he is a cannery operator readying for the ultimate salmon run up the Fraser River. His competitors dislike and mistrust him though, and are determined to drive him out of the business and off the coast entirely. Baird travels to the lower mainland to assist his long-lost friend; here is the second part of the novel interspersed with flashbacks to their previous existence. Bowling writes brilliantly about
the horrors of the war; the story breaks down somewhat in the aftermath of the conflict and the passage of time. Dare is absent on Baird’s arrival so the latter, by necessity, has to get to know and exist with some of the very men who want his friend gone. While the descriptions of the west
coast in the 1880’s and its fishing harvest ring true – the competitive nature, the bounty and rawness of a lawless industry - Bowling falters slightly when bringing everything to a head with Dare’s eventual return. Subplots involving spiritualists and illness, intertwined with Dare’s past life as a slave and the raison d’etre for his and Baird’s initial coming together, result in unnecessary complexity when there needs to be clear climactic resolve. The end result is somewhat
dissatisfying. Dare is forced to leave but ultimately prevails; Baird seems overwhelmed by it all. Bowling is an award-winning
poet first and foremost. It shows in his fourth novel. Descriptively, The Tinsmith is stunning in its often- horrific imagery, beautiful in its depictions of the many issues at play – war, slavery, identity, belonging. Where it falls down somewhat is
in its ultimate execution. The story’s climax seems less than complete, as if the many strands aren’t quite tied together satisfactorily. It’s a bit of a shame - the strong concept and theme, to say nothing of the wonderfully descriptive writing throughout Bowling’s novel, are undermined by an ending that could have been clearer and stronger.
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