Downriver Drift

Lisa Rohlmann is a former business owner in Shelburne, Ontario.

Tim Bowling, the author of three collections of poetry, grew up in the
Vancouver area and worked for years as a deckhand on a gill-netter,
fishing salmon on the Fraser River. Downriver Drift, his first novel,
explores the world of a West Coast fishing village and its dependence on
the Pacific salmon for its survival.

The Mawson family makes a living solely from the fish they catch and
sell to the cannery. The challenges they face extend well beyond hard
work and long hours. Mrs. Mawson suffers from depression brought on by
grief for her stillborn son.

When the village’s fishermen go on strike demanding more pennies per
pound for their fish, everyone suffers. The town’s new economic
climate—one of greed and poverty-level wages—threatens to undermine
its traditional way of life. Worker is pitted against worker, and in the
case of the Mawson family, son against father and brother against
brother. As events unfold, the story builds to a startling climax.

Downriver Drift leaves the reader tense with expectation that any
moment some deep mystery will reveal itself, some awful calamity will
strike, some horrible crime will be committed. Behind all the suspense
is an eye-opening glimpse into the harsh existence of the commercial
angler.