What do you think?
Rate this book
Je T'Attends a Peggy's Cove (Collection Le Marchand de Sable)
Ryan’s dad is having a midlife crisis. He went away for the summer to try to work through his problems, leaving his family behind. Ryan’s mother decides to send Ryan to Peggy’s Cove, the most beautiful cove in the world, for the summer to stay with his Aunt Fay, who owns and operates a store there. Peggy’s Cove is all right, Ryan thinks, if it weren’t so small and crowded with tourists.
Still, he manages to make friends. First, he befriends Drummer, a misfit. But hanging out with Drummer proves disastrous because it makes him behave in ways he never has before and gets him into trouble. Next, he finds friendship with fishermen Eddie and Wing Ding, who teach him how to fish. The time he spends with the two fishermen is the best moments of his visit. Even so, he still thinks of his father a lot and writes him a letter in hopes of getting his attention. After spending a summer apart, will their relationship ever be the same?
Still, he manages to make friends. First, he befriends Drummer, a misfit. But hanging out with Drummer proves disastrous because it makes him behave in ways he never has before and gets him into trouble. Next, he finds friendship with fishermen Eddie and Wing Ding, who teach him how to fish. The time he spends with the two fishermen is the best moments of his visit. Even so, he still thinks of his father a lot and writes him a letter in hopes of getting his attention. After spending a summer apart, will their relationship ever be the same?
119 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
About the author
Brian Doyle
82 books3 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
My very first piece of writing I published myself. I wrote in block letters, on the playground of Angelesca Square after a fresh snow fall, huge letters that airplanes could see, these words: MY BEST FRIEND GERALD IS A BASTARD.
For some reason (it was 1942) I wanted the Germans, who were coming any minute now to drop bombs on us, to know about Gerald. I'd overheard my parents talking sadly about Gerald being illegitimate and how sorry they felt. I thought if the Germans knew about Gerald and his problem and that he was my best friend they'd turn around and go home and not drop their bombs on us, here in Lowertown, Ottawa, Canada.
Of course, they never arrived (such was the power of radio those days) but they were the intended audience of my first sentence. First published sentence.
To communicate in clear, written sentences has been my vocation ever since.
In the middle of a teaching career I began dabbling in the genre of youthful narration in the tradition of Twain's Huck Finn. At the same time, I met the flower of the flock, the estimable, the eximious, the nonpareil editor and publisher, Patsy Aldana of Groundwood Books.
Together we have produced a dozen books and we're still cooking. The books are set in the Gatineau river valley and Ottawa. They are funny and sad! They are read by people of all ages though the narrators are young. The narrators are the age of the child who saw the Emperor's nakedness. They are clear eyed, candid, smart, unsophisticated and inexperienced.
The books have multiple layers, resulting in reluctant readers discovering them while elsewhere they are studied in university courses.
They have been translated in seven different languages and have been awarded national and international prizes too numerous to list here. They have been adapted to radio, stage and film. I have appeared in twenty performances of our book Angel Square on the stage of the National Arts Centre.
There has also been an opera and there's talk of a ballet. I have rinsed out my long-sleeved leotard and am waiting by the phone for the audition call.
I spend a lot of time at my cabin in the Gatineau Hills, sometimes with my four grandchildren and their parents, keeping in touch with the trees and the river and the rocks and keeping my ears and eyes open for those Luftwaffe bombers.
My very first piece of writing I published myself. I wrote in block letters, on the playground of Angelesca Square after a fresh snow fall, huge letters that airplanes could see, these words: MY BEST FRIEND GERALD IS A BASTARD.
For some reason (it was 1942) I wanted the Germans, who were coming any minute now to drop bombs on us, to know about Gerald. I'd overheard my parents talking sadly about Gerald being illegitimate and how sorry they felt. I thought if the Germans knew about Gerald and his problem and that he was my best friend they'd turn around and go home and not drop their bombs on us, here in Lowertown, Ottawa, Canada.
Of course, they never arrived (such was the power of radio those days) but they were the intended audience of my first sentence. First published sentence.
To communicate in clear, written sentences has been my vocation ever since.
In the middle of a teaching career I began dabbling in the genre of youthful narration in the tradition of Twain's Huck Finn. At the same time, I met the flower of the flock, the estimable, the eximious, the nonpareil editor and publisher, Patsy Aldana of Groundwood Books.
Together we have produced a dozen books and we're still cooking. The books are set in the Gatineau river valley and Ottawa. They are funny and sad! They are read by people of all ages though the narrators are young. The narrators are the age of the child who saw the Emperor's nakedness. They are clear eyed, candid, smart, unsophisticated and inexperienced.
The books have multiple layers, resulting in reluctant readers discovering them while elsewhere they are studied in university courses.
They have been translated in seven different languages and have been awarded national and international prizes too numerous to list here. They have been adapted to radio, stage and film. I have appeared in twenty performances of our book Angel Square on the stage of the National Arts Centre.
There has also been an opera and there's talk of a ballet. I have rinsed out my long-sleeved leotard and am waiting by the phone for the audition call.
I spend a lot of time at my cabin in the Gatineau Hills, sometimes with my four grandchildren and their parents, keeping in touch with the trees and the river and the rocks and keeping my ears and eyes open for those Luftwaffe bombers.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
Read
July 27, 2011Read this when I was in middle school, I believe. I think I liked it, haha not sure.
July 20, 2018
It was simply written, but it was a lovely story. The characters were all very interesting, but I liked Eddie and Wingding best. Especially Winding and his "smacks". He may have had a defect, but he had a heart of gold. And he absolutely loved Eddie.
Ryan himself narrates the story, and although he is dead serious, the audience can't help laughing at some of his observations or thoughts.
It is a little sad, because of his dad leaving and all, but things turn out alright. I can't imagine what it feels like, to have a good relationship with someone the way Ryan did with his dad, and then have that person leave on you. It is a heart-wrenching thing, and unfortunately, it's becoming more common.
Ryan himself narrates the story, and although he is dead serious, the audience can't help laughing at some of his observations or thoughts.
It is a little sad, because of his dad leaving and all, but things turn out alright. I can't imagine what it feels like, to have a good relationship with someone the way Ryan did with his dad, and then have that person leave on you. It is a heart-wrenching thing, and unfortunately, it's becoming more common.
June 24, 2024
I grew up just outside Peggy’s Cove and read this for the first time when it was a new release and I was a teen. I no longer live in Nova Scotia but it popped back into my head when I was home last year and I tracked down a copy again. Different cover, obviously, but it was a wash of memories to read this again in my fifties. The author captured perfectly the difference between being local and being a tourist, all the thoughts we would have about the day people tromping through. I have no knowledge of if the author was thinking of a particular house for Eddie or a particular fish shed but I have particular ones in mind!
June 5, 2024
The book was enjoyable. The relation ships the characters develop with each other are interesting and have uniqueness to them. The story is enjoyable and helps imagine the story. The end isn’t very well done. In my opinion it has a nice moment but leaves out some things I would have wanted to know more about before it ended. Considering I read this for my French class, it’s pretty good
April 19, 2018
I bought the French translation a few years ago and just started reading it yesterday, so far it is a very pleasant read and a lovely story about a young boy's adventures in a small community. Clear and concise writing with lots of humour and lovely images sprinkled throughout. Brendan Walsh
June 16, 2019
maybe it’s because i had this read to me over the course of a year(!!!!!), but tbh i hated it :)
the characters were flat, the plot was confusing and boring?? yeah i would’ve DNFed if it wasn’t mandatory for school. whoops.
the characters were flat, the plot was confusing and boring?? yeah i would’ve DNFed if it wasn’t mandatory for school. whoops.
July 4, 2017
Meine Meinung:
Die ganze Zeit kreisen Ryans Gedanken darum, was er tun könnte um seinen Vater zurückzuholen. Er will ihm einen Brief schreiben, aber nicht um ihm zu erzählen wie schön es bei Tante Fay ist, sondern um ihm Dinge zu erzählen die nicht wahr sind. Das darf man natürlich nicht, aber wenn es seinen Vater dazu bringt sich Sorgen zu machen, will er es wenistens versuchen.
Drummer ist mir durch sein Handeln, vom ersten Moment an suspekt, doch der Autor überrascht mich.
Die Fischer Eddie und Wingding, mag ich trotz ihrer etwas seltsam verschrobenen Art.
Tante Fay nimmt ihn auf. Sie ist eine wunderbar liebe Frau und
Peggy´s Cove könnte ich mir gut vorstellen als Rückzugsort.
Natürlich erst Abends, wenn die Zeit für perfekte Fotos vorbei ist.
Alles in allem war es eine Geschichte über das Dilemma eines Kindes, das seinen Vater nicht verlieren möchte und sich in seiner Hilflosigkeit, alle möglichen Dinge ausdenkt. Ryan kann ich als Hauptaktionist sehr gut verstehen. Der Autor bringt diese innere Zerissenheit sehr gut rüber.
Einerseits möchte er seinen Vater haben, andererseits aber doch etwas Erleben.
Mein Fazit:
Die Erzählung über einen Jungen,
die deutlich macht,
wie sehr er seine Familie braucht.
Die ganze Zeit kreisen Ryans Gedanken darum, was er tun könnte um seinen Vater zurückzuholen. Er will ihm einen Brief schreiben, aber nicht um ihm zu erzählen wie schön es bei Tante Fay ist, sondern um ihm Dinge zu erzählen die nicht wahr sind. Das darf man natürlich nicht, aber wenn es seinen Vater dazu bringt sich Sorgen zu machen, will er es wenistens versuchen.
Drummer ist mir durch sein Handeln, vom ersten Moment an suspekt, doch der Autor überrascht mich.
Die Fischer Eddie und Wingding, mag ich trotz ihrer etwas seltsam verschrobenen Art.
Tante Fay nimmt ihn auf. Sie ist eine wunderbar liebe Frau und
Peggy´s Cove könnte ich mir gut vorstellen als Rückzugsort.
Natürlich erst Abends, wenn die Zeit für perfekte Fotos vorbei ist.
Alles in allem war es eine Geschichte über das Dilemma eines Kindes, das seinen Vater nicht verlieren möchte und sich in seiner Hilflosigkeit, alle möglichen Dinge ausdenkt. Ryan kann ich als Hauptaktionist sehr gut verstehen. Der Autor bringt diese innere Zerissenheit sehr gut rüber.
Einerseits möchte er seinen Vater haben, andererseits aber doch etwas Erleben.
Mein Fazit:
Die Erzählung über einen Jungen,
die deutlich macht,
wie sehr er seine Familie braucht.
March 24, 2026
It was so boring, there wasn't even explosions
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews