Broken Man on a Halifax Pier

Written by Lesley Choyce

Narrated by Jamie Renell

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2021 EVERGREEN AWARD
A tale of one man’s shipwrecked life and an unlikely crew of rescuers.

Fifty-five-year-old Charles Howard has lost his long-time journalism job and has been swindled out of his life savings. Standing by the edge of Halifax Harbour on a foggy morning, contemplating his dismal future, his ritual of self-pity is interrupted with the appearance of the mysterious and beguiling Ramona Danforth. And so begins a most interesting relationship.

On a whim, Charles asks Ramona to drive him to his childhood home, Stewart Harbour, a fishing village populated by rugged individualists far down Nova Scotia’s remote Eastern Shore. Charles left the Harbour immediately after graduating from high school and never looked back. And now that he's returned, the past starts catching up with him in ways he could never have imagined.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Everand Productions
• Release date: Aug 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9781094447230

Lesley Choyce

Lesley Choyce is an award-winning author of more than 100 books of literary fiction, short stories, poetry, creative nonfiction, young adult novels and several books in the Orca Soundings line. His works have been shortlisted for the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, the White Pine Award and the Governor General’s Literary Award, among others. Lesley lives in Nova Scotia.

Reviews for Broken Man on a Halifax Pier

[Brenda McFarlane · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent read, beautiful story. Complex and satisfying. Why is there no more audiobooks available by this author at this time on Everand?

[Kim Ring · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved this book. Very likable characters that are easy to relate to. Makes the reader think about our families and roots and truths and misconceptions!

[Rebecca Sweet · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A beautiful text and well read. One of the best books that I have listened to on this site. Elegiac and heart warming.

[Valerie Amiro Belliveau · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Splendid…
Aside from the mispronunciation of Musquodoboit and DAL. Being Nova Scotian this really bothered me but I suspect no one else would take note.

[z.pokomeda · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Truly enjoyable. Well written. Nicely developed characters. Great dialogues!
Fabulous

[Vincent Seapara · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Really enjoyable book that took me to a world I was wholly unaware of with ups, downs and a satisfying ending.

[Irene Butcher · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Gentle book even while disasters as topic. Characters shown using life giving responses to each other.

[NEETHU VARUGHESE · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It was ok - nothing new. Easy read ? whilst cleaning the house or out on a walk.

[Mark · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Interesting listen. I really enjoyed this book! Kind of a breath of fresh air.

[Mary Lou Wilson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Kept me interested throughout the entire story. Heartfelt and believable.

[Jane Anderson · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Predictable and without much depth. I am surprised that the girl didn’t go into labor during the hurricane.

[Janet Bradley · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked the beginning the best. Thank you for the good book.

[saskia huising · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The sea, the shore, the hewn and hardy characters making way and weigh through brick and brackish events of unplanned life on coast of Nova Scotia. Nothing better. The underlying difficulties and unexplainable endurance of love on its own terms.

[Janvier Schutz · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A quick and very enjoyable read, different from most books written in this genre . We’ll worth your time!

[Elizabeth Isaacson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Intriguing story, well written. Really enjoyed the storytelling. Great book.

[Bridgid Laheney · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An exrtodinary story about ordinary lives. Through all the bad patches of life love sustains us. Hope and love still shines inspite off early onset dementia .
Loved the rich voice of the narrater.
I recommend this beautiful story.

[gaby dickson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Best love story I've read in a long time. Witty, action packed and poignant. Make sure you listen to this one.

[Leah Barton Tew · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good book! The plot is fresh and interesting. I thought character development was a little abrupt at times, but it still worked. I look forward to reading more from this author.

[Paul Reese · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This a very good story about a man that finds
love at the end of a pier. He was a journalist
that takes his new found love back to where he grew up, there he experiences the heart ache reliving his childhood memories and caring the love of his life..
In the end, his discovers letters
that had been exchanged between his parents.
These letters help him see how much they loved each other.

[dave gulzow · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A quality story very well told, full of life, the uncertainty and mystery of what makes us human. We see lives that were fragmented and unfulfilled behind these characters. Life begins anew in middle age . Despite the luggage of the past and new troubles abound, we see that experience has brought fulfillment in most unexpected ways. Great verbal banter and characters that come to life. A fun read!

[Cris Johnston · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Reasonably believable, with interesting turns and twists, and narrated more aptly than most, this small town coastal story reveals important layers of the personalities of its pivotal characters. The chop wood/carry water scenes and action scenes are equally well-crafted. I'd like to read more by this writer.

[tricia · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was an excellent story with a wonderful narrator. Thoughtful, lyrical, beautiful. I want to be a novelist now!

[Loclyn · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

It’s the common manic-pixie-dream-girl trope but applied to an older couple. A dazzling, witty woman pops out of thin air to solve every problem of some lost-in-life, deadbeat dude. But oh-no, he finds out she’s actually not perfect because of this one thing! However, (spoiler) the protagonist is a changed man and does the noble thing of not ditching her when it turns out she too is a complex person with her own past and problems. And everyone clapped.
All the banter between the couple tried so hard to be clever that they didn’t even sound like real people.
I ended up speeding it up to 1.5 during the last 20 chapters just so I could be done with this book.

[Val Menzies · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent story, beautifully written. This is is a book primarily about love, it’s beginnings, it’s pitfalls , and , finally, it’s endurance. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and totally recommend it.