William McLean is an Alberta farm boy seeking the work that he believes God has put him on Earth to do. Returning from World War I in a crisis of conscience, he finds his calling when he is drawn into Winnipeg's labour movement by his army buddy Daniel Eckersley. As unrest mounts and the authorities respond with force, William finds himself in the midst of an upheaval that could mean destitution? or freedom? for all.

In Bread and Stone, Allan Weiss skillfully combines the story of one of the most dramatic real events in Canadian history, the Winnipeg General Strike, with the spiritual journey of a young man growing to understand who he is, who he is becoming, and what it is that he must do.

Praise for Allan Weiss:

"Weiss paints his worlds with deft, understated brushstrokes, layer upon layer, into rich scenes that you feel deeply and remember forever." – Cory Doctorow, author of YA novel Little Brother

“Allan Weiss is a great storyteller and Bread and Stone is a brilliant, meticulously researched historical novel about the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919. It stands with the best of the genre of ‘proletarian literature’ from the last century, fiction that is working class and radical, told through the eyes of ordinary working people. His writing is compelling and powerful, his characters engaging, the narrative exciting enough to make a great film. The novel also provides critical historical context for this incredibly significant event in Canadian history.” – Norman Nawrocki, author of Red Squared Montreal.

“In Bread And Stone, Allan Weiss takes a pivotal event in Canadian labour history and expands it into a tense, gripping human drama, while at the same time maintaining the broad background canvas that makes this event so important. Meticulously- researched—in keeping with Allan’s academic credentials—the novel features the coming-of-age of Alberta farm boy William McLean, his experiences and subsequent disillusionment as a soldier in World War One and his proactive participation in the Winnipeg General Strike. A finely-balanced mix of the wide-ranging and the intense, this novel turns history into something personal.” – Michael Mirolla, author of Becker’s World & Other Stories.

Allan Weiss is a Professor of English at York University. He has published three story collections, Living Room (2001), Making the Rounds (2016), and Telescope (2019), and the historical novel Bread and Stone (2024). Among his scholarly publications are The Mini-Cycle (2021) and The Routledge Introduction to Canadian Fantastic Literature (2021), as well as articles on Canadian literature and the short story. He is Chair of the biennial Academic Conference on Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy. The conference will be held at York this year on May 30-31; for details, see www.yorku.ca/accsff