Lesley Choyce

Lesley Choyce has been a mainstay on the Atlantic Canadian literary scene for decades. The author of 100 books, he has written and published in every genre imaginable. He has won and been shortlisted for numerous regional and national literary awards, operates a publishing house, held teaching positions at Dalhousie University and other institutions, and worked as a television presenter. He is an environmentalist, a humanitarian, a surfer, a husband and father, and a tireless advocate for show more Atlantic Canadian writing and writers. Though a Canadian citizen since 1983, he is American born, having emigrated to Canada in his late twenties and adopted Nova Scotia as his home. These details are relevant when considering Saltwater Chronicles: Notes on Everything Under the Nova Scotia Sun, which collects newspaper columns he wrote over the period from 2014-2017. Lesley Choyce candidly and unapologetically mines his own life experience for material, and the stories he tells in these pieces are, without exception, entertaining, instructive, poignant and filled with wry observations and self-deprecating humour. Family life, home improvement, government incompetence, surfing, chopping wood, drilling wells, struggles with illness and physical decline, are all up for discussion. The word “chronicles” from the book’s title hints at a preoccupation with the passage of time, and a theme that he returns to again and again is aging. A New Jersey native, born in 1951, Lesley arrived in Nova Scotia in 1978: an educated, inquisitive, idealistic young man with long hair and few possessions looking to escape the clamorous pressure-cooker of life in urban USA. Those days might be long gone, but Lesley retains that idealism, that love of and respect for nature, and the wide-eyed faith in the essential goodness of humanity that spurred him on his quest more than 40 years ago and sustained him through good times and bad. In Saltwater Chronicles he talks freely about the past but does so without regret. For sure, some of the articles strike a nostalgic note, but Lesley is accepting: he does not obsess over lost opportunities and he never complains about getting old. The most vivid and deeply affecting writing in the book concerns family: the death of his father, his wife’s bout with cancer. These episodes provide glimpses into the man’s heart and soul, and what we see is someone who is generous, loving and kind, and whose greatest wish is to leave the world a better place. We are fortunate and should be thankful that in 1978 Lesley Choyce chose to make Nova Scotia his home. Everyone who knows him, or been influenced by or learned from him, would agree that his abiding good humour, optimism and compassion have made Nova Scotia a better place to live, work and write. show less

The story of a young man who is judged and sentenced partly based on "assumptions and judgement" is a touching and scary story.

Lesley Choyce chooses to write about a subject that is not often mentioned but makes for compelling reading. Indeed, Michael is young and looking for trouble - he meets Lisa and they begin a relationship - yet, how could such a relationship, with two such people survive? - it doesn't and Lisa ends up dead. Michael is the naturally accused, especially since he and show more Lisa had sex (of god!) prior to the murder. Michael gets sentenced and six months later, the real killer confesses.

This novel has so many different aspects going for it at the same time that I wasn't sure where to start. First of, I love the way Choyce does not make Michael out to be some kind of "poor little me'. We are actually privy to Michael's thoughts for most of the book, including at the beginning where he knows exactly (in my opinion) what he is getting into with Lisa. Michael WAS looking for trouble and found it.

Another aspect of this novel that I loved is the fact that Michael is primarly condemned because he was having sex with the victim!!!! There is an interesting sub-text about society and preconceived judgements here!

Finally, I really enjoyed the second part of the book where Michael is now released from prison and finds that although he is out of jail, he is still somehow locked up by again, the stigma of preconceived ideas from society in general.

This is an extremely thought provoking book and I loved it. No fluff here. show less

This is my third book by Lesley Choyce (so far) and my favourite. John Alex MacNeil is a 90 year old widow living in a small Cape Breton town. As the book opens, he believes he has just died, and willed himself back to life. And there is death himself sitting at the kitchen table. What unfolds is a wonderful story about personal connections, relationships and looking out for one another. Mr. Choyce deals with assisted dying, and aging generally with humour, compassion and grace. His show more characters are complex and well drawn. This was a great story, well told. show less

I always go into reading multiple author story collections with only moderate hopes for the quality and for the interest I will have in each story. So I was surprised and very pleased to enjoy every single one of these, most of which are by authors I haven’t read before, though I have heard of them. I have to confess that I do have a story in here myself, but I am not including it in my rating because that would seem a bit, well, prejudiced.

Lesley Choyce has done a great job with this show more selection. So glad to have this one on my shelf. show less