In this brilliant existential portrayal of identity, David Bergen introduces Esther Maile, an expat American living in Thailand in a house rented by the richer, more popular Christine. While on holiday in Bali, Christine is caught by an ocean wave and drowns. Esther rushes to save her, but in the chaos that ensues, the police arrive and confuse Esther for Christine.For someone who would prefer to be anyone but herself, this is the perfect solution — no matter the consequences. When...

From the Giller Prize–winning author of the #1 bestseller The Age of Hope, a thoughtful, tender, often wry novel of growing up and falling in loveIn the small Alberta town of Tomorrow, young Arthur yearns for a larger life. His father loves horses and good books, while his mother follows practicality and her faith. Bev, his rough-edged brother, chooses action over thought. Arthur lives among them—intelligent, curious, romantic and at odds with his surround...

When Morris Schutt, a prominent newspaper columnist, surveys his life over the past year, he sees disaster everywhere. His son has just been killed in Afghanistan and his newspaper has put him on indefinite leave; his psychiatrist wife, Lucille, seems headed for the door; he is strongly attracted to Ursula, the wife of a dairy farmer from Minnesota; and his daughter appears to be having an affair with one of her professors. The Matter with Morris is an unforgettable story with a v...

When Johnny Fehr, a down-on-his-luck feed supply salesman, thinks about Lorraine, his lover, it’s like the Holy Spirit tickling his spine. But Johnny is already married to Charlene. If only he could be a better person and stop hurting the people he loves. In this richly layered novel, David Bergen depicts the small prairie town of Lesser, where everybody’s private moments become public knowledge.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2020 SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE • A NEW YORK TIMES NEW & NOTEWORTHY BOOK • A GLOBE AND MAIL TOP 100 BOOK FOR 2020 • A CBC BEST FICTION BOOK FOR 2020 • "His third appearance on the Giller shortlist ... affirms Bergen among Canada's most powerful writers. His pages light up; all around falls into darkness."—2020 Scotiabank Giller Prize Jury • “David Bergen’s command is breathtaking … His work belongs to the world, and to all time. He is one of our l...

Longlisted, Scotiabank Giller PrizeViolence is the domain of both the rich and poor. Or so it seems in early 20th-century Ukraine during the tumult of the Russian Revolution.As anarchists, Bolsheviks, and the White Army all come and go, each claiming freedom and justice, David Bergen embeds his readers into the lives of characters connected through love, family, and loyalty. Lehn, a bookseller south of Kiev, deserts the army and writes poetry to his love ba...

In search of love, absolution, or forgiveness, Charles Boatman leaves the Fraser Valley of British Columbia and returns mysteriously to Vietnam, the country where he fought twenty-nine years earlier as a young, reluctant soldier. But his new encounters seem irreconcilable with his memories.When he disappears, his daughter Ada, and her brother, Jon, travel to Vietnam, to the streets of Danang and beyond, to search for him. Their quest takes them into the heart of a country that is a...

From Giller prizewinning author of The Time in Between and Canada Reads finalist for The Age of Hope comes a stirring tale that lays bare the bonds of motherhood, revealing just how far a mother will go to reclaim her stolen child.Íso, a young Guatemalan woman, works at a fertility clinic at Ixchel, in the highlands of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas. She tends to the rich northern women who visit the clinic hoping that the waters of the nearby lake ...

Born in 1930 in a small town outside Winnipeg, beautiful Hope Koop appears destined to have a conventional life. Church, marriage to a steady young man, children—her fortunes are already laid out for her, as are the shiny modern appliances in her new home. All she has to do is stay with Roy, who loves her. But as the decades unfold, what seems to be a safe, predictable existence overwhelms Hope. Where—among the demands of her children, the expectations of her husband and the challenges of ...

Winner, McNally Robinson Book of the Year AwardOne of 49th Shelf's Books of the YearIn Out of Mind, David Bergen delves into the psyche of Lucille Black, mother, grandmother, lover, psychiatrist, and analyst of self, who first appeared in Bergen’s bestselling novel The Matter with Morris. Although adept at probing the lives of others, Lucille has become untethered, caught between duty and desire, between the demands of family and h...

With bonus features--insights, interviews and more!When Morris Schutt, a prominent newspaper columnist, surveys his life over the past year, he sees disaster everywhere. His son has just been killed in Afghanistan and his newspaper has put him on indefinite leave; his psychiatrist wife, Lucille, seems headed for the door; he is strongly attracted to Ursula, the wife of a dairy farmer from Minnesota; and his daughter appears to be having an affair with one of her professors...

Bestselling novelist David Bergen follows his Scotiabank Giller Prize—winning The Time in Between with a haunting novel about the clash of generations — and cultures.In 1973, outside of Kenora, Ontario, Raymond Seymour, an eighteen-year-old Ojibway boy, is taken by a local policeman to a remote island and left for dead.A year later, the Byrd family arrives in Kenora. They have come to stay at “the Retreat,” a commune run by the self-styled guru Doctor Amos....