Riveting wartime read next for book club

The Free Press Book Club and McNally Robinson Booksellers are pleased to welcome Vancouver-born, New York-based author Jack Wang to the next virtual meeting on Tuesday, August 26 at 7 p.m. to read from and discuss his historical-fiction novel The Riveter.

Published by House of Anansi Press in February 2025, The Riveter explores the life of Josiah Chang, a Chinese-Canadian living in Vancouver in 1942. Because Chinese people were not allowed to join the army at that time (or become Canadian citizens, for that matter), Josiah is unable to enlist to serve in the Second World War, and instead becomes a riveter working on parts for cargo ships.

Shortly after, he meets Poppy Miller and the two begin a whirlwind romance that is just as swiftly halted when Poppy’s father expresses his disapproval.

In order to prove his worth, Josiah figures out a way to get himself enlisted, and volunteers for the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, who jumped into Normandy on D-Day; he is one of few Chinese Canadians in the army at this time. Fighting battles on the field, as well as his own complex emotional battles — navigating a relationship with Poppy half a world away, dissecting feelings about his late father and examining his own place in Canada as a non-citizen putting his life on the line — Josiah presses on to find his way back home, wherever that means to him.

In her Free Press review of The Riveter, Zilla Jones said the novel “disrupts expectations of war novels, introducing us to a unique and unforgettable main character from a community whose contributions to Canada’s war effort have too often been minimized or ignored” and called Wang’s writing “clear and confident; the story is compelling.

“It’s also extremely relevant — a Canadian story by a Canadian author about a time when Canadians, if only temporarily, put aside their differences to fight a greater enemy. The Riveter is a riveting must-read for our times.”

Wang will join Free Press literary editor Ben Sigurdson, McNally Robinson Booksellers co-owner Chris Hall and Free Press audience engagement manager Erin Lebar. He’ll read from The Riveter, discuss the book and field questions from viewers and readers.

Copies of The Riveter are available to purchase at McNally Robinson Booksellers; there’s no cost to join the book club or virtual discussion. Video of the meeting will be available for replay on the Free Press YouTube channel following the event.

To join the Free Press Book Club and for more information on current and future book picks, visit Book Club.