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Sointula
At the heart of Sointula is Evelyn, a middle-aged woman who abandons her privileged existence. She throws away the trappings of her civilized life—her antidepressants and her air ticket home, her wallet and most of the clothes off her back—steals a kayak, and embarks on a quest that takes her deep into the wilderness. The to find Tom—her strange, damaged son—in the remote village of Sointula. Equal parts light and dark, compassion and irony, this is Gaston’s most mature work.
380 pages, Paperback
First published August 28, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
March 16, 2010
I really liked this book though it took a long while for it to grab me. At first, the principal characters aren’t likable at all, and it appears the novel is going nowhere. However, gradually, I got sucked in, and loved it.
It’s a quirky story. A middle aged woman from Ontario leaves her home to come to the deathbed of a former lover in Vancouver. Once there, she stays on (incommunicado with her husband, and almost penniless) for a journey to find her estranged son who is volunteer whale researcher (and part time drug dealer) in a remote area of Vancouver Island. Along the way, Evelyn steals a kayak (which serves as a writing vehicle to get her into all sorts of interesting territory) and meets another semi-lost soul – an aspiring travel writer (with a drinking/pill problem) who has come to Vancouver Island specifically to do that.
So, it’s a bit of an Odyssey. Their travelling along the coast is a mostly intriguing journey for the reader. Along the way, the writer weaves in bits of Native and early settler history. (Sointula, the title, comes from the name of a defunct utopian Finnish community.) A good read!
It’s a quirky story. A middle aged woman from Ontario leaves her home to come to the deathbed of a former lover in Vancouver. Once there, she stays on (incommunicado with her husband, and almost penniless) for a journey to find her estranged son who is volunteer whale researcher (and part time drug dealer) in a remote area of Vancouver Island. Along the way, Evelyn steals a kayak (which serves as a writing vehicle to get her into all sorts of interesting territory) and meets another semi-lost soul – an aspiring travel writer (with a drinking/pill problem) who has come to Vancouver Island specifically to do that.
So, it’s a bit of an Odyssey. Their travelling along the coast is a mostly intriguing journey for the reader. Along the way, the writer weaves in bits of Native and early settler history. (Sointula, the title, comes from the name of a defunct utopian Finnish community.) A good read!
January 29, 2019
Living as I do on the west coast in the environment of this book, it was easy to immerse myself in its moody atmosphere and meandering pace. Even my dislike of one of the central characters did not undermine for me the subtle brilliance of the writing and the deft handling of structure.
Evelyn abandoned her reckless past for a staid life buffeted by prestige and anti- depressants.
The book details her reawakening to life as she searches for her son in the wilderness.
this is first impressions after just finishing this riveting and surprisingly thrilling tale.
Evelyn abandoned her reckless past for a staid life buffeted by prestige and anti- depressants.
The book details her reawakening to life as she searches for her son in the wilderness.
this is first impressions after just finishing this riveting and surprisingly thrilling tale.
May 29, 2010
At times a bit tedious to read, some passages could be shortened or left out altogether. This book is about a woman who takes control of her mental health by leaving her comfortable life and her medications behind and breaking out of a sort of 'prison', which kept her numb and unaware for years.
She sets out on a journey to find her estranged son whoo is living and working on the remote west coast. Her journey is a sort rediscovery of who she is and how she is able to react and interact with other people, some of whom have their own demons to battle.
Great discriptions of the west coast and some interesting historical quotes. Not a bad read.
She sets out on a journey to find her estranged son whoo is living and working on the remote west coast. Her journey is a sort rediscovery of who she is and how she is able to react and interact with other people, some of whom have their own demons to battle.
Great discriptions of the west coast and some interesting historical quotes. Not a bad read.
July 7, 2018
Really had a good read with this book! Now I will leave the book on Hornby Island for the next person to enjoy.
I liked that there was a mention of the book, Cougar Annie's Garden. I have that book..and donated one to our library. One day I will go there!!
Maybe one day I will go to Malcom Island too!!
I liked that there was a mention of the book, Cougar Annie's Garden. I have that book..and donated one to our library. One day I will go there!!
Maybe one day I will go to Malcom Island too!!
July 16, 2025
For a country full of bush, wild water and rugged individualists, we have scant definitive outdoor fiction. Farley Mowatt aside, our societal trending toward coffee bars, condos and the New York theatre season militates against Canada producing a true Cormac McCarthy-style exploiter of campfires and trail rides. But with Bill Gaston’s new novel, Sointula, it seems this paucity of Beautiful British Columbia writing might finally be addressed, and with its richness of ferry-schedule-fine detail and evergreen-scented environs, readers of this considerable tome will perhaps be inspired to pen sagas rife with their own appreciations of our fabulous countryside.
And how could one lose when the hero and heroine’s journey involves raft, kayak, medivac helicopter, bus and foot-trips through the intoxicating Gulf Islands, along the muscular east shore of Vancouver Island, toward the vast, vacant (even in the middle of summer!) North? Gaston’s heretofore non-acquainted wayward couple, an addled retiree struggling with a word-processor and a grieving refugee of marital conventionality, are committed to personal undertakings. Each have serious reasons for flight; motivations both known and unknown to themselves. We journey close along, aided by a proper empathy born of the author’s compassion for his people, the support of an appropriately clipped, direct prose, and a finely-wielded wealth of astounding coastal imagery.
So far so good. But when did novels start to have to have such huge piles of back story? There is so much social history in Sointula that in sections it begins to resemble a pre-sentence report. After three hundred pages I yearned for a clear shot to the end, instead of the constant lavish asides; minutiae so extravagant that it challenged memory and began dangerously to nag of not adding up.
Better to leave the characters speak and act for themselves, something Gaston does to a splendid degree in this book, and thus much the pity that the tome is ultimately cluttered. As the loons announce evening, the surface darkens as a squall wind approaches, and we unstick dry fish scales from our hands…much the pity indeed, when the reading is so certainly worthwhile.
And how could one lose when the hero and heroine’s journey involves raft, kayak, medivac helicopter, bus and foot-trips through the intoxicating Gulf Islands, along the muscular east shore of Vancouver Island, toward the vast, vacant (even in the middle of summer!) North? Gaston’s heretofore non-acquainted wayward couple, an addled retiree struggling with a word-processor and a grieving refugee of marital conventionality, are committed to personal undertakings. Each have serious reasons for flight; motivations both known and unknown to themselves. We journey close along, aided by a proper empathy born of the author’s compassion for his people, the support of an appropriately clipped, direct prose, and a finely-wielded wealth of astounding coastal imagery.
So far so good. But when did novels start to have to have such huge piles of back story? There is so much social history in Sointula that in sections it begins to resemble a pre-sentence report. After three hundred pages I yearned for a clear shot to the end, instead of the constant lavish asides; minutiae so extravagant that it challenged memory and began dangerously to nag of not adding up.
Better to leave the characters speak and act for themselves, something Gaston does to a splendid degree in this book, and thus much the pity that the tome is ultimately cluttered. As the loons announce evening, the surface darkens as a squall wind approaches, and we unstick dry fish scales from our hands…much the pity indeed, when the reading is so certainly worthwhile.
October 14, 2020
I really wanted to like this book, because it’s set on Vancouver Island, where I live. I finished it, but didn’t like it. Other than a minor character on the bus, and a couple who run a small resort, there wasn’t one likeable character in the book. In the first section, where the main characters are introduced, it was left unclear why/how Eve lost her credit cards and ID. Strangely, she didn’t show any concern about this and decided to go live on the beach and start stealing things. She stole an inflatable kayak and started paddling to Saltspring island. Anyone who grew up in the area, as she did, would know that this is foolhardy, given the currents and tides, especially if you’re not in good physical shape. At one point in her trip, when she has nothing but the clothes on her back, her period starts, but she shows absolutely no concern and makes no effort to find anything to collect the flow. I guess it was just going to run down into the kayak. The other character is a British dweeb who has lived in the US for many years, but not long enough to know that you shouldn’t call bikers in a bar “lads”. Oddly, the bikers didn’t spit their beer.
Once the two of them start heading north (without a map or tide chart) the story starts to pick up, just because I was curious where they were going to camp.
Once the two of them start heading north (without a map or tide chart) the story starts to pick up, just because I was curious where they were going to camp.
June 27, 2025
This was a very quirky read with some very unlikeable characters - but it managed to keep me interested to the end. Like many other reviews I've read, I picked up this book because I live on Vancouver Island and am very familiar with the locations where the story takes place. Despite some unflattering descriptions, the book captured the vibe of this corner of the world fairly well, and kept me curious about where the characters - and the story - would end up.
One of the main POV characters, Peter, was the absolute worst. Outside of some witty prose, I very much disliked him and kept trying not to hold Peter's opinions against the author himself. Casual racism and objectifying women galore. Evelyn's chapters were easier to read, and she did experience personal growth throughout the book, unlike Peter.
Some beautiful moments with orcas, along with a small amount of facts and information, but if you're just here for the orcas, this isn't the book for you.
One of the main POV characters, Peter, was the absolute worst. Outside of some witty prose, I very much disliked him and kept trying not to hold Peter's opinions against the author himself. Casual racism and objectifying women galore. Evelyn's chapters were easier to read, and she did experience personal growth throughout the book, unlike Peter.
Some beautiful moments with orcas, along with a small amount of facts and information, but if you're just here for the orcas, this isn't the book for you.
September 22, 2017
What a trip…in so many ways. Gaston takes us from Victoria through the Gulf Islands by kayak and then up to Sointula by bus with a couple of unlikely travelers. Evelyn, who has come back to the West Coast because her former lover (and the father of her very nasty son) is dying. Not having seen her son since he left home at age 16 she is going to take a cigar tube of his ashes to Tommy. Her accidental traveling partner is a would-be writer who just can’t get around to it. While the drug bust on Sointula is a little odd, it does give the plot some urgency toward the end.
All sorts of incidental factoids about first nations, about whales, about drug gangs give it a quirky feel but the characters are solid throughout. Another long one—446 pages.
All sorts of incidental factoids about first nations, about whales, about drug gangs give it a quirky feel but the characters are solid throughout. Another long one—446 pages.
July 31, 2024
Found in a little library and passed to me with no dust jacket I thought I was getting some kind of local history of the Sointula settlement, which I was excited to read since I like that kind of thing and was planning a trip to Malcolm island.
50 pages in and I am still on a beach in Victoria with a woman who has gone off her meds. Huh? Eventually I realize that this is not the book I thought it was. But it still ended up being an enjoyable read about wacky people doing wacky things in places that I know. Gaston teetered on the edge of creating a cast of unlikeable characters but always managed to reel them in to being flawed but sympathetic. A hard feat to master I think.
50 pages in and I am still on a beach in Victoria with a woman who has gone off her meds. Huh? Eventually I realize that this is not the book I thought it was. But it still ended up being an enjoyable read about wacky people doing wacky things in places that I know. Gaston teetered on the edge of creating a cast of unlikeable characters but always managed to reel them in to being flawed but sympathetic. A hard feat to master I think.
July 23, 2018
Three misfits, one on Malcolm Island watching for whales, his mother coming by kayak, and a Brit wanting to write a travel book - so has done his history of Vancouver Island. Not really about Sointula at all.
March 17, 2021
If you are looking for an action filled novel, this ain't it. What it does have, are beautifully written passages containing psychological mini-dramas. It's a book of unspoken thought as well as spoken cries.
June 24, 2022
I wanted to like this, and often I did. Gaston knows the island and describes it well. However, the characters are held hostage to a plot that is not only improbable but often belabored. And the book is racist in a casual way. Some good writing, but the book's destination is not worth the journey.
October 16, 2023
This book is SO tedious. I love the writing. I love the locale as I know every place that they visit and they are dear to me. But I don't really care for the people and it needs to be half the length that it is. I'm just so bored with the story and I want it to move on! Oh... for a good editor.
July 8, 2017
Original story for sure.
September 1, 2017
Tedious at best.
May 8, 2020
A great read - second time around.
The characters are not very likeable, but very interesting.
The characters are not very likeable, but very interesting.
September 6, 2020
High 4. Takes a bit to get into especially as the main characters aren't necessarily people I'd want to hang out with. But it all comes together. And so much about Sointula and area. Even Troy!
August 9, 2025
Both the plot and sentences read like an oyster with a pearl.
March 4, 2016
Evelyn, married to the mayor of Oakville, ON and on major anti-depressants, receives word that her first love, Claude (rhymes with load, not plod), is dying in hospital in Victoria, BC. She drops everything and rushes to Claude's beside. Before he dies, Claude lets Evelyn know that their son, Tommy, is living of the north end of Vancouver Island, after recovering for a rather severe injury. Claude's ultimate death sets Evelyn on a journey to see her son.
Without any of her possessions, other than the clothes on her back, Evelyn manages for "acquire" a kayak and using her living-off-the-land skills that Claude taught her, she takes to the water and starts paddling north. She teams up with Peter on the way and the two make for an interesting study in self-discovery and personal struggle.
Perhaps it's because I live on Vancouver Island and can easily picture many of the locations that Mr. Gaston describes that made it easy for me to dive into this book. Maybe though, it's the way Mr. Gaston has his characters examining their lives, something I find myself doing quite a bit, that really got me!! Suffice it to say, I enjoyed the book and find myself thinking about it quite a bit, now that I've finished.
Without any of her possessions, other than the clothes on her back, Evelyn manages for "acquire" a kayak and using her living-off-the-land skills that Claude taught her, she takes to the water and starts paddling north. She teams up with Peter on the way and the two make for an interesting study in self-discovery and personal struggle.
Perhaps it's because I live on Vancouver Island and can easily picture many of the locations that Mr. Gaston describes that made it easy for me to dive into this book. Maybe though, it's the way Mr. Gaston has his characters examining their lives, something I find myself doing quite a bit, that really got me!! Suffice it to say, I enjoyed the book and find myself thinking about it quite a bit, now that I've finished.
September 19, 2016
I probably would never have picked this book but my book club is reading it. It took me a while to get into it and to follow the 3 main characters. Evelyn is a middle aged woman who has left her husband back in Ontario as she comes to Victoria to witness the death of a former lover. Then she sets out by kayak to find her estranged son who is living on Malcolm Island off northern Vancouver Island. Along the way she picks up an incompetent stranger who wants to write a travel book about Vancouver Island. Each character is on a journey of self discovery.
Gaston does give some interesting facts about Vancouver Island and other islands en route to Malcolm Island. The title Sointula means place of harmony and is the name of a Finnish utopian village that was established but failed on Malcolm Island in the twentieth century.
Gaston does give some interesting facts about Vancouver Island and other islands en route to Malcolm Island. The title Sointula means place of harmony and is the name of a Finnish utopian village that was established but failed on Malcolm Island in the twentieth century.
October 12, 2009
Sointula, a Finnish-Canadian settlement in the Gulf Coast at the northern end of Vancouver Island, is like lands-end, the furthest reaches of civilization before people fall into the Pacific. It is also place where Tom lives—Tom, the disturbed son of Evelyn and Claude. Evelyn left him and the remnants of her former life far behind to marry a mayor in southern Ontario, and find herself surrounded by comfort and security. When she learns of Claude's death, she undergoes a breakdown, and finds herself back on the west coast determined to make her way to Sointula and Tom, by kayak or on foot across that rugged landscape if necessary.
She is joined by an inept and awkward travel writer named Peter Gore, who joins up with her Quixotic adventure for the story of it and finds himself in situations far beyond his physical abilities and emotional resilience.
The story is a terrific modern Robinson Crusoe adventure, with amazing views of the islands, inlets and channels east of Vancouver Island.
She is joined by an inept and awkward travel writer named Peter Gore, who joins up with her Quixotic adventure for the story of it and finds himself in situations far beyond his physical abilities and emotional resilience.
The story is a terrific modern Robinson Crusoe adventure, with amazing views of the islands, inlets and channels east of Vancouver Island.
August 31, 2022
This book is very relatable for the settings, but not the characters. Relatable because I been to and love just about every place in the characters journeys on Vancouver Island including Sointula. Peter, however, is such a loser, it is very hard to be sympathic to his character. His pretentious thoughts tend to ramble on to the extend that I want to skip over to the next chapter. Evelyn is a thief and somewhat deranged, so not a lot of sympathy there. Though she is more interesting because of her spiritual journey by kayak up the coast while attempting to live again after years of being suffocated by her marriage. Finally her son Tom also has mental health issues. He is the most interesting character living alone on a beach with his thoughts and love for orcas that pass by. He is also trying to escape a sordid past.
August 25, 2014
Very well-written, often beautifully crafted. However the first two-thirds was just not particularly interesting and lacked the type of tension that would keep me reading in any sustained fashion. I remained indifferent to all three of the central characters pretty much through the entire book. While the paced definitely picked up over the last 150 pages, I was really hoping that the ending would have been more satisfying.
September 21, 2007
set on Vancouver Island ... dear to my heart because that's where I live now
Sointula is a Finnish word mean "place of harmony" ... a small village on the northwestern tip of Vancouver Island, settled in 1901 by Finnish immigrants.
I posted an entry on my Reading Diary blog
http://blogdelivre.blogspot.com
Sointula is a Finnish word mean "place of harmony" ... a small village on the northwestern tip of Vancouver Island, settled in 1901 by Finnish immigrants.
I posted an entry on my Reading Diary blog
http://blogdelivre.blogspot.com
July 29, 2011
“Fog disgorges a yacht, which overtakes and passes their kayak. A monstrous kitchen applicance, too-white fibreglass and chrome. In a fog-held world, nature quietly pure, here comes a fat plastic condo. An outsize American flag hangs off its wide-ass end, which rumbles and farts and bubbles.” (P 175)
Aaaahhh, what a pleasure….
Aaaahhh, what a pleasure….
February 11, 2010
I don't know that I would want to spend time with any of the characters but I was cheering for each of them to find some kind of peace. Read the full review.
May 2, 2007
It was well written, the story line was unbelievable at times, but overall a unique book. I was drawn to the characters and the wonderful descriptions by the author.
Want to read
October 18, 2011M & D
August 4, 2015
Didn't finish. A bit boring and hard to follow
March 22, 2016
I have to read more of Bill Gaston because I really enjoyed this book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews