In a multi-generational tale, in small town Cumberland nestled beneath the Beaufort Mountains, old wounds re-appear in this rough and tumble coal mining town on Vancouver Island. From the old, Tong, Ming, and Qing dynasties of China, old revenges pierce through generations, passed from great-great-grandfather, to great-grandfather, to grandfather to father and son. They hold on tight over many years. These old wounds are unknown to the white society as many Chinese men and women sought to escape the perils of their chaotic homelands. But four boys love the Chinatown that many white people avoid, because the pull of adventure, the smells, sounds, and sights of this magnificent old Chinatown, on the outskirts of the main town of Cumberland, prove to be too strong a pull that Sy, Al, Percy, and Jack cannot remain too far from, for too long. Let the adventure begin.

REVIEW: Not a regular reader of fiction I hesitated on reading “Cumberland Gold”. But the story set in this small Vancouver Island community intrigued me enough to take a closer look. I found a story of an earlier time when coal and gold were king and Chinese labour was imported to do the dangerous, dirty mining work. Homeland Chinese history, polities, greed, gold, and death dance across the page to a final crescendo. With spaced lines and larger than normal print it is easy to read. Thank-you, Mr. Mottl

Bob Wilson