About the Book
Tall tales of coastal adventures, colourful locals, privileged tourists, and elusive fish abound in this hilariously offbeat sequel to The Codfish Dream.
“David Giblin is a marvellous storyteller.”—Ian Ferguson, author of The Survival Guide to British Columbia
David Giblin’s stint as a seasonal salmon fishing guide on Stuart Island provides a seemingly endless supply of hilarious and bizarre stories that reveal as much about the quirkiness of small coastal communities as they do about human nature itself. Now, in his second book of short interconnected stories set in the 1980s, Giblin introduces us to Gilly, the first female fishing guide to grace the tiny island, whose mere presence is enough to shake the foundations of the very insular, all-male guiding community. With the return of delightfully eccentric characters including VOP, Troutbreath, Lucky Peterson, and Wet Lenny, this rollicking maritime adventure will appeal to anyone who ever gutted a fish and lived to tell the tale.
About the Author(s)
David Giblin worked for fifteen years as a salmon fishing guide at Stuart Island, roughly forty miles east of Campbell River—a fertile environment for the incubation of great fishing stories. He is a visual artist and the author of The Codfish Dream, which as an unpublished manuscript was a finalist in the Cedric Literary Awards in the creative non-fiction category.
Reviews
“A delightful and entertaining tale which captures our (often eccentric) West Coast Island communities complete with gum boots, pot plants, fish gutting, wood stoves and salty blustery storms. Makes me want to get a fishing guide and go fishing!”
—Anny Scoones, bestselling author of Island Home: Out and About on Vancouver Island
“A winningly entertaining set of linked stories concerning the lives of fishing guides and their clients along the upper BC coast. The foibles of characters such as Baba, Troutbreath and the eponymous Gilly, along with the author’s understated dry humour, beg the question—what will they get up to next?”
—Don Hunter, Stephen Leacock Medal-shortlisted author of Spinner's Inlet and Return to Spinner's Inlet
"In Gilly the Ghillie, David Giblin provides more unique and charming stories that mythologise BC’s central coast landscape and make it feel like home to those who live and work there."
—The British Columbia Review
“You invite a handful of Very Important Writers to a large formal dinner to hear their stories. For some reason, a fishing guide is at the table, too. By dinner’s end, everyone is rolling around laughing at the guide’s stories. Ladies and gents, meet David Giblin, storyteller of Stuart Island ”
—Jamie Lamb, author of Christmas in Mariposa
“The lives of fishing guides on Stuart Island are every bit as complex, quirky, and turbulent as the tidal rapids and whirlpools they negotiate daily in search of enormous salmon. David Giblin’s engaging, often funny, tales effectively portray life on BC’s wild waters and remote islands.”
—Joy Davis author of Complicated Simplicity: Island Life in the Pacific Northwest
