the CFPTA Indie Award for Comedy for the series Moose TV, and he was in high demand as a story editor for feature films and television. Paul ’s filmmaking talents as writer / director were evident in his BookShorts short film, Pavane, which he adapted from The Ravine and was featured in the Moving Stories Film Festival September - November 2008. His non-fiction writing included books on some of his favourite pastimes such as fishing, hockey and music. He regularly contributed book reviews, travel columns and journalism to Canada’s national newspapers and magazines. Paul lived and worked in Toronto, where he taught writing at Humber College and University of Toronto, and sat on the Board of Directors for the Fringe Theatre Festival. Quarrington was also an (extremely) amateur magician and a would-be mariner.

Paul was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer in May of 2009. He died at home, with his family.

Reviews

[Raimo Wirkkala · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author packs quite a bit into just under 250pgs, and all of it is very good. I've now read two of his novels, back-to-back, (King Leary was the other), and I love his gift for creating quirky, yet relatable, characters and enveloping them in scenarios both funny and poignant. Another thing I'll say for Quarrington, dude knows how to end a novel. Kudos!

[Caroline Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really and truly enjoy reading Paul Q, and this book is no exception. There are "difficult" issues addressed here - which makes me wonder why "Immortal North" by Tom Stewart was not also a Giller Finalist - but regardless, this is a very good read.

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had the characters been Middle School children, it might have made more sense to me. The storm made sense. I was rooting for the hurricane and felt it took too long for it to make land fall.

[Kim Frache · Rating 1 out of 5]

Possibly one of the most pointless novels I’ve ever read. I gave it 1 point because the author effectively duped me into reading it to the last page.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Galveston ended up being better than I expected. Before reading this book I had read one other book by Quarrington and thought it was OK, but nothing special. It was good enough that I wanted to explore another one of his novels, but not spectacular to make me breathless with anticipation.

Galveston has an intriguing premise. A group of strangers arrive on the island of Dampier Cay, located in the Carribean, some looking for fun in the sun, others who are "weather weenies", hoping that hurricane Claire would blow over this tiny island. Most of the characters are damaged in some way; damaged in such a way that their decisions run to the extreme.

If the reader has some idea of what the title, Galveston, stands for, they will have some idea of where the story is headed. Quarrington explains what happened in Galveston more than a century before the time when this story is set, and that knowledge hangs over the book like a dark, stormy expectation.

It is for the most part a character driven book, but with a, more or less, but with an ensemble cast. Most of the characters are quirky, but reasonably drawn.

Overall a fun, interesting story, well written, and thoughtful. Recommended to people who like quirky characters with disparate motivations, dealing with extreme situations.

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this strange book purely because of the title; I've never read any other books by this prolific author. The book is hard to describe. The plot centers around a few people who, with different degrees of intentionality, find themselves on a small island during a major hurricane. Three "weather weenies" wanted to be where the storm was, two vacationers landed there by accident, and three residents of the island basically live there. Plus the mostly dropped sideline of two property owners who came to look after their property during the storm.

The description of the storm and the reverence for the energy of weather was compelling. None of the characters was particularly lovable, with the possible exception of the pirate-descended Maywell, but I was absorbed by their stories. And a few of the sarcastic observations of the book were both darkly comic and wonderful ("in the land of the damned, there is no nap time"). Unfortunately, the resolution didn't quite work for me and I found myself wishing for more hope or optimism or something for the characters.

The writing was compelling enough that I'd be interested to read other books by this author, but I'm not sure I'll be rushing to recommend this one.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’d never tell anyone not to read Paul Quarrington’s Galveston, but neither would I recommend it. The novel sees three storm chasers arrive on a small island - Dampier Cay - a day before the arrival of a category 5 hurricane. Two of the chasers have traumatic pasts. One is just in it for the glory.

The parts I liked? Learning bits about hurricanes. Descriptions of the wind.

Parts I didn’t? Endless and extreme symbolism, such that I felt battered myself by the barrage of this-means-this and look-out here comes another symbol, duck! you might get hit by significance!

Meh. Not good, not bad. Nominated for the Giller, if you’re into that sort of thing.

[C · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Full of characters dealing with significant mental issues who have all wound up on a remote island (some by choice, some by circumstance), but all must battle to survive a major weather event that threatens to level the island.
I didn't really relate or like any of the characters. I felt sorry for them all in some way and their respective situations - especially for the two girls in their early twenties who were trying to book a sunny vacation and ended up with something totally different.

[VWrulesChick · Rating 3 out of 5]

What happens when you have had a hard life, when you no longer have feeling, but numbness. Follow Caldwell, Beverly and Jimmy to Dampier Island where they are all obsessed with something. Local characters, Maywell "Bonefish" Hope and Lester Brown, which provide some colorful exchanges thoughout the novel. And will Hurricane Claire pass them or head straight for them? Who will survive and who will perish?

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read about a variety of characters converging on an island for a massive hurricane. The story takes you through the broken lives of several characters and culminates in a frenzy of action, not unlike the hurricane that is raging. I still have some unanswered questions about the story but overall it was a simple story about people, how they get to be the people they are and what they are looking for in life.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

QUOTE: “They lived in a world where drug habits were commonplace, and where it took a brave beast indeed to wander around without a crutch. Most people drank in the land of the damned, but the adventurous found the good drugs.” [p. 119]

[Bree · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was interesting...I didn't really know where it was going. It was a good story, the way it was laid out could be confusing at times. I think it could have been BETTER, but still it was good and other than one spot near the end, it was pretty believable.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of a motley band of tourists on a tiny island in the Caribbean as a major hurricane hits land. The story of obsession, love and grief. I love Quarrington's writing and thus us no different. My third of his novels and it won't be my last. His description of the hurricane is unbelievable!

[Hannah Holborn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wise, sometimes sad and often darkly funny look at the motivations that drive storm weenies to seek out category five hurricanes.

[Pamk · Rating 3 out of 5]

An odd little book about a group of storm chasers and others brought together on a small island facing a hurricane.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

On of my fav books of all time. It has humor, it has sailing it has pirates who's scabrous souls loved too deeply.

[Lynn Bornath · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was underwhelmed. Read the full review.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really great read about a hurricane and some stupid people on Dampier Cay...

[Scott Beveridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average book.