Whoever Gives Us Bread: The Story of Italians in British Columbia
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by Lynne Bowen
Douglas & McIntyre, Vancouver, 2011
368 pp., illus. $32.95 hardcover
Reading through the first few pages of Lynne Bowen’s prologue, it becomes clear that Whoever Gives Us Bread is a labour of love. The author’s affection for both Italy and British Columbia has been translated into a seamless narrative based on diligent research.
According to Bowen, Italians settled on the West Coast fifty years before they started showing up in Ontario and Quebec. Unsustainable farming, heavy taxes, and unemployment drove many men to seek their fortune in Canada. After arriving in San Francisco, they ventured north in search of gold. Desperate to survive and to send money home to families in Italy, some opted to cross picket lines to work in the coal mines.
Focusing on the stories of a few, Bowen spans one hundred years to illustrate the Italian-Canadian experience from early hardship and heartbreak through to success and triumph.
This review appeared in the August-September 2012 issue of Canada's History magazine.
— Tanja Hütter (Read bio)
Tanja Hütter is Online Manager for Canada's History Society and a pragmatic idealist.