Advocate

When Jacob is called back to Advocate, he is not only returning home again, something he knows he cannot really do; he is going to face his dying grandmother and the people of the town who turned on one of their own.

Twenty years earlier, when his uncle David came home, it was to die. The response in Advocate was typical of most towns, large and small, in 1984: when his disease became known, Jacob, his grandmother, his mother, and his aunt, were shunned, turned out from school and their jobs, out of fear of an until-then unknown virus.

Like To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel beloved of one of the main characters, Advocate is elegiac, written by a first-rate author, about overcoming ignorance and prejudice. With wit and emotional depth, Greer describes the formation of one boy’s social conscience and takes us to a resolution that is truly satisfying.

AUTHOR

Darren Greer

Darren Greer grew up in several towns in Nova Scotia, including Greenfield and Liverpool. He studied literature at the University of King¹s College, Halifax, as well as Carleton University, Ottawa. His first novel, Tyler’s Cape, was published in March 2001 to critical acclaim and was on the bestseller list of the Halifax Chronicle-Herald. Still Life with June was nominated for the Pearson Readers’ Choice Award at The Word On The Street, Toronto, in 2003 and is the Winner of the 2004 ReLit Award. His 2014 novel Just Beneath My Skin is the winner of the 2015 Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award and the official selection for One Book Nova Scotia 2015.

Reviews

“A deeply moving novel.”
– The Globe and Mail

“A sunshine sketch of a little town? Not remotely. A heartfelt, searing, and sad — and wholly captivating — portrait of one town’s fear, ignorance, and anger? Yes, and then some … A superbly-composed lament, Advocate rails against small-minded values and dares to ponder why we’re capable of so much and yet often wind up doing so little.”
– Toronto Star

“A juicy read, with so much more at stake than a typical family drama … Jacob’s voice and affect are strong and consistent. Greer patiently elaborates on guilt, regret, and the possibility of forgiveness. And at this, he is wholly successful.” Starred review
– Quill and Quire

“One fine novel from a Novia Scotia writer who just gets better, book by book.”
– The Sun Times