The Republic of Nothing
Reader's Guide Edition
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Goose Lane Editions
Published:1st Feb '07
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
Winner, Dartmouth Book Award
Shortlisted, Atlantic Booksellers Choice Award
A small Canadian island declares its independence to the world and benign anarchy reigns. A god-like ocean deposits many a thing, yet it also takes away. The 1960s blaze off shore and draw the island's inhabitants into politics, the Vietnam War, and the peace movement.
Sound impossible? Not on Whalebone Island, AKA the Republic of Nothing. Where else can a dead circus elephant, a long-dead Viking, the discovery of uranium, a raven-haired castaway who may be psychic, an anarchist turned politician, and refugees fleeing from the United States all be part of everyday life? Where else is eccentricity embraced with such open arms?
In this new readers' guide edition, complete with an afterword by Neil Peart, Lesley Choyce's novel about resilience, independence, and anarchy comes alive, leading readers to discover once again that everything is nothing and nothing is everything.
"A little gem of a story that should be granted its appropriate label as a Canadian version of [Salman Rushdie's] Midnight's Children." * Montreal Gazette *
"The Republic of Nothing is an unpredictable universe ... It's this unpredictability that makes the novel a success." * Calgary Herald *
"The Republic of Nothing definitely has something to it." * FFWD *
"The Republic of Nothing is the product of a sprawling and original literary imagination, bustling with colourful and sympathetic characters, bursting with fanciful incident, and propelled by a relentless narrative drive. It is, quite simply, a good read." * Pottersfield Portfolio *
"If you need a little Zen in your life, The Republic of Nothing is a good way to learn to extricate yourself from the beaten path and find the wonder of nothingness." * Brunswickan *
"Don't miss The Republic of Nothing." * Guardian *
"The Republic of Nothing weaves an intricate, sometimes hilarious, sometimes tragic narrative." * Daily Gleaner *
"The Republic of Nothing ... stamps the eccentricity of the rugged Eastern Shore in a reader’s mind forever." * Atlantic Books Today *
- Winner of Dartmouth Book Award 1995 (Canada)
- Short-listed for Atlantic Booksellers' Choice Award 1995 (Canada)
ISBN: 9780864924933
Dimensions: 216mm x 140mm x 25mm
Weight: 452g
382 pages
Reader's Guide