Unorganized Territory
A Boy’s Own Memoir
David Gurr
About
David Gurr returns with a witty and touching memoir of a boyhood in British Columbia.
Best known for his spy thrillers, here Gurr recalls his own youth in vivid prose. First, an unusual World War II boyhood in rural England, under the care of two aristocratic Victorian aunts who seem to have stepped out of a Trollope novel. Then, in 1948, he is relocated to the bush on Vancouver Island with his mother and father. The Island, in the 1950s, presents a hardscrabble life in a crowded cottage with a wood stove. On the surface, it's an ideal setting for a restless adolescent hungry for adventure, but hovering over it all, unseen but not unfelt, is a dark family secret guarded closely by the author’s parents. Gurr tells the story of his topsy-turvy early life with great panache, an exceptional memory for colourful detail, and a wry sense of humour.
Praise for David Gurr’s Previous Work
Troika
“Gurr makes a stunning debut … moving right up there with the big boys in the spy business.”
— Publishers Weekly
“An event in Canadian publishing history.”
— Derrick Murdoch, The Globe and Mail
The Ring Master
“An extraordinary achievement, a work of richness and virtuosity to which a reviewer can scarcely do justice.”
— Alberto Manguel, The Globe and Mail
“The most extraordinary book I have read [this year].”
— Lord Robert Skidelsky on his favourite books of 1987, The Sunday Telegraph
“Dazzling.”
— Vancouver Sun
The Voice of the Crane
“The Ring Master and, now, The Voice of the Crane place Gurr at the forefront of Canadian fiction … and in the company of such major twentieth century figures as Malcolm Lowry, Thomas Pynchon, Siegfried Lenz, Salman Rushdie, Umberto Eco and Yukio Mishima … From behind the black curtain comes the voice of a master storyteller, and it is a voice we should listen to.”
— Sherrill Grace, Canadian Literature
“Gurr now ought to take his place as one of Canada's most formidable writers. This is an extraordinarily complex and inventive book …”
— Bruce Serafin, Toronto Star
David Gurr
David Gurr is the acclaimed author of several novels, including Troika, The Voice of the Crane, and The Ring Master, which was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award. Before launching his literary career, Gurr served with the Royal Canadian Navy as an executive officer and computer systems analyst. He subsequently alternated between writing books and building distinctly West Coast houses. He lives in Victoria.
Purchase
Unorganized Territory is available for pre-order through your local bookstore and Amazon.
Details
Published by Stonehewer Books, September 2025
316 Pages • Paperback • 5.5” x 8.5”