Winner of the McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award
“Tonic for the spirit: a charming, deeply moving, unerringly human story, perfectly shaped and beautifully told.” —The Globe and Mail

From the author of Women Talking—now an Academy Award-winning film starring Claire Foy, Rooney Mara, Frances McDormand, and Jessie Buckley

Life in Winnipeg didn’t go as planned for Knute and her daughter. But living back in Algren with her parents and working for the longtime mayor, Hosea Funk, has its own challenges: Knute finds herself mixed up with Hosea’s attempts to achieve his dream of meeting the Prime Minister—even if that means keeping the town’s population at an even 1,500. Bringing to life small–town Canada and all its larger–than–life characters, A Boy of Good Breeding is a big–hearted, hilarious novel about finding out where you belong.

Miriam Toews is the author of two previous award-winning novels, Summer of My Amazing Luck and A Boy of Good Breeding, as well as the memoir Swing Low: A Life. She contributes frequently to CBC Radio, National Public Radio, and the New York Times Magazine, and has received a gold medal in the National Magazine Awards for humour.

Miriam Toews' profile page

Praise for A Boy of Good Breeding

Winner of the McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award

"It’s hard to read these charming tall tales and not root for the young Miriam Toews." —The New York Times

"A Boy of Good Breeding caught me at the throat, made me laugh and weep with sad–sweet joy . . . [The characters] get under your skin, and finally, it seems, into your very blood, where they quicken the heart . . . Tonic for the spirit: a charming, deeply moving, unerringly human story, perfectly shaped and beautifully told." —The Globe and Mail

"Reading [Toews] is like climbing into a fizzy bath of lunatic humour . . . Buried in the mysteries of parenthood, love and death are at least a couple of home truths." —Toronto Star

"An earnest, sweet–tempered narrative." —Kirkus Reviews

"[A] sweet, funny novel full of memorable, picaresque characters and unexpected drama." —Publishers Weekly