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- Keywords
- Battle of Vimy Ridge,
- Halifax explosion,
- Canada World War I,
- Priest sexual abuse,
- Lost generation,
- Trench warfare,
- Canadian history
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Downhill from Vimy
by
Christopher Levan
France, April 1917. In a brutal spring campaign, the Canadian Corps ascended and captured Vimy Ridge from the German Army. That victory turned Colonials into Canadians and might be considered the high watermark of nationhood. For many of the soldiers who fought to gain the heights at Vimy, life went downhill from that point forward. Bloodied and bruised from that April combat, in the fall of 1917 they slid down into the wholesale slaughter that became known as Passchendaele. Incredibly, the worst was yet to come. On December 6th of that year the largest human-made explosion over a living city took place in Halifax—the result of a munitions transport ship collision. Downhill from Vimy relives these historic events through the life of a wounded veteran, Gordon Davis—a survivor of all three 1917 disasters—and transports us into his nightmares as he struggles to retain sanity, recapture love, and regain his former place in Canadian society. Watch as Gordon loses his personal battle but, stubbornly, does not die. Instead he is filed away in a Veteran’s hospital and forgotten. Gordon remains hidden for seventy-five years, locked in his own personal insanity until a jaded pastor slowly unravels his descent...Downhill from Vimy. Readers will be transfixed by this richly researched and wonderfully imagined story of love and loss.
Downhill from Vimy is a great yarn, full of action, humour, romance and social commentary, narrated by the inner, uncensored and often politically incorrect musings of a parish minister. Chris has brought his characters to life and I finished the book anxious for more. — Ray Drennan, Pastor This is a skillfully woven colourful tapestry with a well-developed cast of characters. The threads of a romance, intrigue and mystery are layered on the backdrop of historical events, mingling fact and fiction. There is one word for this novel: WOW! — Ann Vickers, innkeeper and editor Flipping back and forth in time, Levan weaves together the stories of two Gordons in a Dostoevsky-like fashion. Downhill from Vimy…gripping. I couldn’t put it down, until all was resolved. — Bronwyn Best, International Ethics Consultant
Christopher Levan, pastor, professor, and parent, has spent a lifetime working with words. His day job is in a church and his life’s vocation is as a “repairer of dreams,” helping others to achieve their goals and ambitions. Whether in a university classroom or a Cuban village, his gifts of enthusiasm and energy are conveyed by vibrant words that move hearts and turn heads. A baker, biker, and tour guide when not writing or helping others, Christopher dreams of crafting the right turn of phrase to change the world. He resides in Toronto, Canada with his wife, Ellen.
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