A riveting wartime read

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This article was published 29/03/2025 (479 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Vancouver-born author Jack Wang is well-known for his short stories, which have appeared in numerous prestigious literary journals in Canada and the U.S. His debut collection, We Two Alone, won the Danuta Gleed Literary Award, was shortlisted for the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize and longlisted for CBC’s Canada Reads. The stories follow the path of the Chinese diaspora over the past century, poignantly describing the ways Chinese-Canadians have been excluded in this country.

In his first novel, The Riveter, Wang turns his focus on the Second World War and the efforts of Chinese-Canadians to become accepted into Canada’s military.

Josiah Chang works as titular riveter, labouring in Vancouver to build cargo ships to replace the 66 vessels a month being sunk in the Atlantic by the Germans.

However, the novel opens with a prologue that introduces us to Josiah as he is flying over France, about to parachute into battle from a plane that is under attack. We see him survive the botched drop and then Wang takes us back through the events that bring Josiah to this point.

Initially Josiah has no thought of fighting in the war, as military officials often refuse to allow Chinese-Canadians to enlist.

But everything changes when Josiah falls in love with Poppy, a white woman who also works at the shipyard.

Poppy’s father does not approve of their engagement; while Josiah’s family has been in Canada for generations and for far longer than Poppy’s family, he is considered a “resident alien” and is not permitted to become a Canadian citizen.

Furthermore, Poppy will lose her Canadian citizenship if she marries him.

Josiah believes that if he fights for Canada, he will be granted citizenship, thus allowing him to be with Poppy without guilt.

He convinces the army to accept him, but Poppy is upset that he is leaving her to go to war when it’s not required of him.

Josiah turns out to be an excellent soldier and is selected for the exclusive force of paratroopers. For the rest of The Riveter, he fights to survive the war and return to Poppy.

Wang’s novel is meticulously researched, detailing the intense and lengthy training paratroopers had to undergo in England and the United States.

The descriptions of weapons, uniforms and manoeuvres are sparing but vivid, and immerse the reader in the setting.

Much of the time, Josiah is accepted by the other soldiers and his fortitude recognized by his superiors, so it’s jarring when he experiences incidences of racism.

The war narrative is interspersed with flashbacks to Josiah’s earlier life in British Columbia.

The story of his interracial relationship with Poppy in 1940s Vancouver — which is such a new concept that, as she puts it, “very few people have ever done what we’re doing” — is fascinating.

Not much is said about Josiah’s childhood or early adulthood, which could have added even more layers. The use of an omniscient narrator gives the book the feel of a movie, where the reader is watching the characters from a distance, withholding judgment and experiencing what they experience.

The meat of the story is in the motivation behind Josiah’s actions. Unlike many war narratives, which portray soldiers as making sacrifices for their country and for democracy, Josiah’s only reason for fighting is his desire to become a citizen and return to Poppy.

He writes to her, waits for her replies and focuses on survival. He eschews opportunities to become a hero, to encourage others and even to save and protect his fellow soldiers.

In the hands of a less skilled author, this could make him an unlikable, selfish character. But because of all the context and nuance Wang provides, he remains relatable and sympathetic. And Josiah does find opportunities to be a hero in his own way.

The Riveter 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.

The writing is 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.

Zilla Jones is a Winnipeg-based writer of short and long fiction. Her debut novel The World So Wide will be published in April.