The Northern

“The Northern is a novel about a 12-year-old boy peeking around the corner from childhood to see the next room in life — the grungy, shadowy room of adult men. In this thoughtful, moving, surprising novel, Chris travels around the Great Lakes with his little brother and his mom’s boyfriend, pursuing baseball and glimpsing some hard truths about work, sex, religion, money, and how far our dreams might or might not take us. Mooney has lovingly recreated the world of 1950s Canada, from the diner food to awkward honeymooners at Niagara Falls, and to journey through it with Chris is a joy and an education. The Northern is a novel I’ll be thinking about for a long time.” — Rebecca Rosenblum, author of These Days Are Numbered and So Much Love
“The Northern is both a tender-hearted, contemplative coming-of-age novel and an adventure-filled road trip story that brings a unique time in sports history to life. Fans of Mooney’s poetry will recognize his trademark wit and keen eye for detail in this stunning debut.” — Zoe Whittall, author of Wild Failure and The Best Kind of People
“W.P. Kinsella has company: Jacob Mooney has written another classic Canadian novel about baseball. Like Shoeless Joe, though, The Northern uses baseball as a backdrop for deeper ruminations. Dreamlike and lived-in, heartwarming and harrowing, universal and specific, The Northern works the same emotional magic as sports, maybe baseball most of all. It makes human failure fascinating.” — Ben Lindbergh, co-host of Effectively Wild and co-author of The MVP Machine and The Only Rule Is It Has to Work
“Mooney’s characters are well drawn, and they’re given added dimension by Outerbridge’s portrayals.” — AudioFile Magazine

Jacob McArthur Mooney’s work has been shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize and the Trillium Award in Poetry. An MFA graduate from the University of Guelph, he lives in Toronto with his partner, the novelist Alexis von Konigslow, and their son. The Northern is his fifth book and first novel.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.