Twenty-five years after the Great War, John Maclean is still struggling to carve out a meaningful existence in his small New Brunswick hometown.

One late summer day he embarks on a seemingly prosaic search for a little money, a little booze, and a birthday gift for his mother. But he’s haunted by memories—of war, of his cruel father, of opportunities wasted and lost—and each moment is shadowed by his bleak history. Shell-shocked and alcoholic, Maclean is divided between a lonely present and a violent past.

With clean and evocative prose, author Allan Donaldson exquisitely depicts a shattered war veteran’s search for peace. New edition.

Allan Donaldson was born in Taber, Alberta, but grew up in Woodstock, New Brunswick. He studied English literature at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) and the University of London, and he spent a teaching career in the English department at UNB. He is also the author of a book of short stories, Paradise Siding, and a novel, The Case Against Owen Williams. He lives in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Allan Donaldson's profile page

• Short-listed, Rogers Writers Trust Fiction Prize