BooksCanada Reads 2018

The Boat People

Canadian hospitality towards refugees comes under scrutiny in novelist Sharon Bala's debut The Boat People.

Sharon Bala

CBC Books Posted: Jan 03, 2018 10:47 AM EST | Last Updated: December 27, 2018

A book cover of blue writing among the waves.

The Boat People by Sharon Bala was defended by Mozhdah Jamalzadahon Canada Reads 2018.The winner of Canada Reads 2018 was Forgiveness by Mark Sakamoto, which was defended by Jeanne Beker.

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By the winner of The Journey Prize, and inspired by a real incident, The Boat People is a gripping and morally complex novel about a group of refugees who survive a perilous ocean voyage to reach Canada only to face the threat of deportation and accusations of terrorism in their new land.

When the rusty cargo ship carrying Mahindan and 500fellow refugees reaches the shores of British Columbia, the young father is overcome with relief: he and his six-year-old son can finally put Sri Lanka's bloody civil war behind them and begin new lives. Instead, the group is thrown into prison, with government officials and news headlines speculating that hidden among the "boat people" are members of a terrorist militia infamous for suicide attacks. As suspicion swirls and interrogation mounts, Mahindan fears the desperate actions he took to survive and escape Sri Lanka now jeopardize his and his son's chances for asylum.

Told through the alternating perspectives of Mahindan; his lawyer Priya, who reluctantly represents the migrants; and Grace, a third-generation Japanese-Canadian adjudicator who must decide Mahindan's fate, The Boat People is a high-stakes novel that offers a deeply compassionate lens through which to view the current refugee crisis. Inspired by real events, with vivid scenes that move between the eerie beauty of northern Sri Lanka and combative refugee hearings in Vancouver, where life and death decisions are made, Sharon Bala's stunning debut is an unforgettable and necessary story for our times.(From McClelland & Stewart)

Watch the book trailer

The Boat People Trailer

6 years ago

0:46

Canada Reads trailer for Sharon Bala's The Boat People.

From the book

Mahindan was flat on his back when the screaming began, one arm right-angled over his eyes. He heard the whistle and thud of falling artillery, the cries of the dying. Mortar shells and rockets, the whole world on fire.

Then another sound. It cut through the clamor so that for a drawn-out second there was nothing else, only him and his son and the bomb that arched through the sky with a shrill banshee scream, spinning nose aimed straight for them. Mahindan fought to open his eyes. His limbs were pinned down and heavy. He struggled to move, to call out in terror, to clamber and run. The ground rumbled. The shell exploded, shard of hot metal spitting in its wake. The tent was rent in helf. Mahindan jolted awake.

From The Boat People by Sharon Bala2018. Published by McClelland& Stewart.

Panellist interviews

Watch the 2018 Canada Reads panellists & authors in conversation with Gill Deacon

7 years ago

1:07:45

The Canada Reads defenders and authors took the stage in Toronto to discuss the five books that will be championed on CBC's battle of the books from March 26-29, 2018. Here and Now's Gill Deacon hosted the event in the Glenn Gould Studio.

Author interviews

**The Canada Reads 2018 contenders**

Mozhdah Jamalzadah, defendingThe Boat PeoplebySharon Bala
Tahmoh Penikett, defendingAmerican WarbyOmar El Akkad
Greg Johnson, defendingPrecious CargobyCraig Davidson
Jeanne Beker, defendingForgivenessbyMark Sakamoto
Jully Black, defendingThe Marrow ThievesbyCherie Dimaline