 First Edition Cover | |
| Author | Leo McKay, Jr. |
|---|---|
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Publisher | McClelland & Stewart |
Publication date | April 15, 2003 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| Pages | 388 pp |
| ISBN | 0-7710-5475-0 |
| OCLC | 51086459 |
| 813/.54 22 | |
| LC Class | PR9199.3.M42433 T88 2003 |
| Preceded by | Like This |
Twenty-Six is the debut novel by author Leo McKay, Jr., released in 2003. The book was a national bestseller in Canada [1] and won the 2004 Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction. [2]
Set in the fictional town of Albion Mines, Nova Scotia, the novel takes place against the backdrop of a coal mine explosion that kills twenty-six miners, loosely based on the real-life Westray Mine explosion of 1992. Like the real-life incident, the novel's Eastyard mine disaster has themes of government corruption and the greed of the mine operator.
The story primarily revolves around the family of Ennis Burrows, a former union organizer, and his sons, Ziv - a college drop-out now working at the local Zellers - and Arvel, a miner who has followed in his father's footsteps. Their stories and those of other supporting characters unfold from the novel's beginning with the mine explosion, and working backward to show how the tragedy has fundamentally changed each of their lives. [3]
The novel received widespread acclaim from Canadian critics, and reached number 6 on MacLean's Magazine's best-sellers list less than a week after it was released. [4] Canadian author Robert J. Wiersema wrote in the Montreal Gazette that it was one of the year's best novels - and stated that "...if you are able to read just a single piece of Canadian fiction this spring, it should be Twenty-Six". [5] It was also awarded the 2004 Dartmouth book award for Fiction. [2]
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Westville is a town in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located immediately west of Stellarton and about four kilometres southwest of New Glasgow, the major town in the area.
Stellarton is a town located in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is adjacent and to the south of the larger town of New Glasgow. In pioneer times the area was called Coal Mines Station, and from 1833 until 1889, it was known as Albion Mines. The town was incorporated as Stellarton in 1889 and owes its name to a specific type of torbanite which came to be known as "stellarite" because of the "stars of fire" given off by its sparky flame.
Springhill mining disaster may refer to any of three deadly Canadian mining disasters that occurred in 1891, 1956, and 1958 in different mines within the Springhill coalfield, near the town of Springhill in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia. In the 1891 accident, 125 died; in 1956, 39 were killed; and in 1958, 75 miners were killed.
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Leo McKay Jr. is a Canadian novelist and short story writer from Stellarton, Nova Scotia. He also is a periodic contributor to The Globe and Mail.
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