Books with author Brian Doyle

It's 1945, almost Christmas, and Tommy - a.k.a. The Shadow - is on a mission to find out who beat up his best friend Sammy's father. Aunt Dottie says whoever beat up Mr. Rosenberg doesn't like Jewish people. Tommy lives in a rough, multiethnic neighborhood in Lowertown, Ottawa, where World War II has left its mark. When Sammy moves away after the assault, Tommy begins to see Angel Square through new eyes. In his quest to uncover the guilty party,Tommy learns more abvout the prejudices that define Angel Square and much of the world in postwar era. The closer Tommy gets to the culprit who attacked Sammy's dad, the more he begins to appreciate peace, tolerance, and the spirit of the Christmas season.

Winner of the IODE National Chapter Award, and a Horn Book Fanfare Top Ten List selection In this brillant and poetic novel, Brian Doyle returns to the Gatineau River near Ottawa, the world of his novels Up to Low and Uncle Ronald. Mary Ann Alice McCrank was named for the pretty church bell in the steeple of St. Martin's Church in the Martindale. She has the soul of a poet and Mickey McGuire Jr. is in love with her. Mary Ann Alice is passionately interested in many things, especially the geology of her part of the world. Her teacher, the wonderful Patchy Drizzle, shares her passion for rocks and fossils, many of which can be found along the river and in caves under the famous Paugan Falls. But a new project to dam the river at Low places rocks, fossils, falls as well as many farms in danger. The dam must go ahead. And, as with much technological change, it brings both benefits and tragedies to the community.

Winner of the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year Award Young Tommy and Baby Bridget, the girl with the trillium-shaped eyes, discover that living, healing and dying are not always what they seem. And they make that discovery with the help of a wonderful cast of characters, including Crazy Mickey, Frank and the Hummer. Award-winning author Brian Doyle spent the summers of his boyhood in the Gatineau Hills, the setting for Up to Low.

From the author of the award-winning The Sisters Brothers comes a dark, boozy, and hilarious tale from the LA underworld. A nameless barman tends a decaying bar in Hollywood and takes notes for a book about his clientele. Initially, he is morbidly amused by watching the regulars roll in and fall into their nightly oblivion, pitying them and their loneliness. In hopes of uncovering their secrets and motives, he establishes tentative friendships with them. He also knocks back pills indiscriminately and treats himself to gallons of Jameson's. But as his tenure at the bar continues, he begins to lose himself, trapped by addiction and indecision. When his wife leaves him, he embarks on a series of squalidly random sexual encounters and a downward spiral of self-damage and irrational violence. To cleanse himself and save his soul, he attempts to escape . . .

In the sequel to the award-winning Boy O'Boy, it's spring in post-World War II Ottawa and Martin O'Boy has finally found a true home with Grampa Rip. Martin's also found a job, working for the Pure Spring soft drink company. Best of all, he's in love with beautiful Gerty McDowell. But everything's not perfect. Martin lied to kindly Mr. Mirsky, Pure Spring's owner, to get the job. Grampa Rip's brain increasingly goes missing. There's that mysterious, yet oddly familiar, man in the park. There are also Martin's memories, the sudden appearance of famed Soviet defector Igor Gouzensko, and Martin's shady boss, Randy. And worst of all, Randy is robbing Gerty's grandfather, and he's forcing Martin to be his accomplice. Martin's happiness, sense of duty, and love for Gerty collide. Can he find his way through these dire developments? Brian Doyle's fast-paced plot and vivid characterizations, along with the lively colloquial dialogue and period detail, create a rich historical portrait that confirms the author's place as a master storyteller.

Spud Sweetgrass and his friends Connie Pan and Dink the Thinker are back. And this time Spud is in some frigid trouble. One morning Spud sees a terrible crime. And he can't get it out of his mind. Detective Kennedy wants him to tell her what he saw, but he's afraid of the man with the most beautiful hair in the world -- afraid for himself, and afraid for Connie Pan. How will Spud find his way our of the mess he's in? Another masterful book by award-winning author Brian Doyle, Spud in Winter combines rollicking humour, chilling mystery, and delight in human foibles.

Winner of the Governor General's Award and the Mr. Christie's Book Award In this award-winning paean to country life we find Hubbo O'Driscoll, whom we first met in Easy Avenue, now living in the lower Gatineau with his guardian aunt and uncle. When the local covered bridge -- home to a wayward ghost and her lovelorn postman -- is threatened by development, Hubbo must devise a strategy to save it.

Ryan’s dad is having a midlife crisis. He went away for the summer to try to work through his problems, leaving his family behind. Ryan’s mother decides to send Ryan to Peggy’s Cove, the most beautiful cove in the world, for the summer to stay with his Aunt Fay, who owns and operates a store there. Peggy’s Cove is all right, Ryan thinks, if it weren’t so small and crowded with tourists.Still, he manages to make friends. First, he befriends Drummer, a misfit. But hanging out with Drummer proves disastrous because it makes him behave in ways he never has before and gets him into trouble. Next, he finds friendship with fishermen Eddie and Wing Ding, who teach him how to fish. The time he spends with the two fishermen is the best moments of his visit. Even so, he still thinks of his father a lot and writes him a letter in hopes of getting his attention. After spending a summer apart, will their relationship ever be the same?

In Brian Doyle's first book, teenager Megan dreads making a road trip all the way across the country with her parents and younger brother Ryan. Her father's tendency to joke doesn't help. She'd rather stay home and be president of the Down with Boys Club any day. But she has no choice. She has to endure endless driving, being trapped in a car with her younger brother, and the great view of the transport trucks that box them in on all sides. But as the days go by Megan begins to change her mind. There are constant reports on the radio about forest fires across huge parts of the country. There is the old lady who owns a motel and is so glad to have the family stay there because the recent death of her husband has left her lonely and sad. There are the cute boys at a lakeside stop. All these experiences jumble together in her head. Love and death, family and friends, what matters and what doesn't, fill her mind as the vast country unrolls before the windows. Will a final confrontation with her father drive Megan over the edge?