The Riveter
A Novel
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4.6 • 5 Ratings
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
A New Yorker, Globe and Mail, CBC, and Indigo Best Book of 2025
A cross-cultural love story set against the dramatic backdrop of the Allied invasion of Europe in WWII.
Vancouver, 1942. Josiah Chang arrives in the bustling city ready to serve his country in the war against fascism, but Chinese Canadians are barred from joining the army out of fear they might expect citizenship in return. So, Josiah heads to the shipyard to find work as a riveter, fastening together the ribs and steel plates of Victory ships.
One night, Josiah spots Poppy singing at a navy club. Despite their different backgrounds, they fall for each other instantly and begin a starry-eyed romance that lasts until the harsh reality of their situation is made clear. Determined to prove himself, Josiah takes a train to Toronto where he’s finally given the chance to enlist. After volunteering for the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion and jumping into Normandy on D-Day, he must fight through the battlefields of Europe to make it back to the woman he loves.
By turns harrowing and exhilarating, The Riveter explores what one man must sacrifice to belong to the only country he has ever called home.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this exemplary historical, a Chinese Canadian man fights prejudice and falls in love during WWII. Josiah Chang, who's unable to join the army because of his race, finds work as a riveter in a Vancouver shipyard in 1942. There, he meets yard worker Poppy Miller, who is also a nightclub singer. They fall hard for each other, and Poppy accepts his marriage proposal, even though her parents refuse to give their consent. After Josiah hears a rumor of other Chinese men successfully enlisting on the east coast, he takes a train to Toronto and signs up to be a paratrooper. After training, he is sent to England and takes part in the invasion of Normandy. Fighting his way through France, Holland, and Germany, Josiah transforms from a raw recruit to a veteran soldier. Along the way, he sees comrades die horribly and witnesses barbaric acts, but he never loses sight of his ultimate goal: to be worthy of Poppy. The author successfully combines the entertainment of an old-fashioned war story with a crystalline view of the period's racism, offering a genuinely touching romance between Josiah and Poppy and visceral scenes of training and battle. Fans of WWII fiction will devour this.
Customer Reviews
Master of description
Author is a master of description which he does not allow to become burdensome. His characters have a nuanced emotional depth.