National Network for Equitable Library Service

Longtime fisherman and Sointula resident Jon Taylor dishes up hilarious yarns from his life off northern Vancouver Island. Capturing the "rough but reasonable" freedom of Malcolm Island, Taylor recounts the bizarre but enticing lifestyle of a fisherman and his remote community—"haywire tightwads" for skippers, rotten fish in the hold that become "three thousand humpies in a warm, pink soup," and the kind of integrity you don't often see. His family history on Malcolm Island extends back to 1917, when his Finnish grandparents planned to move to Sointula to live among fellow expats who shared a language and a dream. However, upon seeing the island, they promptly changed their minds and moved to Cuba. Taylor himself moved to Malcolm Island in 1976 and became a steadfast resident, embracing the fishboat life—aboard seiners, gillnetters, and his own troller. He captures a classic but now-disappearing way of life in its heyday with vibrant and amusing vignettes.