Title: The Republic of Nothing Author: Lesley Choyce
Publish Date: February 2007
Publisher: Goose Lane Editions
Pages: 382pp
IBSN: 0864924933
Classification: Fiction
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Annotation: On the birth of his son, Ian, Everett McQuade, an Anarchist, proclaims Whalebone Island in Nova Scotia an independent republic.
Plot Summary: It’s the early 1950s on Whalebone Island in Nova Scotia and Everett MacQuade has marked the birth of his son, Ian, by declaring the island's independence. Whalebone is place of independent fishers, children whom have never had a formal education, pioneers of equal rights, and refugees from the city. Ian is at a point in his life where he is questioning his parents—his mother Dorothy, whom had suffered some sort of amnesia from her early life and has an uncanny sense of perception and his father Everett, whom is politically inclined. This leaves Ian wondering if anarchy is good for Whalebone.
Personal Response: What a ride this story was. From circus elephants and exotic furniture washing up on shore to refugees from the outside world settling in to live in a place of peace during time when peace was somewhat scarce (1960s, Vietnam war, atom bomb, etc.), The Republic of Nothing offers readers an in-depth look into the political rights and wrongs as well as the internal rights and wrongs.
~Reader’s Advisory~
Themes: Political and philosophical. Coming of Age.
Age Range: 12 and up
Subjects: Family, Friendship, Love, Relationships, Politics, Anarchy, Resilience, Independence
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