All the Bears Sing: Stories

by Harold Macy

Harold Macy’s story collection highlights the particular magic of the West Coast, reflecting on how we both shape—and are shaped by—the land we inhabit.

Whether he’s chronicling first-growth fallen monarchs sprawled on a steep slope up-coast, the brassy orchestra of trumpeter swans, or the ecstasy of a smokejumper’s fall from the sky, Harold Macy contemplates the beauty of all that British Columbia has to offer with graceful lyricism and appreciation for the natural world.

It is the human ties to the land that shine in Macy’s stories: everyday fishermen and loggers, gardeners and wildland firefighters, rock blasters and island homesteaders. From the rich bounty of the glacial loam to the wondrous stands of Sitka spruce, BC’s natural landscape is as much a character in Macy’s tales as any person.

208 pages, Paperback

Published November 5, 2022

About the author

Harold Macy is a farmer and forester based in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island. In his long career in the woods, he has been a silviculture contractor, fought wildfires and had rain in his lunch pail while heli-logging in the mid-coast inlets.

His work has appeared in PRISM International, The Malahat Review, Orion, The Broken City, Rhubarb and others.In 2011, his non-fiction book, The Four Storey Forest: As Grow the Trees, So Too the Heart, was published by Poplar Publishing.

San Josef is his first novel.

Reviews

[Eva · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the Bears Sing by Harold Macy - 3.5 ⭐️

After breathing nothing but city smoke for the past three months this book was exactly what I needed. All the Bears Sing is a collection of short stories that take place primarily in rural British Columbia Canada and let me tell you, Macy's description of setting? Crazy good. So much so the land of BC comes alive while I sit in cafe’s reading about rangers fighting fires and blue collar workers trying to make a living.

The reason why this isn’t a five star review though is that to really enjoy Macy’s stories you have to have a decent knowledge in construction, rural living, and Canadian colloquialism. While I am Canadian, I’m juts a teenage girl, so when he mentions common terms about logging, fire taming, and even geology I get lost. Also, I don’t really love anthologies and this felt kinda hard to get through but that has nothing to do with Macy’s writing.

I did have some favorite stories though. My top three were “Unclipped” “Beyond Yuquot” and unsurprisingly “All the Bears Sing”. Honestly, If you’re from BC, a fan of trees, or know someone who happens to be a fire ranger then I think you would like this book! Sadly I don't think Macy wrote this for a nineteen year old girl who likes to spend her time buying over-priced coffee in cute cafés. Oh well!

[VT Dorchester · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read about half of this collection of short stories, set on Vancouver Island and the coast. They seem nice. But also in a bit of an older style - I wonder if this collection is drawn from a prolonged period of work? Some of the stories seem to be set in a time previous to the new millennium. There's nothing wrong with that, but I was looking for more current stories -perhaps also looking for something a little less mainstream Canadiana nice. I did like the line about Victoria being filled with refugees from Winnipeg, that truism made me smile.

[Vontel · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a treat, and a from a Vancouver Island/British Columbia/Canadian author! I haven't read anything previously by Harold Macy, and am usually not much of a short story reader. It's a delight to read, and what a cast of characters and settings. I highly recommend this book.

[Anne Farrer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great read. Juicy, vivid morsels of stories told as if sitting around a table in the Legion. A little lumpy at times but so awesome to read stories about places, people and predicaments that you recognize.

[Deryck Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't usually read a lot of fiction or short stories, but this collection hit all the right buttons. It's full of memorable, yet ordinary, characters that could be your next door neighbour. #ReadCanadian and read this book.