The Time of the Kingfishers

Stan Chung teaches English at the College of New Caledonia in Prince
George, B.C.

This quietly comedic novel of manners beautifully evokes the sexual mood
of the 1960s. Its marvelously witty and articulate gay narrator recalls
a Vancouver that is at once innocent and culpable. The novel’s chief
strength lies in its intelligent, sharply observed, characters, who are
revealed through often-brilliant satirical dialogue. I marveled often at
the author’s ability to create character through dialogue—a lost art
among many less-talented but more famous novelists. Watmough’s
literary skills elevate this novel above most, especially those
attempting to deal with social conventions.