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Cold Clear Morning
Taylor Colby and his childhood sweetheart, Laura, abandoned their Nova Scotia coastal village home for a life in the high-ocatne world of rock music in California. Now, after Laura's drug-related death, Taylor has returned to his roots to live once again with his noble but isolated boat-builder father. Complicating matters further, Taylor's mother, who has been battling cancer, attmepts to reconcile with both her husband and son whom she deserted decades earlier. As Taylor grapples with family dysfunction, he becomes involved with Jillian, a feminist professor from Philadelphia, and her troubled twelve-year-old son, who are also on the run from the past they can't seem to escape.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
3 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
About the author
Lesley Choyce
131 books124 followersLesley Choyce is a novelist and poet living at Lawrencetown Beach, Nova Scotia. He is the author of more than 80 books for adults, teens and children. He teaches in the English Department and Transition Year Program at Dalhousie University. He is a year-round surfer and founding member of the 1990s spoken word rock band, The SurfPoets. Choyce also runs Pottersfield Press, a small literary publishing house and hosted the national TV show, Off The Page, for many years. His books have been translated into Spanish, French, German and Danish and he has been awarded the Dartmouth Book Award and the Ann Connor Brimer Award.
Lesley Choyce was born in New Jersey in 1951 and moved to Canada in 1978 and became a citizen.
His YA novels concern things like skateboarding, surfing, racism, environmental issues, organ transplants, and rock bands.
Lesley Choyce was born in New Jersey in 1951 and moved to Canada in 1978 and became a citizen.
His YA novels concern things like skateboarding, surfing, racism, environmental issues, organ transplants, and rock bands.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 18, 2021
I live on the eastern shore, and am happy to report that the imagery in this book was so realistic, it really brought the story to life for me!
I enjoyed the plot and all of the characters, and was surprised to find myself really rooting for the MC, as he came across as feeling very outside of his own self.
A very immersive read, 5/5 stars from me!
I enjoyed the plot and all of the characters, and was surprised to find myself really rooting for the MC, as he came across as feeling very outside of his own self.
A very immersive read, 5/5 stars from me!
October 23, 2018
Choyce is new for me. I'm really enjoying the imagery and characters in this novel set in the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia. It's real. This is one of the best books I've read in awhile.
March 20, 2025
A 4.5 star book. It was a good book that sent you on an emotional journey. The ending was poetic, but felt incomplete, almost cliffhanger like, as there is more story to talk about back at Nickerson Harbour.
However, it is what it is. There is a lot to digest in this novel, and due to that, I give it a 4.5 star.
However, it is what it is. There is a lot to digest in this novel, and due to that, I give it a 4.5 star.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 6, 2015
Taylor Colby and his childhood sweetheart Laura left their Nova Scotia home of Nickerson Harbour to follow their dreams in the crazy world of rock and roll music in California. There Colby immersed himself in making music and became a successful and sought after studio musician. But Laura fell to the dark side and her drug related death has sent Taylor into a spiral of depression and guilt, convinced his selfishness and apathy had killed her.
Five years later he returns home to reunite with his father and to face Laura’s family and his own personal guilt about her death. He finds little has changed while he has gone. His father Horace a quiet, patient man continues to labour in his work shed building beautiful boats. With the collapse of the fish industry, the world no longer has a need for his skill, but he continues to work at the craft he loves. Taylor has a difficult time understanding this man who has always seemed to be content with so little.
Shortly after his arrival home, Taylor learns that his mother, who abandoned the family when he was a young boy, is returning home, hoping to reconcile with her family. His father is ready to warmly receive her, but Taylor is still angry and hurt at his mother’s desertion and is not ready to forgive her.
As he works to make sense of and come to terms with his past, Taylor meets Jillian, an American feminist professor who is new in the area. She and her twelve year old son Wade are also trying to start a new life and leave a difficult past behind.
As Taylor tells his story and works on a path of self discovery, he remains the ego centric, self-absorbed hero wounded by love. It is hard to write a story about rock and roll music and the world of drugs that surrounds it without falling into a few clichés. Throw in a little surfing and you have the complete dysfunctional world of LA. But Choyce does present Taylor as a likeable character we care about, even though his journey is not unusual.
The other characters, including a physically and mentally damaged former guitar player who headed a band, stayed home and screwed up his life are well done. But Taylor’s father Horace seems too patient a man to be true. And the academic Jillian, aggressive and hard when we first meet her, softens quickly and rather inconsistently with the character of an ardent feminist.
But the strength of the novel lies not in the characters or the plot, but in Choyce’s ability to paint the maritime landscape of water, rocks, trees and boats. It is where his writing really shines.
This is one of Choyce’s earlier novels and not one of my favourites.
Readers familiar with his work will easily see how much his craft has improved, not only in terms of his writing but in his choice of subject as well.
Five years later he returns home to reunite with his father and to face Laura’s family and his own personal guilt about her death. He finds little has changed while he has gone. His father Horace a quiet, patient man continues to labour in his work shed building beautiful boats. With the collapse of the fish industry, the world no longer has a need for his skill, but he continues to work at the craft he loves. Taylor has a difficult time understanding this man who has always seemed to be content with so little.
Shortly after his arrival home, Taylor learns that his mother, who abandoned the family when he was a young boy, is returning home, hoping to reconcile with her family. His father is ready to warmly receive her, but Taylor is still angry and hurt at his mother’s desertion and is not ready to forgive her.
As he works to make sense of and come to terms with his past, Taylor meets Jillian, an American feminist professor who is new in the area. She and her twelve year old son Wade are also trying to start a new life and leave a difficult past behind.
As Taylor tells his story and works on a path of self discovery, he remains the ego centric, self-absorbed hero wounded by love. It is hard to write a story about rock and roll music and the world of drugs that surrounds it without falling into a few clichés. Throw in a little surfing and you have the complete dysfunctional world of LA. But Choyce does present Taylor as a likeable character we care about, even though his journey is not unusual.
The other characters, including a physically and mentally damaged former guitar player who headed a band, stayed home and screwed up his life are well done. But Taylor’s father Horace seems too patient a man to be true. And the academic Jillian, aggressive and hard when we first meet her, softens quickly and rather inconsistently with the character of an ardent feminist.
But the strength of the novel lies not in the characters or the plot, but in Choyce’s ability to paint the maritime landscape of water, rocks, trees and boats. It is where his writing really shines.
This is one of Choyce’s earlier novels and not one of my favourites.
Readers familiar with his work will easily see how much his craft has improved, not only in terms of his writing but in his choice of subject as well.
March 18, 2015
Lesley Choyce Cold Clear Morning 3/7/15-3/10/15 4****
Taylor Colby and his wife, restless Laura, had grown up together in the fishing village (that had been fished out), Nickerson Harbour, Nova Scotia. His mother had abandoned his faithful, stable Dad and him when he was 10?), leaving an angry, hurt boy. Taylor and Colby moved out west and got involved in the social, drug, carpe diem culture, as Taylor became a famous guitarist in the rock culture of Hollywood. Laura died of an overdose, and Taylor escaped to his roots, only to find complications at home. A beautiful, sad, secular depiction of grief, guilt, and forgiveness. How I wish they had Christ to help them know God’s grace, comfort, and His ways of dealing with these profound issues of life.
Taylor Colby and his wife, restless Laura, had grown up together in the fishing village (that had been fished out), Nickerson Harbour, Nova Scotia. His mother had abandoned his faithful, stable Dad and him when he was 10?), leaving an angry, hurt boy. Taylor and Colby moved out west and got involved in the social, drug, carpe diem culture, as Taylor became a famous guitarist in the rock culture of Hollywood. Laura died of an overdose, and Taylor escaped to his roots, only to find complications at home. A beautiful, sad, secular depiction of grief, guilt, and forgiveness. How I wish they had Christ to help them know God’s grace, comfort, and His ways of dealing with these profound issues of life.
June 29, 2015
The same love of the Nova Scotia sea that infused Driving Minnie's Piano comes through beautifully in this novel about people leaving, people left, and how they all strive to repair damage to troubled relationships. Some beautiful love scenes of the most innocent kind between young Taylor Colby and Laura, and some extremely tense scenes too, arising from the more hostile side of the sea's potential.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews