Boy

by Brent van Staalduinen

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Pub Date Oct 20 2020 | Archive Date Aug 03 2020

Dundurn Press

General Fiction (Adult) | Literary Fiction

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Description

WINNER of the Kerry Schooley Book Award

A story as magical as it is real, that asks, if you could stop and restart time for a second chance, would you?

Boy’s final year of high school is unraveling. Fast. He had it all worked out, from crushing his final exams to military school to a career in the air force. But his family’s tragic past and its complicated present have caught up to him, and his marks are slipping, jeopardizing all of his plans.

When Boy befriends Mara, a homeless man who can seemingly stop and restart time at will, he has to weigh his family’s needs and his own conscience against the potential contained within Mara’s mysterious and powerful gift. And he soon realizes the hardest truths about time: the past can’t be undone, memories are as fragile as moments, and the future rarely turns out like we think it will.

Advance Praise

"Exquisite … Boy is a perfectly compelling protagonist. " — Miriam Toews, author of Women Talking

"Boy is evocative and heartfelt, containing a spark of magic and an achingly real protagonist. " — Ellen Keith, author of The Dutch Wife
"A mesmerizing coming of age story that manages to be both magical and intensely real. Boy takes readers on a journey of personal growth in the face of at-times frightening and mysterious obstacles. Pressures in Boy’s life multiply. His family and friends aren’t always there to be relied upon. His plans for the future are darkened with doubt. But for all the very real challenges — as well as those that seem to emerge from a shadowy world beyond — Boy finds always the dignity, the essential decency he needs to continue. " — Timothy Taylor, author of The Rule of Stephens