A PLACE TO BE ME

A man grappling with an early midlife crisis finds belonging in an unexpected place in Allan’s novel.

In 1995, 34-year-old Phil Gower is out of work, his bank account is shrinking, and he’s crashing with distant relatives in Vancouver, where he’s overstayed his welcome. When Gower answers an ad seeking a principal for the Cothbert House School—formerly a private institution north of Squamish that closed in the ’80s and is in serious disrepair—he doesn’t have high hopes. He meets with gruff Harriet T. Hunter, also known as “the Major,” who served in the Canadian military and intends to open an ESL school for international students. Though the gig feels like a “last resort,” Gower accepts the job, only to encounter a mountain of setbacks. The Major constantly barks orders and she’s very tight-fisted (“When it comes to her money, she’s as tight as a drum and she doesn’t trust anyone”), squawking over having to pay for renovations and supplies, while the incessant griping of colleague Harrison Tweedsmuir is an energy drain. Much of the story centers around preparations, hiring staff, and attracting students from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan. Among them is Thomas “Kanga” Kang, an autistic child with a kangaroo obsession, and the gifted but temperamental Byung-ju Lim. Financial hurdles threaten the school; the Major accidentally shoots herself in the foot while attempting to scare off pesky raccoons; and two students report seeing a ghost wearing a pink robe. Allan’s writing is crisp, and his descriptive passages about the area’s natural surroundings are particularly vivid: “A soft mist hovered above the ground, punctuated by enormous red cedar trees,” he writes. “Flashes of forest green peaked through, revealing moss and lacy ferns growing over a rocky terrain.” Unfortunately, the narrative’s central concerns—the school’s viability and Gower’s growing connection to it—never heat up past a lukewarm state, and while Gower proves to be a solid leader, readers don’t really learn what makes him tick.

A meandering story, though not without its charms.