Canadian literature is as diverse (and far-reaching) as the country itself! This list of books set in Canada aims to capture this diversity and covers a wide range of genres. Below you’ll find everything from classics to contemporary fiction, written from all sorts of perspectives. 🇨🇦
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You are reading: Books set in canada
Perhaps the best known Canadian author is Margaret Atwood. His works like The Edible Woman, The Handmaid’s Tale (not set in Canada, but notable nonetheless!), The Cat’s Eye, Alias Grace, The Blind Assassin (my most recent read), and Oryx and Crake are included. next.
many notable authors also have several books set in canada listed below including l.m. Montgomery, Robertson Davies, Alice Munro, Carol Shields, Jane Urquhart, Barbara Gowdy, Gail Anderson-Dargatz, Ann-Marie Macdonald, Joseph Boyden, Kim Thuy, Richard Wagamese, and Miriam Toews.
I really hope you enjoy these books set in Canada and are transported to this vast country through literature. If you have any more book recommendations, please let me know in the comments below! 🙏
books set in canada: the short list
If you’re short on time, here are 10 notable picks from the much longer list below:
- Alice Munro’s Lives of Girls and Women, 1971
- Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale, 1985
- Sky Lee’s Vanishing Moon Cafe, 1991
- a complicated kindness by miriam toews, 2004
- the black book by lawrence hill, 2007
- well to a fault by marina endicott, 2008
- a tale for the time being by ruth ozeki, 2013
- all my little sorrows by miriam toews, 2014
- don’t say we don’t have anything by madeleine thien, 2016
- the boat people by sharon bala, 2018
books set in canada
1. white fang by jack london, 1905
White Fang is part dog and part wolf, and the sole survivor of his family. in his lonely world, he soon learns to follow the harsh law of the north: kill or be killed. But nothing in White Fang’s life can prepare him for the cruel owner who turns him into a ruthless killer. Will white fang ever know the kindness of a gentle master? see reviews
2. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. montgomery, 1908
As soon as Anne Shirley arrives at the cozy white cottage called Green Gables, she’s sure she wants to stay forever… but will the Cuthberts send her back to the orphanage? Anne knows she’s not what they expected: a skinny girl with fiery red hair and a temper to match. if she can only convince them to let her stay, she’ll try very hard not to keep rushing headlong into trouble and blurting out the first thing that pops into her head. Anne is not like the others, the Cuthberts agree; she is special, a girl with a huge imagination. note: this book is followed by eight other works in this series. see reviews
3. sunny sketches of a small town by stephen leacock, 1912
Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town is a sequence of stories by celebrated humorist Stephen Leacock. As funny, relevant, and insightful today as when it was first published more than a century ago, Sunny Sketches of a Small Town presents a vibrant and unforgettable portrait of the charming citizens of the fictional small town of Mariposa, Ontario. see reviews
4. the blue castle of l.m. montgomery, 1926
an unforgettable story of courage and romance. Will Valancy Stirling ever escape her strict family and find true love? Valancy Stirling is 29 years old, unmarried, and has never been in love. living with her overbearing mother and her nosy aunt, she finds her only solace in the “forbidden” books of john foster and her dreams of the blue castle, a place where all her dreams come true and can be who he really wants to be. see reviews
5. as for me and my house by sinclair ross, 1941
the city is skyline, the setting for sinclair ross’s brilliant classic study of life in the depression era. Critically acclaimed as one of Canada’s great novels, As for Me and My House takes the form of a diary. the author of an anonymous diary, one of the most complex and compelling characters in contemporary fiction, explores the bittersweet nature of human relationships, of the unspoken ties that bind people together and the currents of feeling that often drive them apart. see reviews
6. gabrielle roy’s tin flute, 1945
the tin pipe, the first novel by gabrielle roy, is a classic of canadian fiction. Imbued with Roy’s unique brand of compassion and captivating insight, this moving story centers on a family in Montreal’s Saint-Henri slums, their struggles to overcome poverty and ignorance, and their search for love. reviews
7. Mrs. microphone by benedict freedman, 1947
a touching love story set in the canadian wilderness, mrs. mike is a classic tale that has enchanted millions of readers around the world. Brings to life the fierce and breathtaking landscape of the Great North and tenderly evokes the love that blossoms between Sergeant Mike Flannigan and the beautiful young Katherine Mary O’Fallon. See Reviews
8. the apprenticeship of duddy kravitz by mordecai richler, 1959
duddy, the third generation of a jewish immigrant family in montreal, is combative, amoral, scheming, lying and totally funny. From his days on the street harassing the teachers at the Jewish Academy to his time working four jobs at once in a grand scheme to “be somebody,” Duddy learns about life, and the lesson is an outrageous roller coaster ride. through human comedy. see reviews
9. never cry wolf: the amazing true story of life among arctic wolves by farley mowat, 1963
Over half a century ago, naturalist farley mowat was sent to investigate why wolves were killing arctic caribou. Mowat’s account of the summer he lived alone on the frozen tundra, studying the wolf population and developing a deep affection for wolves (who posed no threat to caribou or to man), is celebrated today as a classic of the writing about nature, both a tale of remarkable adventures and an indelible record of the myths and magic of wolves. See reviews
10. the stone angel by margaret laurence, 1964
In her favorite novel, The Stone Angel, Margaret Laurence introduces Hagar Shipley, one of the most memorable characters in Canadian fiction. Headstrong, querulous, self-assured, and, at ninety, with her life almost behind her, Hagar Shipley takes one final bold step toward freedom and independence. this series is followed by the titles a joke of god, the inhabitants of the fire, a bird in the house and the fortune tellers. see opinions
11. beautiful losers by leonard cohen, 1966
One of the best-known experimental novels of the 1960s, Beautiful Losers is Cohen’s most challenging and uninhibited work. The novel centers on the hapless members of a love triangle united by their sexual obsessions and their fascination with Catherine Tekakwitha, the 17th-century Mohawk saint. See reviews
12. i heard the owl say my name by margaret craven, 1967
In a world that knows all too well the angst inherent in the clash between old ways and new lifestyles, Margaret Craven’s timeless classic story of a young man’s journey to the Pacific Northwest is as relevant today as ever. . Here, amidst the grandeur of British Columbia, is the town of Kingcome, a place of salmon and ancient totem poles, a town so steeped in time that, according to Kwakiutl legend, it was founded by two brothers left behind in the land after the great flood.see reviews
13. the edible woman by margaret atwood, 1969
marian is determined to be ordinary. she gently rests her head on the shoulder of her earnest fiancé and calmly awaits marriage. but she didn’t count on an inner rebellion that would shake her stable routine and her digestion. Fashionable marriage, Marian discovers, is something she literally can’t stand… The Edible Woman is a funny and engaging novel about emotional cannibalism, men and women, and the desire to be consumed. see reviews
14. fifth business by robertson davies, 1970
ramsay is a twice born man, a man who has returned from hell from the battle grave at passchendaele in world war one decorated with the victoria cross and destined to be trapped in a no man’s land where memory, history and clash of myths. As Ramsay tells his story, it seems that from childhood he has exerted a perhaps mystical, perhaps pernicious, influence on those around him. this book is followed by the manticore and the world of wonders.see reviews
15. lives of girls and women by alice munro, 1971
Alice Munro’s only novel, award-winning author of The Love of a Good Woman, is an insightful and honest book, “autobiographical in form but not in fact,” chronicling a young girl’s growth in rural Ontario. In the 1940s Del Jordan lives down the road from flats on his father’s fox farm, where his most frequent companions are an eccentric single family friend and his gruff younger brother. See reviews
16. the wars of timothy findley, 1977
Robert Ross, a sensitive nineteen-year-old Canadian officer, went to war, the war that would end all wars. he found himself in the nightmare world of trench warfare; of mud and smoke, of gaseous chlorine and decomposing corpses. In this world gone mad, Robert Ross performed one last desperate act to declare his commitment to life in the midst of death. note: this book starts out in canada, but then moves abroad. see reviews
17. obasan by joy kogawa, 1981
Obasan is the moving story of Japanese-Canadians during World War II, told through the eyes of a child. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, five-year-old Naomi’s life changes forever. Separated from her mother, she watches in bewilderment as she and her family become enemy aliens, persecuted and despised in her own land.
18. the wayward angels (the cornish trilogy #1) by robertson davies, 1981
Expelled monks, mad professors and wealthy eccentrics: an extraordinary cast stage Robertson Davies’ brilliant spectacle of theft, perjury, murder, scholarship and love at a modern university. just mr. Davies, author of Fifth Business, The Manticore and the World of Wonders, could have weaved his destinies with as much wit, humor, and wisdom. See Reviews
19. when janette’s heart calls oke, 1983
nothing in her educated education on the east coast prepared elizabeth for a teaching position on the canadian border. however, despite her constant difficulties, she loves the children in her care. Determined to do the best job she can and struggling to survive on the harsh land, Elizabeth is shocked to find her heart softening towards a certain member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. see reviews
20. the handmaid’s tale by margaret atwood, 1985
offred is a maid in the republic of gilead. she can leave the house of the commander and his wife once a day to walk to the food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because the women can no longer read. she must lie on her back once a month and pray that the commander makes her pregnant, because in a time of declining births, ofred and the other handmaidens are only valued if her ovaries are viable. note: this book is not set in canada, but was written by one of canada’s most notable authors, so it’s impossible not to include it on this list! see reviews
21. Gary Paulsen’s axe, 1986
brian is headed to canada to visit his estranged father when the pilot of his small plane suffers a heart attack. forced to crash-land the plane on a lake, brian finds himself stranded in the remote canadian wilderness with only his clothes and the ax his mother gave him as a gift before he left. see reviews
22. in the skin of a lion by michael ondaatje, 1987
Brimming with intelligence and resplendent with romance, this novel tests the boundary between history and myth. Patrick Lewis arrives in Toronto in the 1920s and makes a living searching for a missing millionaire and digging tunnels under Lake Ontario. In the course of his adventures, Patrick’s life intersects with that of the characters who reappear in the English patient, winner of the Ondaatje booker award. See reviews
23. cat’s eye by margaret atwood, 1988
cat’s eye is the story of elaine risley, a controversial painter who returns to toronto, the city of her youth, for a retrospective of her art. Wrapped in vivid images of the past, she recalls a trio of girls who introduced her to the fierce politics of childhood and her secret world of friendship, longing and betrayal. Elaine must come to terms with her own identity as daughter, lover, artist, and woman, but above all she must seek release from her haunting memories.
24. the sky is falling by kit pearson, 1989
It’s the summer of 1940 and all of England fears an invasion by Hitler’s army. norah lies in bed listening to the anxious voices of her parents below her. norah is then told that she and her brother, gavin, will be sent to canada. The journey across the ocean is exciting, but in the end, Norah is miserable. The rich woman who takes them in prefers Gavin to her, the kids at school make fun of her, and as the news from England gets worse, she longs for her home. see reviews
25. sky lee vanishing moon cafe, 1991
Sometimes funny, sometimes outrageous, always compelling, this extraordinary first novel follows the women of the Wong family from the frontier rail camps to modern-day Vancouver. As past sins and innate strengths are passed from mother to daughter to granddaughter, each generation faces, in its own way, the same issues: isolation, racism, and culture clash. See reviews
26. green grass, running water by thomas king, 1993
Strong, daring women and headstrong down-on-his-luck men, all searching for the middle ground between Native American lore and the modern world, perform an elaborate dance of approach and escape in this magical and hilarious tale by Cherokee author Thomas king. see reviews
27. the stone diaries of carol shields, 1993
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the stone diaries is the story of an ordinary woman about her journey through life. Born in 1905, Daisy Stone’s goodwill moves through the roles of child, wife, widow, and mother, and finally into her old age. Puzzled by her inability to understand her place in her own life, Daisy tries to find a way to tell her story within a novel that deals with the limitations of autobiography. View Reviews
28. away by jane urquhart, 1993
a dazzling and evocative novel set in ireland and canada, traces the complex and layered past of a family. The narrative unfolds with blazing clarity, taking us from the harsh coast of Northern Ireland in the 1840s to the quarantine stations on Grosse Island and the barely hospitable land of the Canadian Shield; From the booming city of Port Hope to the flooded streets of Montreal; from ottawa at the time of confederation to a house with large windows on the edge of a large lake today. see reviews
29. the shipping news by annie proulx, 1993
When Quoyle’s two-time wife meets his fair desert, he retreats with his two daughters to his ancestral home on the beautiful Newfoundland coast, where a rich cast of local characters and family members play a role. in quoyle’s fight to get his life back. See reviews
30. jade dewayson choy’s peony, 1995
chinatown, vancouver, in the late 1930s and 1940s, provides the backdrop for this poignant first novel, told through the vivid reminiscences of the three youngest children of a family of chinese immigrants . the brothers grapple with their individual identities in a changing world, wrenching autonomy from the constraints of history, family, and poverty. see reviews
31. barbara gowdy’s mr sandman, 1995
Barbara Gowdy’s scandalous, hilarious, disturbing and compassionate novel is about the Canarian family, their passions and unconscionable eccentricities, and their secret lives and histories. The deepest secret of all lies in the silence of the youngest daughter, Joan, who doesn’t grow up, who doesn’t speak, but who can play the piano like Mozart even though she’s never had a lesson.
32. the cure for death by lightning by gail anderson-dargatz, 1996
The Cure for Death by Lightning takes place in the poor and isolated farming community of Turtle Valley, British Columbia, in the shadow of World War II. the fifteenth summer of beth weeks life is full of strange happenings: a classmate is beaten to death; the children disappear in the nearby reservation; an unseen predator chases beth. she is surrounded by unusual characters, including nora, the sensual semi-indigenous girl whose friendship serves as her refuge; filthy billy, the journeyman with tourette syndrome; and nora’s mother, who has a male voice and an extra little finger. See reviews
33. aka grace by margaret atwood, 1996
It’s 1843 and Grace Marks has been convicted of her part in the cruel murders of her employer and his housekeeper and lover. some believe that grace is innocent; others think she is bad or crazy. Now serving a life sentence, Grace claims to have no recollection of the murders. An up-and-coming expert in the burgeoning field of mental illness is hired by a group of reformers and spiritualists seeking the forgiveness of grace. he listens to her story as he brings her closer and closer to the day he can’t remember. What will he find when trying to unlock his memories?See reviews
34. fall to your knees by ann-marie macdonald, 1996
They are the pipers of Cape Breton Island: a family immersed in lies and untold truths dating back to the past, always aware of the tragic secret that could tear the family to its foundations. falls to its knees, chronicling five generations of this eccentric clan, follows four remarkable sisters whose lives are filled with ambition, inescapable family ties, and forbidden love. Their experiences will take them from their storm-tossed homeland, through the battlefields of World War I, to the freedom and independence of Jazz Age New York City. See reviews
35. runaway pieces by anne michaels, 1996
In 1940, a young boy emerges from the mud of a war-torn Polish town, where he has buried himself to hide from the soldiers who murdered his family. his name is jakob beer. he is only seven years old. and while he by all rights should have shared the fate of the other jews from his village, he has not only survived but been rescued by a greek geologist, who doesn’t recognize the boy as human until he starts crying . With this electrifying image, Anne Michaels ushers us into her acclaimed novel about loss, memory, history, and redemption. Note: Only part of this novel is set in Toronto, Canada. see reviews
36. déjà dead by kathy reichs, 1997
his life is dedicated to justice; for those he didn’t even know. In the year since Temperance Brennan left behind a rocky marriage in North Carolina, work has often preempted her weekend plans to explore Quebec. When a meticulously dismembered female corpse is discovered hidden in garbage bags, Temperance detects an alarming pattern and plunges into a harrowing search for a killer. note: there are almost 20 other titles in this series. see reviews
37. wayne johnston’s colony of unrequited dreams, 1998
In 1949, Joseph Smallwood became the first Prime Minister of the newly federated Canadian province of Newfoundland. Predictably, and almost immediately, his name receded into the footnotes of the story. And yet, as Wayne Johnston makes clear in his epic and affectionate fifth novel, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, Smallwood’s life was adorably iconic, an example of an extraordinary man emerging at a propitious moment. see reviews
38. a recipe for bees by gail anderson-dargatz, 1998
In A Prescription for Bees, Gail Anderson-Dargatz offers readers a remarkable woman to stand alongside Hagar Shipley and Daisy Goodwin, but Augusta Olsen also has attitude, a funny bone, and the dubious gift of clairvoyance. At Ella’s home in Courtenay, B.C., Augusta eagerly awaits news of Ella’s beloved Ella’s son-in-law Gabe Ella, who will undergo brain surgery miles away in Victoria. see reviews
39. no big mischief by alistair macleod, 1999
Generations after their ancestors went into exile, Macdonalds still face seemingly utter hardships and cruelties in life. alexander, orphaned as a child by a horrible tragedy, has nonetheless achieved some success in the world. Even his older brother, Calum, a nearly destitute alcoholic living in the slums of Toronto, has been scarred by another tragedy. See Reviews
40. the blind assassin of margaret atwood, 2000
opens with these simple, resounding words: “ten days after the war ended, my sister fell off the bridge with a car.” It is spoken by Iris, whose succinct account of Ella’s sister Laura Ella’s death in 1945 is followed by an investigative report that proclaims the death accidental. But just when the reader expects to settle into Laura’s story, Atwood presents a novel within a novel. titled the blind assassin, it is a science fiction story told by two anonymous lovers who meet in gloomy rooms and street. when we return to iris, it is through a newspaper article from 1947 that she announces the discovery of a sailboat that was transporting the body of her husband, a distinguished industrialist. see reviews
41. monkey beach by eden robinson, 2000
Five hundred miles north of Vancouver is Kitamaat, an Indian reservation in the homeland of the Haisla people. Growing up a tough and wild tomboy, swimming, fighting and fishing in a remote town where the land slides into the green ocean at the edge of the world, Lisamarie has always been different. see reviews
42. mercy among children by david adams richards, 2000
When twelve-year-old Sidney Henderson pushes his friend Connie off the roof of a local church in a moment of anger, he makes a silent vow: Let Connie live and I will never harm another soul. At the same moment, Connie stands up, laughs, and walks away from her. Sydney keeps her promise into adulthood even though her rural island community uses her pacifism to exploit him. see reviews
43. timothy taylor stanley park, 2001
trained in france, jeremy papier, the young chef from vancouver, is becoming known for his unpretentious dishes that highlight fresh, local ingredients. His restaurant, Monkey’s Paw Bistro, while struggling financially, is attracting the attention of local foodies and is not lost on Dante Beale, owner of a successful chain of coffee shops, Dante’s Inferno. see reviews
44. the life of pi by yann martel, 2001
The Life of Pi is a fantasy adventure novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist, Piscine Molitor “Pi” Patel, a Tamil boy from Pondicherry, explores themes of spirituality and practicality from a young age. He survives 227 days after a shipwreck while stranded on a ship in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. note: only part of this novel takes place in canada, where the author lives. see reviews
45. bitten by kelley armstrong, 2001
Elena Michaels is the only werewolf in the world. and she’s tired of it. she is tired of a life dedicated to hiding and protecting herself, a life in which her most important job is hunting down rogue werewolves. tired of a world that not only accepts the worst of her, her temper, her violence, but requires it. worst of all is that she realizes that she is increasingly satisfied with that life, with being that person. so she left the pack and returned to toronto, where she is trying to live as a human. see reviews
46. unless by carol shields, 2002
reta winters, 44, a bestselling author of light summer fiction, has always considered herself happy, even blessed. That is, until her eldest daughter, Norah, mysteriously drops out of college to become a beggar on a Toronto street corner: silent, with a sign around her neck bearing the word “kindness.” See reviews
47. oryx and crake by margaret atwood, 2003
oryx and crake is both an unforgettable love story and a compelling vision of the future. Snowman, known as Jimmy before humanity was overwhelmed by a plague, struggles to survive in a world where he may be the last human being and mourns the loss of his best friend, Crake, and the beautiful and elusive Snowman. oryx whom they both loved. this series of books is followed by the year of the flood and maddaddam.see reviews
48. as the raven flies by ann-marie macdonald, 2003
Early 1960s optimism, infused with the excitement of the space race and the threat of the cold war, seeps through the rich imagination of spirited eight-year-old Madeleine, who is grateful for the fate of her family on a quiet air force base near the canadian border. Secure in love with her beautiful mother, she is unaware that her father, Jack, is caught in a web of secrets. See Reviews
49. barbara gowdy’s romantic, 2003
louise kirk learns about love and loss at a young age. When she is nine years old, her mother, a former beauty queen, disappears and leaves a note that she says only, and incorrectly, “Louise knows how to use the washing machine.” Soon after, the Richters and their adopted son, Abel, move across the street. Louise’s immediate devotion to the exotic and motherly mrs. Richter quickly transfers to her precociously intelligent, outdoorsy son. See Reviews
50. a complicated kindness by miriam toews, 2004
“half of our family, the prettier half, is missing,” nomi nickel tells us at the start of a complicated kindness. Left alone with her sad and quirky father, she spends her days piecing together why her mother and her sister have disappeared and contemplating her inevitable career at Happy Family Farms, a chicken slaughterhouse on the outskirts of East Village. . It’s not the town on the east side of New York City where Nomi would rather live, but rather an oppressive town founded by Mennonites on the cold, flat plains of Manitoba, Canada. See reviews
51. three days walk by joseph boyden, 2005
It’s 1919, and Niska, the last Oji-Cree woman living on the land, has received word that one of the two children she saw depart from the great war has returned. Xavier Bird, her only living relative, is seriously injured and addicted to morphine. As Niska slowly paddles her canoe on the three-day journey to bring Xavier home, traveling through the rugged but stunning landscape of Northern Ontario, their respective stories emerge: stories of Niska’s life among her relatives and of the Horrible experiences of Xavier in the extermination camps of Ypres and the Somme. this book is followed by through black spruce (below) and the orenda. see reviews
52. still life by louise penny, 2005
as the morning mist clears on thanksgiving sunday, the houses of three pines come to life, all but one… for the locals, the town is a safe haven. That’s why they are baffled when a much-loved member of the community is found dead in the maple forest. surely it was an accident: a hunter’s arrow was lost. Who Wants Jane Neal Dead? See Reviews
53. the tenderness of wolves by stef penney, 2006
The year is 1867. Winter has just taken over Dove River, a small isolated settlement in the Northern Territory, when a man is brutally murdered. Laurent Jammett had been a Hudson Bay Company traveler before an accident left him lame four years earlier. The same accident provided him with the small plot of land on the Paloma River, land that the locals called bad luck because of the untimely death of the previous owner. see reviews
54. ami mckay’s birthplace, 2006
The Birthplace is the story of Dora Rare, the first daughter born in five generations of the Rare family. As a young girl in an isolated town in Nova Scotia, she is drawn to Miss Babineau, an outspoken Acadian midwife with a gift for healing and a kitchen full of herbs and home remedies. See Reviews
55. lullabies for petty criminals by heather o’neill, 2006
a raw and harrowing novel of bruised innocence on the wild streets of the city – the remarkable debut of an astonishing literary talent. Heather O’Neill dazzles with a first novel of extraordinary insight and power, a subtly understated but extremely effective story of a young life on the streets, and the strength, wits and luck it takes to survive. see reviews
56. across the bridge by mary lawson, 2006
Two brothers, Arthur and Jake Dunn, are a farmer’s son in the mid-1930s, when life is tough and another world war is looming. Arthur is reticent, solid, obedient and willing to inherit his father’s farm and character; Jake is younger, handsome, fickle and dangerous to meet: the family misfit. When a beautiful young woman arrives in the community, the fragile balance of sibling rivalry falls apart. See reviews
57. the penguin book of canadian short stories by jane urquhart, 2007
This impressive collection of 60 stories, over a century of the best Canadian literature written by an extraordinary array of our best writers, has been selected and presented by award-winning writer Jane Urquhart. see reviews
58. the black book by lawrence hill, 2007
Based on a true story, “El Libro de los Negros” tells the story of Aminata, a young woman kidnapped from her village in Mali at the age of 11 in 1755, and who, after a deadly trip on a slave ship where she is Witnessing the brutal suppression of a slave revolt, she is sold to a South Carolina plantation owner, who rapes her. She is taken to New York, where she escapes from her master, and finds herself helping the British by recording all the slaves freed from the British side in the Revolutionary War in the Negro Book (an actual historical document that can be found today in the national archives at kew). Aminata is sent to Nova Scotia to start a new life, but she finds more hostility, oppression and tragedy. see reviews
59. late night on the air by elizabeth hay, 2007
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harry boyd, a refugee hardened by failure in toronto television, has returned to a small radio station in northern canada. There, in Yellowknife, in the summer of 1975, he falls in love with a voice on the air, although the real woman, Dido Paris, is both a surprise and even more so than he imagined. see reviews
60. the east end by jen sookfong lee, 2007
A moving portrait of three generations of the Chan family living in Vancouver’s Chinatown. Sammy Chan was sure she had run away from her family obligations when she fled Vancouver six years ago, but with her sister’s upcoming marriage, it’s her turn to care for her elderly mother. . Abandoned by her four older sisters, out of a job, and stuck in a city that annoys her, Sammy finds herself cobbling together a family history and delving into stories that began in 1913, when her grandfather, Seid Quan, then eighteen, first set foot on on Canadian soil. see opinions
61. the stranger by gil adamson, 2007
In 1903, a mysterious young woman flees west alone, one heart-pounding step ahead of the law. At nineteen, Mary Boulton has just been widowed and is the murderer of her husband. As her hounds track her frantic run into the mountains, she is tormented by mad visions and the knowledge that hers is being pursued by two ruthless brothers-in-law, determined to avenge the death of her younger brother. see reviews
62. good to a fault by marina endicott, 2008
shortlisted for canada’s prestigious giller award, this “deeply human novel” draws suspense and humor from the everyday decisions we make, revealing the delicate balance between sacrifice and self-interest, doing good and being good. Clara Purdy is at a crossroads. At forty-three, she is divorced, living in her late parents’ home, and approaching her twentieth year as a loss adjuster at a local insurance company. Driving to the bank during her lunch hour, she crashes into a sharp left turn, taking Ella Gage’s family in the other car with her. see reviews
63. through black spruce by joseph boyden, 2008
will bird is a legendary bush cree pilot, now in a coma in a hospital in his hometown of moose factory, ontario. His niece, Annie Bird, beautiful and confident, has returned from her perilous journey to sit by her bedside. Broken in different ways, the two quietly commune in their unspoken kinship, and the unfolding story is filled with heartbreak, fierce love, ancient blood feuds, mysterious disappearances, fires, plane crashes, murder, and the ties that bind a family. . and a town, together. See opinions
64. lisa moore february, 2009
In 1982, the Ocean Ranger oil rig sank off the coast of Newfoundland during a Valentine’s Day storm. all eighty-four men on board were killed. February is the story of Helen O’Mara, one of those left behind when her husband, Cal, drowns on the rig. It begins in the present day, more than twenty-five years later, but goes back again and again to the “February” that lingers in Helen’s mind and heart. See Reviews
65. too much happiness by alice munro, 2009
In these ten stories, Canadian short story writer Alice Munro once again turns complex and difficult events and emotions into stories that shed light on the unpredictable ways in which men and women adapt to and often transcend the what happens in their lives. see reviews
66. the heart specialist by claire holden rothman, 2009
Set in Quebec in the early 20th century, The Heart Specialist is the epic story of Agnes White, a lonely orphan girl fascinated by the “wrong” things (microscopes, dissections, and anatomy rather than more feminine interests) who rises to the status of one of the world’s most celebrated pioneering female doctors. She doesn’t just break down patriarchal academic barriers; she masters the science of the human heart and becomes an internationally renowned scholar, all in a time and place hostile to intelligent women. see reviews
67. under this unbroken sky by shandi mitchell, 2009
In the spring of 1938, Teodor Mykolayenko returns to his family after nearly two years in prison for the crime of trying to feed them. Guarded by his sister Anna, his wife Maria and his five children barely survived in the harsh and brutal landscape of the Canadian prairies. Channeling a determination gained from escaping Stalin’s famine and crimes in Ukraine, Teodor vows to make a home. see reviews
68. annabel by kathleen winter, 2010
Annabel, by award-winning Canadian author Kathleen Winter, is a stunning debut novel about the family of a mixed-gender boy born in a rural hunting community in the 1960s. Kathleen Winter’s luminous debut novel is a portrait deeply moving account of life in a charming seaside town and the trials of growing up single in a restrictive environment. see reviews
69. tell it to the trees by anita rau badami, 2011
One frigid winter morning, a dead body is found in the backyard of the dharma family home. it is the body of anu krishnan. For Anu, a writer seeking a secluded retreat from the city, Dharmas’s “back house” in the sleepy mountain town of Merrit’s Point was the ideal place to take a sabbatical and start writing. she had found the hire of the dharmas through a happy coincidence.see reviews
70. shelter by frances greenslade, 2011
Shelter, a captivating and wise coming-of-age story, takes readers into the precarious world of two young sisters in search of their mother, bringing to life the awe-inspiring story b.c. landscape they pass through. maggie dillon lives with her family in a small, roughly furnished cabin in the chilcotin region of bc, where the land and the native peoples who have always called it home have welcomed both pioneering settlers and newcomers like the dillons. . see reviews
71. ru by kim thúy, 2012
ru. in Vietnamese it means lullaby; in French it is a small stream, but it also means a flow of tears, blood, money. kim thúy’s ru is literature in its most crystalline form: the flow of a life in the tides of restlessness towards more peaceful waters. In vignettes of exquisite clarity, keen observation, and cunning wit, they take us on an unforgettable journey from a palatial residence in Saigon to a crowded and muddy Malaysian refugee camp, and then to a new life in Quebec. See reviews
72. indian horse by richard wagamese, 2012
saul indian horse has hit rock bottom. his latest binge nearly killed him, and now he’s a reluctant resident at an alcohol treatment center, surrounded by people he’s sure will never understand him. But Saul wants peace, and he reluctantly realizes that he will only find her by telling her story. With him, readers embark on a journey back through the life he led as a Northern Ojibway, with all its joys and sorrows. See Reviews
73. dear life by alice munro, 2012
Imbued with Munro’s clarity of vision and unparalleled gift for storytelling, these tales of departures and beginnings, accidents and perils, departures and returns both imagined and real, paint a radiant and indelible portrait of the strange, dangerous and extraordinary ordinary life can be. see reviews
74. and marjorie celona, 2012
y. that perfect letter. the wishbone, fork in the road, empty wine glass. the question we ask ourselves over and over again. why? my life begins at y. Thus begins the story of Shannon, a newborn baby dumped at the gates of the YMCA, wrapped in a dirty gray sweatshirt with nothing but a Swiss Army knife. she is found moments later by a man who catches a glimpse of her troubled mother as she disappears from sight. all three lives are forever changed by the single decision. see reviews
75. a story for the moment by ruth ozeki, 2013
In Tokyo, sixteen-year-old Nao has decided that there is only one way to escape her painful loneliness and the bullying of her classmates, but before she ends it all, Nao plans to document the life of her great-grandmother, a Buddhist nun. that she has lived more than a century. A diary is Nao’s only solace, and it will touch lives in ways she can barely imagine. Across the Pacific, we meet Ruth, a novelist living on a remote island who discovers a collection of artifacts washed up on shore in a Hello Kitty lunch box, possibly leftovers from the devastating 2011 tsunami. As the mystery unravels From its content, Ruth is drawn back to the past, to Nao’s drama and her unknown destiny, and to her own future.
note: this is set between canada and japan. see reviews
76. station eleven by emily st. Juan Mandel, 2014
Set in the days of civilization’s collapse, Season Eleven tells the story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of actors who roam the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, putting it on the line. all for art and humanity. One snowy night, a famous Hollywood actor collapses to his death on stage during a production of King Lear. hours later, the world as we know it begins to dissolve.
note: this is between toronto and michigan. see reviews
77. all my little sorrows by miriam toews, 2014
You won’t forget elf and yoli, two smart and loving sisters. elfrieda, world-renowned pianist, glamorous, rich, happily married: she wants to die. Yolandi, divorced, broke, sleeping with the wrong men as she tries to find true love: she desperately wants to keep her older sister alive. yoli is a seductive mess, wickedly funny even as she staggers through life fighting to keep her teenage sons and her mother happy, her exes to keep them from hating her, her sister to keep from killing herself, and her own heart to stay safe. Do not break. see reviews
78. richard wagamese’s walk through medicine, 2014
franklin starlight is called to visit his father, eldon. he is sixteen years old and has had the most fleeting of relationships with man. The rare moments they’ve shared haunt Frank, but he answers the call, a son’s duty to a father. He finds Eldon decimated after years of drinking, dying of liver failure in a small town seedy hostel. Eldon asks his son to take him to the mountains to be buried in the traditional Ojibway way. See Reviews
79. the age of nancy lee, 2014
The Age, Nancy Lee’s electrifying debut novel, follows her celebrated collection of Dead Girls short stories. Set in Vancouver in 1984 as Soviet warships swarm the Atlantic, The Era tells the story of Gerry, a troubled teenager whose life is suddenly and strangely catapulted into adulthood. see reviews
80. saw by kim thúy, 2016
The youngest of four siblings and the only girl, Vi was given a name that meant “beautiful, little one”, destined to be pampered and protected, the little treasure of the family. Daughter of an enterprising mother and a rich and pampered father Never having to grow up, the Vietnam War tears his family apart. while vi and many of her family members escape, her father is left behind and her family is left to fend for themselves in canada. see reviews
81. spawning grounds by gail anderson-dargatz, 2016
The long-awaited new novel from the two-time giller shortlisted author is packed with the qualities fans of gail anderson-dargatz love: it’s an intimate family saga rooted in the thompson-shuswap region of british columbia, and saturated with the history of the place. a bold new story that unites native and white cultures through a bend in a river where the salmon run. see reviews
82. don’t say we have nothing by madeleine thien, 2016
teacher narrator madeleine thien takes us inside an extended family in china and shows us the lives of two successive generations: those who lived through mao’s cultural revolution and their children, who became the students who protested in the tiananmen square. At the center of this epic story are two young women, Marie and Ai-Ming. Through her relationship, Marie strives to piece together her fractured family history in present-day Vancouver, searching for answers in the fragile layers of her collective history. see reviews
83. the boat people by sharon bala, 2018
When a rusty freighter carrying Mahindan and five hundred refugees from Sri Lanka’s bloody civil war washes up on the shores of Vancouver, the young father believes he and his six-year-old son can finally start a new life. instead, the group is sent to a detention processing center, with government officials and news headlines speculating that among the “boatmen” are members of a militant separatist organization responsible for countless suicide attacks, and that these terrorists now represent a threat to the nation state of canada. security. see reviews
84. that time i loved you by carrianne leung, 2018
The suburbs of the 1970s promised to be heaven on earth: new houses, new status, guaranteed happiness. But in a Scarborough subdivision populated by newcomers from around the world, a series of sudden catastrophic events reveals that not all dreams come true. Moving from house to house, Carrianne Leung explores the inner lives behind tidy front lawns and perfect windows, always returning to June, an irrepressible Chinese-Canadian teenager coming of age in this changing world. see reviews
85. waubgeshig rice crusted snow moon, 2018
With winter approaching, a small northern Anishinaabe community loses communication. days later, it gets dark. isolated from the urban area of the south, many of its inhabitants become passive and confused. they eventually panic as the food supply dwindles, leaving few hunters left in the first nation. As the gang council and a group of community members struggle to maintain order, an unexpected visitor arrives from a town in the south to escape a crumbling society. see reviews
what do you think of these books set in canada?
Do you have some great books set in Canada that you think should be included? do you call canada your home? Are you planning a trip to Canada soon? Do you have any travel or bookstore tips for visiting readers? I’d love to hear more about your own travel and canada-themed book tips in the comments below! 🙌
Looking for more reading ideas?
If you’re looking for more books set in North America, check out some of these popular publications:
See Also: Lauraine Snelling – Book Series In Order
- america reading challenge: books set in each state
- books set in mexico: mexican novels
- books set in hawaii: hawaiian novels
- books set in alabama