The Marvels of Youth

OCTOBER 17, 2023
242 pages | ISBN 978-1-989496-74-9

Set in the short window between the release of the movie Jaws and the first Star Wars movie, The Marvels of Youth is both a paean to the magic of a child’s imagination and a compelling mystery. When Sean learns of the death of the owner of the comic bookstore in the small town along the shores of the Fraser River that he grew up in, he is transported back in his memory to a fateful year, when he stumbled upon an affair that could ignite the tensions of his working-class town. As the mystery unfolds, Bowling paints a rich picture of life in a fishing town, of striking workers and hard choices alongside the moments of awe and unexpected joy that a child faces at the edge of adulthood. Filled with unforgettable characters and beautifully layered storytelling The Marvels of Youth is a sweeping, glimmering tale, as mesmerizing as the river that flows through it.

Reviews

Book review: Tim Bowling's haunted tale of innocence and lost youth hits the right notes (Tom Sandborn, Vancouver Sun, 12/09/2024)
"This is a book that will reward patient reading and invite rereading. It is my first exposure to Bowling and leaves me eager to read more of his 23 published works. Highly recommended."

Tim Bowling, The Marvels of Youth (Richard, Book Addiction, 23/05/2024)
“Reader, I was overcome again and again while reading [...] The Marvels of Youth illustrates the deep, simple truth that life is lived forward but experienced backward, through memory.”

Remembrance of Ladner Past (Theo Dombrowski, British Columbia Review, 26/03/2024)
"Bowling is a master in casting a luminescent veil of words over even the most mundane realities."

The Marvels of Youth (Colby Clair Stolson, Alberta Views, 01/01/2024)
"The novel layers worlds upon worlds [...] with language rich as the heavy salmon musk that permeates the town. Bowling is a dependable guide through these worlds, weaving nets of lyricism, mythology and superhero grandeur into the narrative."

The Marvels of Youth by Tim Bowling (Anne Smith-Nochasak, Miramichi Reader, 23/10/2023)
"Bowling brings an era to life, not with sentimentality, but with recognition of all that is vital – the moments, the people, and the present that is shaped and sustained by that time."

Interviews

The (CanL)It Crowd: Tim Bowling (Hollay Ghadery, hollayghadery.ca, 06/03/2024)
"I derive most comfort and inspiration, perhaps, from long-dead and sometimes obscure, largely forgotten authors. They help me to understand that the power of literature, or at least its measurable effect, is really beyond our control and our own lifetimes."

Articles

Reviewer picks 2024 (pt. 1) (British Columbia Review, 13/12/2024)
Tim's novel is included in this roundup of best books of 2024!

Read an Excerpt from Tim Bowling's Raw & Atmospheric Return to the 1970s, The Marvels of Youth (Open Book, 12/12/2023)
Tim shares an excerpt from his new novel.

74 works of Canadian fiction to read in fall 2023 (CBC Books, 31/08/2023)
So nice to see the brilliant new novel by Tim Bowling on this list at CBC.

Sixty-two books to read this fall (24/08/2023)
It's lovely to see Tim Bowling's The Marvels of Youth on this great list.

Most Anticipated: Our 2023 Fall Fiction Preview (Attila Berki; Cassandra Drudi; Andrew Woodrow-Butcher, Quill & Quire, 19/07/2023)
Tim's novel is included in this great roundup.

Excerpt

Click here to read an excerpt from The Marvels of Youth.

About the Author

Tim Bowling is the author of twenty-two works of fiction, nonfiction and poetry. He is the recipient of numerous honours, including two Edmonton Artists’ Trust Fund Awards, five Alberta Literary Awards, a Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal, two Writers’ Trust of Canada nominations, two Governor General’s Literary Award nominations and a Guggenheim Fellowship in recognition of his entire body of work.

Other Titles by This Author

In the Capital City of Autumn (2024)

The Call of the Red-Winged Blackbird (2021)

The Dark Set: New Tenderman Poems (2019)

The Heavy Bear (2017)