Average customer rating:
- Want a blow-em up spy-novel, go elsewhere...
- Ah, Newfoundland
- A Great Novel
- !!!Can't get any worse than this!!!
- No word of a lie the boredom will kill you
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The Shipping News
E. Annie Proulx
Manufacturer: Scribner
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ASIN: 0671510053 |
Amazon.com
In this touching and atmospheric novel set among the fishermen of Newfoundland, Proulx tells the story of Quoyle. From all outward appearances, Quoyle has gone through his first 36 years on earth as a big schlump of a loser. He's not attractive, he's not brilliant or witty or talented, and he's not the kind of person who typically assumes the central position in a novel. But Proulx creates a simple and compelling tale of Quoyle's psychological and spiritual growth. Along the way, we get to look in on the maritime beauty of what is probably a disappearing way of life.
Book Description
When Quoyle's two-timing wife meets her just desserts, he retreats with his two daughters to his ancestral home on the starkly beautiful Newfoundland coast, where a rich cast of local characters and family members all play a part in Quoyle's struggle to reclaim his life. As Quoyle confronts his private demons -- and the unpredictable forces of nature and society -- he begins to see the possibility of love without pain or misery.
A vigorous, darkly comic, and at times magical portrait of the contemporary North American family, The Shipping News shows why Annie Proulx is recognized as one of the most gifted and original writers in America today.
Customer Reviews:
Want a blow-em up spy-novel, go elsewhere..........2007-08-29
Yes, the book does move a bit slower than the average Michael Crichton... in my mind, this is a good thing.
The slowly weaving lyrical cadence of Proulx's writing came as a nice surprise to me. Her writing would never have passed by my fifth-grade grammar teacher's red-pen; however, her knack for flowing paragraphs weaves a tale that's hard to put down.
The story begins by introducing a slightly dense Quoyle, a 36 year old who you wish would get mad at his surroundings a bit more and make a few changes to better his life. Instead, he seems to take things as they come; in the beginning, the things that come are horrible. A move prompted by an Aunt brings him to his ancestral home in Newfoundland. With the move, he finds a large family house, sitting neglected, along with the small-town preconceptions of his family. Luckily, his local friends put off their judgments. With this new move, he slowly finds himself in better circumstances. Nothing much has changed, many things are still rough, but slowly and surely Quoyle's life is taking an upswing. Finally we see the chance and evolution of a happier life coming to someone who yearned for just that for so long.
Throughout the book the temperament of the sea and the local cadence for life is a character unto itself. Proulx dots her chapters with excerpts of the famous Ashley's Book of Knots, which add a seafaring charm to each.
I was afraid throughout this enjoyable book that Proulx would feel the need to alter the ending to make some serious statements at the closing. I was very happy to find that her statement was made very softly, and with the deft hand of an accomplished writer. There was no "axe dropping" to be had, other than the close of a book-cover that you wished to re-open again very soon.
Ah, Newfoundland.......2007-08-21
If you've never been there, you'll want to go after reading this book. I bought it as I was getting ready to fly out of St. John's, Newfoundland.
I started reading "Shipping News" sitting in the airport, way ahead of schedule. From page one, I was captivated. The characters are so real; the story could be any tiny town on the coast of Newfoundland (by the way, it is pronounced using the mnemonic "Understand"....same emphasis as on the word "Newfoundland"). Having just recently purchased such a home, I could relate to the characters.
I laughed aloud constantly. Such fun! I am sure all of the fine folks I was sitting with the in the airport thought I was a bit mad. Occasionally, I would look up and I could see the unique personalities I was reading about.
The people of Newfoundland, mostly of Irish descent (with a lilt to their accent), have always had a hard scrabble life. They are a unique breed of human beings, and are portrayed in Shipping News with the respect they deserve. It is a tender, funny and sometimes harsh look at the life of the people who inhabit "The Rock". It is a book that I have read over and over, and give as a gift to my best girlfriends.
I recommend reading the book before watching the movie, but you will find much lacking in the movie, even though it's very well done.
Every time I pick up the book, I yearn to go "home"..............
A Great Novel.......2007-07-16
This is what writing is all about. A fantastic story constructed in a unique way, far from the mainstream. The characters in the Shipping News are wonderfully rich and far from mundane. The story is full of life and I only wish that there were more books out there that could create such an enjoyable world for me to lose myself in. How anyone could rip on The Shipping News is beyond me. Maybe they can't go beyond the cookie cutter world of best selling authors.
!!!Can't get any worse than this!!!.......2007-04-30
The Shipping news is about an average guy named Quoyle who tries to start a new life in Newfoundland. His two-timing wife died in a car crash and his parents have committed suicide so his aunt comes down to stay with Quoyle and his two lovely young girls. Soon after the aunt, Quoyle and the girls set off to Newfoundland to start a new life. Quoyle gets a job at the local news paper and the aunt sets up an upholstery shop. They both uncover various things about there past and their ancestors. This whole plot line is just way to confusing and not interesting enough. This book is lacking in irony. There are no surprises or any hooks to pull you in. You also don't feel any connection to the characters and it is pointless to read. This book is filled with detail, but it uses such strong vocabulary you forget what is being described in the first place. This book seems to go on forever; the pages just drag on and on. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone!
No word of a lie the boredom will kill you .......2007-04-16
i hattttttted this book. i was on holidays and staying on a remote island, innocently i picked up this book on route and cursed my bad luck for weeks after. Its so slow-moving and mind-numbingly boring you'll actually pray for death. it became my Everest. every agonising page seemed to go on for about a hundred years. Quoyle or whatever he's called is the dullest character in the history of the written word, don't get me started on his daughters and it does nova scotia no favours at all. i have no idea what the author was thinking and have never dared or will never dare read another word she writes. if you're interested yep i finished it and then lit a match and had me a little bonfire!!!!!!!!!!
Amazon.com
The events of September 11 have seemingly been covered, analyzed, and discussed from every angle imaginable. So the subject matter alone of Jim DeFede's The Day the World Came to Town makes it noteworthy. In the immediate aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, 38 commercial airliners carrying over 6,000 passengers were forced, as a precautionary measure, to land in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada. Due to the ongoing closure of U.S. airspace, the passengers spent four days in this isolated town of 10,000 before being allowed to continue on their way. In that time, Gander's residents rallied together to extend a kind of hospitality that seems too expansive for the word hospitality. Townspeople not only opened schools and legion halls for use as emergency shelters, they invited the passengers into their homes for showers, meals, and warm beds while local businesses simply gave toiletries and clothing to passengers stuck without luggage. Despite the grim consequences that led to the situation, DeFede finds humor: two flight attendants are offered a car for sightseeing by a local woman who happened to be driving by; the stranded chairman of Hugo Boss finds himself shopping for men's underwear at the local Wal-Mart. But the real message of the book is how, even in times of great turmoil and conflict, people can and must look to one another for comfort, help, and hope. --John Moe
Book Description
"For the better part of a week, nearly every man, woman, and child in Gander and the surrounding smaller towns stopped what they were doing so they could help. They placed their lives on hold for a group of strangers and asked for nothing in return. They affirmed the basic goodness of man at a time when it was easy to doubt such humanity still existed."
When thirty-eight jetliners bound for the United States were forced to land in Gander, Newfoundland, on September 11, 2001, due to the closing of United States airspace, the citizens of this small community were called upon to come to the aid of more than six thousand displaced travelers.
Roxanne and Clarke Loper were excited to be on their way home from a lengthy and exhausting trip to Kazakhstan, where they had adopted a daughter, when their plane suddenly changed course and they found themselves in Newfoundland. Hannah and Dennis O'Rourke, who had been on vacation in Ireland, were forced to receive updates by telephone on the search for their son Kevin, who was among the firefighters missing at the World Trade Center. George Vitale, a New York state trooper and head of the governor's security detail in New York City who was returning from a trip to Dublin, struggled to locate his sister Patty, who worked in the Twin Towers. A family of Russian immigrants, on their way to the Seattle area to begin a new life, dealt with the uncertainty of conditions in their future home.
The people of Gander were asked to aid and care for these distraught travelers, as well as for thousands more, and their response was truly extraordinary. Oz Fudge, the town constable, searched all over Gander for a flight-crew member so that he could give her a hug as a favor to her sister, a fellow law enforcement officer who managed to reach him by phone. Eithne Smith, an elementary-school teacher, helped the passengers staying at her school put together letters to family members all over the world, which she then faxed. Bonnie Harris, Vi Tucker, and Linda Humby, members of a local animal protection agency, crawled into the jets' cargo holds to feed and care for all of the animals on the flights. Hundreds of people put their names on a list to take passengers into their homes and give them a chance to get cleaned up and relax.
The Day the World Came to Town is a positively heartwarming account of the citizens of Gander and its surrounding communities and the unexpected guests who were welcomed with exemplary kindness.
Customer Reviews:
Great quick read.......2007-07-12
It was great to read a book about 9/11 that had a positive spin. The description of the town and characters makes me want to visit Gander Newfoundland someday.
How a town came to t he rescue of stranded passengers and crew.......2007-05-13
This is an absolutely fascinating true story of how the residents of Gander, Newfoundland, rallied around when many aircraft were diverted there on 9/11 when US airspace was closed. How the town coped with more planes and people than it had ever seen before at once is a legendary story of human kindness and support for others. Very hard to put down once started. Will bring tears (mainly of joy) to many eyes.
A Story About the Truest and Kindest People on Earth.......2006-09-29
My son and daughter-in-law were part of the mass of passengers stranded in Newfoundland after 9-11 and I will always be grateful to the Newfies for the loving way that they cared for them. I am also grateful to Jim Defede for writing this book to thank them for all of us.
This book clearly shows how people the world over should be living their lives. Thank you Newfies.
Interesting Subject but Poorly Written.......2006-09-11
I found this book to be extremely interesting. It tells of a true story unknown to many. However, while the subject was excellent, the quality of the writing was poor. I would not conider this book a final product. It is similar to a draft, with words spelled incorrectly and improper grammar. The publishers should be ashamed for printing such a poor quality manuscript that had not been proof read.
The Best of Human Nature.......2006-05-19
If you ever wanted to read a book that took the best part of human nature, you've found it. The people behind 9/11 were expecting the worst of humanity to come about, instead the result was the best humanity. The people of Gander captured my heart and I would love to meet those wonderful people who took strangers in from around the world. This book will move you to tears and astound you in ways you never thought possible. The spirit of kindness is alive and well in Gander, Newfoundland. I love the United States, but we could learn a thing or two from these wonderful in what to do in the event of a tragedy.
Amazon.com
Though judging a book by its cover is ill-advised, assessing The Bird Artist by its first paragraph is a safe bet. Howard Norman's second novel lives up to all expectations promised by the kind of beginning that makes a reader beg for more and then panic that the rest will not be as good: "My name is Fabian Vas. I live in Witless Bay, Newfoundland. You would not have heard of me." "Obscurity is not necessarily failure, though; I am a bird artist, and have more or less made a living at it. Yet I murdered the lighthouse keeper, Botho August, and that is an equal part of how I think of myself."
There are echoes of Vladimir Nabokov's infamous narrator, Humbert Humbert, in Fabian's confessional tone, witty humor, and emotional detachment from the series of bizarre events he describes. Set at the turn of the century in a remote cod-fishing community, The Bird Artist is a love story of sorts, filled with curious characters and a chowder restaurant. The men wear "knitted underwear all year round lined with fleece calico" and periodically escape the island to pursue their livelihoods on the sea. But the women are land bound. Helen Twombly suspects fellow villagers of stealing her milk bottles. Alaric Vas suffers from arthritis that no liniment relieves and plots her son's arranged marriage with a fourth cousin in Richibucto, New Brunswick. Meanwhile, Fabian's childhood love, Margaret Handle, propels herself and the plot forward with unwieldy energy. How did things for a mild-mannered man who just likes "to wake up early, wash my face, and get out and draw birds" go so wrong?
Norman, a folklorist and naturalist, presents us with the possible explanations in the form of fine details from an island life he researched while living in a remote Inuit whale-hunting community. He carefully examines the inner isolation of his characters. The severe landscape and the weather serve as the perfect metaphor. If you're looking for linguistic pyrotechnics, Norman's economy won't suit you. In The Bird Artist--a finalist for the 1994 National Book Award--there is as much to admire on the page as what's not. --Cristina Del Sesto
Book Description
ABOUTBOOK: My name is Fabian Vas. I live in Witless Bay, Newfoundland. You would not have beard of me. Obscurity is not necessarily failure, though; I am a bird artist, and have more or less made a living at it. Yet I murdered the lighthouse keeper, Botho August, and that is an equal part of how I think of myself." With its first paragraph, The Bird Artist announces its central themes. Set in a tiny coastal town, The Bird Artist addresses universal concerns: the safety of the known versus the attraction of the unknown, the redemptive potential of creative expression, and the transfiguring -- perhaps damaging -- power of the human heart. In developing these themes, Norman's prose reflects the unique landscape of Witless Bay: spare and beautiful, with stark emotion jutting out like cliffs above the sea. This guide was designed to illuminate your exploration of Norman's landscape, and we hope that it allows you to venture out into further discussion and study of this remarkable novel. DISCUSSIONQUES: QToward the end of The Bird Artist Fabian paints a mural on the church wall depicting not only the physical aspects of Witless Bay, but also representations of its residents and recent events. How is Fabian's narration of his story similar to the mural he paints? QHoward Norman spent time in an Inuit whale-hunting community in Greenland. The Bird Artist opens with the following epigraph: "Suddenly, with extreme violence, he felt himself seized by the desire to be, rain or no rain, at any price, in the midst of the valleys: alone" (Giorgio Bassani, The Heron). What role does the theme of isolation, both geographic and emotional, play in Norman's novel? QHoward Norman has said that he originally wrote The Bird Artist because of Margaret Handle -- that "she puppeteers many things in the book." He also "tried to develop landscape as a character." What do Margaret and the landscape of Witless Bay have in common, and how do they shape and affect the book's events? QThe final chapter of The Bird Artist comments on the etiquette of correspondence: "A man sends a letter, a man expects a reply." This chapter also contains a lengthy letter from Orkney to Fabian. What role do letters, and mail, play in the book? Which characters write letters, and which do not? What purpose (purposes) does writing play in this narrative? QOn page 163, Margaret remembers a song her mother sang: "There's no love/true as the love/that dies untold," and tells Fabian that "It means, once a third person -- outside the couple in love -- knows a bout the love, it's diminished somehow." How does her interpretation relate to the novel's events? Could the song have a different meaning? QSome critics found mythic qualities in The Bird Artist. If a myth is "traditional story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the world view of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon," what does Fabian's story explain or unfold? How does it pertain to the world beyond Witless Bay? QAt his trial, Fabian recalls, "I saw Bevel Cabot, Miriam Auster, Giles La Cotte, Ruth Henley, Olive Perrault. Toward the back were Elmer Wyatt, Peter Kieley, Patrick Flood holding his son Colin, Seamus Doyle." How does the community play a role in Fabian's crime and punishment? Although we never "meet" these characters, what is their significance here? What other writers have used a similar device to convey a group's identity and role? QIn saving Alaric's life, Enoch warns her against straying too far away from her known village. And yet, the novel also presents the unknown, Halifax, for example, as an exciting place of opportunity. Which view does the book, as a whole, support? Safety or limitlessness? The comfort of the familiar lighthouse or the opportunity of the vast ocean? QNorman's protagonists, at various points in the book, commit murder and adultery, lie and steal. Does The Bird Artist condone, or even admire, such behavior? What stance does the novel take on religion and the church? Is there religious imagery in Fabian's mural? In the text as a whole? QThe narrator, Fabian Vas, introduces himself immediately as a bird artist. What is the role of the artist in this book? How dose it relate to Fabian's position as narrator, or storyteller? AUTHORBIO: Howard Norman grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After graduating from Western Michigan University, he moved to Canada to work as a writer and researcher, with a special interest in the country's indigenous Indian tribes. He is familiar with several Inuit and Algonquin dialects, and his published translations of northern folklore include Where the Chill Came From, How the Glooskap Outwits the Ice Giants (a children's book), and an anthology, Northern Tales, which he selected and edited. In 1977, Norman first encountered the eastern seaboard of Newfoundland, and learned of a local artist who, at the turn of the century, had committed a murder. Armed with a time, a place, and an event, Norman pent the years that followed thinking about the story that would become The Bird Artist. In the meantime, he wrote his first novel, The Northern Lights, which was nominated for the 1987 National Book Award, and a collection of short stories, Kiss in the Hotel Joseph Conrad.
Customer Reviews:
A Great Read.......2007-06-19
All I can say is that "I LOVED this book!" If I, as a writer, can hold the reader as captive in my stories as I was held by The Bird Artist, I will be a truly happy author indeed.
engrossing good read.......2007-03-21
This was my second reading of this book and I believe I may have enjoyed it twice as much the second go-round. The characters were so believable and interesting and the setting was quite visual, made more so by the descriptions of different birds. The first person narration was engaging. I mostly loved the complexity of the characters and their stories but the plot definitely pulled me along as well.
enjoyable, fast, fairly well written.......2005-12-27
a compelling story of an artist's life in a tiny Newfoundland town, around 1900. the bottom line: i couldn't put it down and read it straight through -pretty rare for me in recent years, Norman's foreshadowing and solid character development was enough to successfully create some anticipation and sucker me in. still, it's not a five-star book; the writing is a little uneven, with dialogue sparkling on some pages, not on others, little factoids of Newfoundland life sometimes seem pushed in, sometimes he loses momentum and i occasionally found myself just skimming through paragraphs. but certainly a fine enough book for a plane, vacation, quiet evening, etc. the mix of a long personal history and nice character interaction and development is reminiscent of another recent bestseller, `the kite runner', which is longer and denser, yet seemed executed at a slightly higher level all around - well worth a look if you enjoy `bird artist.'
The Bird Artist Soars.......2005-11-07
There is an elegant simplicity in Howard Norman's language. With the same reticence his characters possess, Norman creates a world -- stark, vivid, enduring and endearing. His characters are complex and human, but never "quirky" or sentimentally odd. They are real people who have earned their peculiar outlooks and responses. The Bird Artist is one of those books that leaves the reader with a debt of gratitude to the author.
Delightful and Humorous .......2005-03-26
I loved this novel, for its humor and its tight and straightforward narration of the plot. The writing is sparing, with only the most necessary details. To write so tightly, the author must have edited it carefully and it shows. Not a sentence is wasted.
You know this book was written `tongue in cheek' from the get-go, because it is set, in the first sentence of the book, in 1900, in a place called Witless Bay, the reverend keeps a talking parrot in a room behind the pulpit, and the parrot squawks during sermons. People's names are funny and the characters are distinct and memorable for their eccentricities.
I especially loved Margaret, who takes all maters of importance in her hand. She also drinks and has a prodigious sexual appetite. She is frequently `over- the-top', shooting bullets through a photograph of her boy-friend's "fiancé-to-be" or taking over his parents' bedroom. She is generally a lot of fun throughout the book.
Other characters are likewise full of vigor, delightful or strange, especially if you don't take them enormously seriously. The book reminded me slightly of Shipping News, which also takes place in New-Finland, though in a different era. It too is as endearing and touching and fun.
The Bird Artist is also an historical novel. I think that for an historical novel to grab you, it has to capture the pace of the era as well as the `spirit' of the people and their geography. The Bird Artist is successful on all accounts, side by side with its humorous identity. It takes you back to the days when light houses were often the only way for fishermen to get back to shore; when it took several days in a mail-boat to get to Halifax, when arranged marriages were not out of the question, and the pace of life allowed time to sit on your porch and paint, without the distractions of a radio or TV.
What a fine, gentle sea breeze this book is!
Book Description
Newfoundland is one of the most intriguing places in North America, a land of breathtaking but cruel beauty, populated by some of the saltiest, oddest characters you’ll ever find. In Theatre of Fish, John Gimlette vividly describes the dense forests and forbidding coastlines and recounts the colorful and often tragic history of the region. He introduces us to the inhabitants, from the birds and moose to the descendants of the outlaws, deserters, and fishermen who settled this eastern edge of North America. Leavened with irreverence and affection, this is an irresistible portrait of life in extremis.
Customer Reviews:
Falling Out of Love.......2007-04-11
I wonder if Newfoundland or Labrador has a Tourist Board or some such. If so, I don't think you'll find this book among their recommendations. Time and again, Gimlette promises to treat the land and its denizens fairly. This, he does. Unfortunately, this retelling the story of the people and their history is gruesome, despairing, horrific and almost irremediably bleak. From expert methods of scalping (down to the lips) by the historical aborigines to death by silicosis and the epidemic of glue-sniffing youth in more contemporary times, Gimlette spares not a detail in depicting a place I, for one, do not EVER want to visit, any more than I would want to visit Central Europe during the Thirty Years War. I see that a fellow reviewer has already packed up his kit. I wonder how long he'll last.
I don't understand either why Gimlette's language has been dubbed "poetic". Perhaps these reviewers haven't read much poetry, but suffused with dark humour more aptly describes the writing. Visiting the outpost of Burgeo, Gimlette remarks, "I can think of no more perfect place to fall out of love." I can think of no more perfect book to make me stay away from Newfies and their land. Those of you who found this book somehow endearing must have turned the pages when the going got gruesome---about three/fourths of it. To Romanticize Newfoundland or Labrador is to Romanticize Hell on Earth.
I am reminded of what the poet John Masefield (a great adventurer in his youth) said about it in his later years, "Have you ever seen a lost dog turning one way and then another to avoid being killed by a motorcar in the middle of a busy street? That's adventure."
3 stars for the historical interest. Deo Laus, though, to be finished with this chronicle of rape, murder, suicide and chronic depression.
A most unusual travel book.......2006-06-02
John Gimlette is downright poetic as he describes the geographic, social and sad economic landscape of Newfoundland and Labrador. This prose poetry has a style, but I'm at a loss to say what that style could be called.
His ability to turn a phrase, though, is outdone by the Newfies and Labs themselves... "She'd an eye for my father... always put her tent up he did"... a boat ran into "dirty weather" (a hurricane) and "Got no eyes... got no teeth... but I still shoot". Once you get into it, you laugh out loud when Gimlette tells a local he's a lawyer. Without any of the modern sensibilities about this, the Newfie resonds, "So you're a li'ar, you say."
It's a harsh world he describes using information that I don't believe is available anywhere else. Besides quotes from his great great grandfather's journal, there are recounts of new stories and oral histories. One weakness is that not all sources are attributed in the text and there are no footnotes. He catalogs many horrible ways people have died of cold, hunger and dogs. He tells of famous people who came to this area, made history and left without a trace.
Gimlette describes the "Truck" system that ruled till the 1950s, the fish equivalent of sharecropping, that served to entrench poverty. (Some fisherman never used money in their lives.) With the end of fish in the 1990's, government assistance helped some and 50,000 others left.
I've been to the South Coast of Newfoundland, which he briefly describes in more positive terms than any other place in the book. Reading about this merely "Dickensian" area is somewhat like a relief after all the tragedy JG describes elsewhere on this rock. I stayed in a home much like he describes (clean... momentos... scant furnishings...no running water). The beauty of the landscape and the hospitality of the people left me totally unaware of the suffering all around. This book, is lovingly written and communicates the writer's affection for the area and his understanding of and empathy with its people.
If Gimlette decides to trace his great great grandfather's steps in China, I'll be very interested in that book.
A View Into a Forgotten Corner of The World.......2006-04-12
An interesting narrative of the author's travels through Newfoundland and Labrador- a little known corner of North America. An intriguing insight to the fall of a society when the natural resources - i.e., the Cod - disappeared.
"Piscium inexhaustia copia".......2006-01-17
"Fish without end" is Newfoundland and Labrador's social, economic and political burden. For something no longer there, the weight seems strangely ponderous. In this account of Canada's youngest Province [cliche for sale - cheap], barrister and travel writer John Gimlette takes us on an historical and sociological tour of the Newfoundland that was - and is. Although a Londoner, Gimlette has ties to "The Rock". His great-grandfather, Dr Eliot Curven, tended bodies and souls in the distant colony, and Wilfred Grenfell was headmaster of Gimlette's school. Grenfell's adventures in Newfoundland clearly helped inspire Gimlette's sprightly prose in relating his follow-along journey.
Gimlette understands the multicultural foundation of this location at "the Edge of the World" as many Canadians do not. He reminds us of the Basque, Portugese, and Spanish who preceded the first hesitant British probings along those shores. He reminds us that cod [the only fish under consideration here] could be taken up in baskets. Photographs in the book show these weren't "pan frys" but substantial animals. With fish so plentiful and the means to take them so restricted, it was natural that control of the industry would pass to a few. Gimlette describes the rise of the "Fishocracy" where a few merchants controlled the flow and price of fish. That control passed along to the entire social structure of the island. Even the "home" government in London had far less power than the merchants. There were the merchants and the fishermen - no "middle class" could arise and farming was next to impossible on the rocky barrens. And now the fish are gone.
Using his great-grandfather's journal, Gimlette tours The Rock [Newfoundland] and along the Labrador coast. His journey is spiced with historical accounts of the original settlers and their modern descendants. The stories aren't always happy reading. Poverty and struggle are a fundamental element in life here. If nothing else, the wind is able to toss houses and shift churches on their foundations. And in tightly packed communities of wooden dwellings, fire is an ever-present threat. St John's itself burned in the 19th Century alone. Grenfell arrived just after one of these conflagrations. In remote towns, dogs offer one threat while the polar bears provide another. Life here may be hard, but it shouldn't be boring. Yet that's exactly what led one of Gimlette's contacts into local politics.
Gimlette's narrative is a rollicking adventure of observation and commentary. He's hardly a "detached" journalist, as his account of Premier Joey Smallwood's career demonstrates. There are heroes, heroines and villains aplenty. Gimlette manages to understand a few of them, even though 66 dialects have been identified and to him, one man sounds as if he's "speaking Irish through shingle". Gimlette doesn't fall into the trap of simply cataloging local idiosyncracies, however. He's more interested in, and relates with fine prose skills, the lives and struggles of people living in a forbidding place. Ye'll never use the term 'Newfie' again, b'y. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
Theatre of Fish: Travels Throufh New Zealand and Labrador.......2005-10-31
Author John Gimlette calls Newfoundland a "far-flung place." It's a place that has always fascinated him. And with good reason.
He has known since childhood that his greatgrandfather, Dr. Elliot Curwen, traveled throughout Newfoundland and Labrador in 1893 and kept a journal as a starting-off point for his own journey of a region that, by most accounts, can be considered one of the most eccentric places inthe world, certainly in North America.
Gimlette describes the provinces often-desolate landscape and it's colorful history. Most of all, he revels in the residents themselves, many of them descendants of rebels, deserters and fisherman ("fish-thieves and outlaws," he calls them)
They're a frothy cultural stew of Irish, Scots, English and Micmacs who speak their own distinctive language. (The Dictionary of Newfoundland English is a hefty 700 pages).
The crew from the movie The Shipping News gets some space (if stayed 8 weeks) as does Helge Ingstad, the Norwegian exployer behind L'Anse aux Meadows, a Norse archeological site.
Everybody here seems to agree that Newfoundland is special, but they are not sure why. Using their circular brand of Newfoundland logic, they surmise, "If we only knew why it was so special, it wouldn't be special."
Book Description
Walk on the ocean floor at low tide among stunning rock formations, ascend rugged coastal cliffs on the world's most scenic drive, mingle with the locals at a seaside lobster boil, or spend the night in a historic lighthouse—Fodor's Nova Scotia & Atlantic Canada, 9th Edition offers all these experiences and more! Our local writers have traveled throughout the area, including New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador to find the best hotels, restaurants, attractions and activities to prepare you for a journey of stunning variety. Before you leave for your trip be sure to pack your Fodor's guide to ensure you don't miss a thing.
The San Francisco Chronicle sums it up best —"Fodor's guides are saturated with information."
- We frequently update our Atlantic Canada guide, and we make every effort to bring you the most accurate and thorough book. Plus we provide timely updates about the area to Fodors.com.
- Unlike other travel books, Fodor's guides rely heavily on local experts who know the territory best—so you know you're seeing the real Atlantic Canada.
- We give you the planning tools you need to tailor your trip. We give options for all budgets. You make the choices.
-----------------------------------
With Fodor’s you get much more than a guidebook–we make it easy for you to customize your dream vacation.
Visit
www.fodors.com to find up-to-date travel bargains, mini-guides to worldwide destinations, information on local festivals, dazzling drives, maps, vacation planning tips and much more!
And, for more insider secrets, visit “Travel Talk” and “Rants and Raves” online at
www.fodors.com/forums to get advice from other travelers like you.
Customer Reviews:
Best buy.......2007-03-11
I am organising a trip in the Maritimes and this guide was the best. Very helpfull, very easy to read and you can tell the writers are from the area, they know the places.
Detailed info very helpful.......2006-08-17
The details of what is seen in the various areas are very helpful. Fodors takes you town by town in an orderly fashion with helpful information in planning your trip.
I found that after reading this book, my vacation plans were changed to accomodate more sightseeing. It was very beneficial.
Book Description
Frommer's Newfoundland and Labrador, 2e
Experience a place the way the locals do. Enjoy the best it has to offer. Frommer's. The best trips start here.
* The lowdown on how best to explore this unique province, from hiking in Gros Morne, barhopping in St. John's, to whale watching in Trinity.
* Outspoken opinions on what's worth your time and what's not.
* Exact prices, so you can plan the perfect trip whatever your budget.
* Off-the-beaten-path experiences and undiscovered gems, plus new takes on top attractions.
Find great deals and book your trip at Frommers.com
Customer Reviews:
Really Helped Plan Our Trip.......2007-03-27
A combination of this book and the stuff I received directly from Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism helped me to plan our trip for this coming summer down to the minute (literally.) I found hotels, b&b's, ferries, historic spots, even restaurants, all with remarks that let me know things like how much time to schedule to tour somewhere to which room to ask for at a B&B.
NL is not an easy place to plan to visit - it takes a lot to get there (whether driving or flying) and there aren't many resources available to research well ahead of time. Online isn't too bad - but because most of what you find is run by the business/location itself, there are only going to be positive reviews; and many places don't list their prices on their websites.
Frommer's are always reliable; this one specifically was a real help.
I also recommend reading some other books about Newfoundland before going - the usual "The Shipping News" and "Theater of Fish."
Book Description
A story that unlocks two dark secrets: the narrator's paternity and the fate of her lost children.
In the waning days of World War II, Sheilagh Fielding makes her way to an island off the coast of Newfoundland, deserted except for some horses and a pack of wild dogs. But she comes to suspect another presence: that of a man known only as her Provider, who has shadowed her for twenty years, ever since she made a mysterious pilgrimage to her mother's home in New York City.
Against the backdrop of Newfoundland's history and landscape—so memorably evoked in Wayne Johnston's prose—Fielding is a compelling figure. Taller than most men and striking in spite of her crippled leg, she is both eloquent and subversively funny. Her newspaper columns exposing the foibles and hypocrisies of her native city, St. John's, have made many powerful enemies for her, chief among them the man who fathered her children—twins—when she was only fourteen. Only her Provider, however, knows all of Sheilagh Fielding's secrets.
Customer Reviews:
great companion to colony of unrequited dreams.......2007-06-04
Johnston's excellent Colony of Unrequited Dreams featured Joey Smallwood
with Sheilagh Fielding as a strong secondary presence. This novel
reverses that order--it features Sheilagh Fielding with Joey Smallwood
more in the background. This is not a book that you can hurry through--
think of a cup of very hot, very rich coffee--you have to sip it and savor
it slowly.
The writing is superb--rich prose with a wonderful sense of time and
place. Sheilagh Fielding, for reasons unclear at first, takes up
residence on an island off Newfoundland's south coast--in an abandoned
fishing village. There's very little of the present--perhaps 90% of
the story is retrospective--a looking back at the events in her life.
At six feet three and sharp-tongued (to put it mildly) she has not made
many friends (other than Smallwood). But she has a mysterious "provider"
who has kept an eye on her. The provider's role slowly unfolds--and much
of what Sheilagh (and the reader) thought they knew about her (Sheilagh's)
life gets turned around. In a way, this reminds me of Robert Goddard's
novels (qv) where the past gets unravelled many years later--but in this
case (unlike Goddard's books) Sheilagh starts learning about the
provider when she's 16, and at age 44 (when the novel opens) she has
been learning bits and pieces since she was 16. For me, the process was
like slowly and carefully taking the many layers of wrappings off a very
delicate object.
Johnston has written another wonderful book--this doesn't have the
historical sweep of Colony--but it's layered and rich, and not to be
missed.
This man is a genius.......2007-05-30
I have to admit, Wayne Johnston could write about anything and I'd gladly read it, and the fact that critics have compared him to Dickens is no surprise to me. I would, without hesitation, say he is the greatest novelist of our time. His words are like a warm sea that I could float in all day, and the continuity between this book and The Colony is perfect.
Sheilagh Fielding is my favorite character of all time, and when I first heard Mr. Johnston was devoting an entire novel to her, I thought it was too good to be true. And it was definitely worth the wait. There could have been no better followup to The Colony, and The Guardian may even be a greater book, if that is possible. My hat is definitely off to Mr. Johnston, a true genius in our midst.
Book Description
Atlantic Canada—the sea-bound northeastern corner of North America—is a picture-book painting, a spacious canvas splashed with brightly colored seaports, red-clay roads, boulder-cluttered coasts, shadowy forests, and undulating fields of barley and potatoes. Expert travel writers Mark Morris and Andrew Hempstead help you have a truly personal experience in this captivating region.
Suggested travel strategies and lists of must-see sights provide you with the real insights so you can decide where you should go, stay, and eat—without hassles or regrets. Mark and Andrew detail where to hike, climb, mountain bike, snowshoe, and more. Complete with maps, photographs, illustrations, and special emphasis on leading destinations such as Fundy National Park, Kings Landing Historical Settlement, St. Andrews, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax Citadel, Lunenburg, Cabot Trail, Prince Edward Island National Park, and Gros Morne National Park. Moon Atlantic Canada has all the tools for you to create your own unique trip.
Customer Reviews:
Moon Atlantic Canada.......2006-08-31
Arrived in a short time and in good order.
book is very desciptive and informative. it will be a great asset.
Amazon.com
In 1949, Joseph Smallwood became the first premier of the newly federated Canadian province of Newfoundland. Predictably, and almost immediately, his name retreated to the footnotes of history. And yet, as Wayne Johnston makes plain in his epic and affectionate fifth novel, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, Smallwood's life was endearingly emblematic, an instance of an extraordinary man emerging at a propitious moment. The particular charm of Johnston's book, however, lies not merely in unveiling a career that so seamlessly coincided with the burgeoning self-consciousness of Newfoundland itself, but in exposing a simple truth--namely, that history is no more than the accretion of lived lives.
Born into debilitating poverty, Smallwood is sustained by a bottomless faith in his own industry. His unabashed ambition is to "rise not from rags to riches, but from obscurity to world renown." To this end, he undertakes tasks both sublime and baffling--walking 700 miles along a Newfoundland railroad line in a self-martyring union drive; narrating a homespun radio spot; and endlessly irritating and ingratiating himself with the Newfoundland political machine. His opaque and constant incitement is an unconsummated love for his childhood friend, Sheilagh Fielding. Headstrong and dissolute, she weaves in and out of Smallwood's life like a salaried goad, alternately frustrating and illuminating his ambitions. Smallwood is harried as well by Newfoundland's subtle gravity, a sense that he can never escape the tug of his native land, since his only certainty is the island itself--that "massive assertion of land, sea's end, the outer limit of all the water in the world, a great, looming, sky-obliterating chunk of rock."
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams bogs down after a time in its detailing of Smallwood's many political intrigues and in the lingering matter of a mysterious letter supposedly written by Fielding. However, when he speculates on the secret motives of his peers, or when he reveals his own hyperbolic fantasies and grandiose hopes--matters no one would ever confess aloud--the novel is both apt and amiable. Best of all is to watch Smallwood's inevitable progress toward a practical cynicism. It seems nothing less than miraculous that his countless disappointments pave the way for his ascension, that his private travails ultimately align with the land he loves. This is history resuscitated. --Ben Guterson
Book Description
"The Colony of Unrequited Dreams" is Newfoundland--that vast, haunting near-continent upon which the two lovers and adversaries of this miraculously inventive novel pursue their ambitions.
Joey Smallwood, sprung from almost Dickensian privation, is a scholarship boy at a private school, where his ready wit bests the formidably tart-tongued Sheilagh Fielding. Their dual fates become forever linked by an anonymous letter to a local paper critical of the school--a letter whose mysterious authorship will weigh heavily on their lives.
Driven by socialist dreams and political desire, Smallwood will walk a railroad line the breadth of Newfoundland in a journey of astonishing power and beauty, to unionize the workers--and make his name. Fielding, now a popular newspaper columnist, provides--in her journalism, her diaries, and her bleakly hilarious "Condensed History of Newfoundland"--a satirical and eloquent counternarrative to Smallwood's story.
As the decades pass and Smallwood's rise converges with Newfoundland's emerging autonomy, these two vexed characters must confront their own frailties and secrets--and their mutual (if doomed) love.
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams combines erudition, unflagging narrative brio, and emotional depth in a manner reminiscent of the best of Robertson Davies and John Irving. Set in a landscape already made familiar to American readers by Annie Proulx and Howard Norman, it establishes Wayne Johnston as a novelist who is as profound as he is funny, with an unerringly ironic sense of the intersection where private lives and history collide.
Customer Reviews:
Wayne Johnston Rocks!.......2007-07-31
Another masterful story by author Wayne Johnston, the best story teller I have read in a long time. The story flows from beginning to end as his characters take you along with them through Newfoundland. Any lover of a good yarn will love this tale.
People in History.......2007-07-01
The book combines a fascinating account of the political development of Newfoundland, seen through three sets of eyes, those of Smallwood, Fielding and Prowse, with the single-minded dedication of Smallwood to "make something of himself". That he does so to the exclusion of all personal social matters seems not to belittle him as a person, as his goal includes the betterment of the people of Newfoundland. The descriptions of the life and poverty in Newfoundland in the early years, along with the exploitation of the island by almost everyone, is extremely interesting, but it is s little tragic that his single-mindedness of purpose precludes him from, possibly, realizing great joy and fulfillment in his personal relationships. A most interesting and readable book.
WOW!.......2006-06-04
I never expected that this "fictionalized" history of Joe Smallwood's life, a story of how New Foundland would come into Canadian Confederation would be a PAGE TURNER. The love story between the train wreck of a character, Fielding, and Smallwood is simply amazing.
Fictional brilliant of a man trapped by his own history.......2005-03-14
In 1949 the British colony of Newfoundland and Labrador entered Confederation to become the youngest province in the Dominion of Canada. The man responsible for the political move was Joey Smallwood. Smallwood was a curious figure from the start. A man convinced of his own history and somewhat of a Canadian with a Napoleon complex. Too bad for Smallwood that the island of Newfoundland had not the resources nor he the access to build an empire. However, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, is a sweeping fictional tale based on an actual person. Spanning 50 years in the life of a consuming ambition, this book seeks to explain the strange and odd policies that emerged from the very first premier of Newfoundland. Smallwood had desired to be Prime Minister of Great Britian but settled for his own inaugural leadership role. Today he is as much a part of the province as Churchill still is to Britain.
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams is about a man, a vision, a political hunger without a core compass, and a love that remains forever just a wish. The female Fielding character is an imaginative stresser for Joey through the years, but she embodies the heart of his dreams that are sabotaged by his own inner ghosts and frustrations.
Character, not history.......2005-03-05
I completely disagree with,"it is goodbook if you want to learn something about the history of Newfoundland, but I don't think it offers much in the way of portraying the subtle interactions of human manners." The characters are what got me, not the history of Newfoundland. The tension, stark realizations of loss, lack of care time has for life, and the sadness of the characters mirror the barren grey landscape. The fact that Fielding and Small cannot find fulfillment in each other in real life, but that they crave it much to their own chagrin, is one of the testaments to what we hope versus what can be. Thoughtful, stark, and haunting.
Amazon.com
In 1903 Leonidas Hubbard set out to cross the Ungava-Labrador Peninsula, and to forge a name for himself as an adventure writer. He took a friend, a guide, a canoe, a ton of equipment, and scads of naive hope. Months later, the friend and guide staggered out of the snow, and Hubbard starved to death in his tent, too weak to attempt the 30-mile trek to safety. And that's just Part I. James West Davidson and John Rugge narrate with simple dignity, making vividly tangible the wretchedness of mosquitoes, the panic of no food, and the rocky tangle of the Labrador wilderness.
Book Description
In 1903 Leonidas Hubbard was commissioned by an outdoors magazine to explore Labrador by canoe. Joined by his best friend, Dillon Wallace, and a Scots-Cree guide, George Elson, Hubbard hoped to make a name for himself as an adventurer. But plagued by poor judgment and bad luck, his party
turned back and Hubbard died of starvation just thirty miles from camp. Two years later, Hubbard's widow, Mina, and Wallace returned to Labrador, leading rival expeditions to complete the original trek and fix blame for the earlier failure. Their race made headlines from New York to Nova
Scotia-and it makes fascinating reading today in this widely acclaimed reconstruction of the epic saga. The authors draw on contemporary accounts and their own journeys in Labrador to evoke the intense drama to men and women pushed beyond the limits of endurance in one of the great true adventures
of our century.
Customer Reviews:
S.K. Lapius.......2006-08-12
This is a great read. There is little written about this turn of the century, "last frontier" of North America where even today natives will tell you that you can't get there from here. The grueling hardship and trajedy are well portrayed - as are the portraits of each individual. It truly takes the 3 books written about this seminal journey and adds information from the diaries and other writings of the various figures involved; and, this is artfully done by shifting voices. The book flows well and holds suspense to a surprising degree even to those who know the eventual outcome.
Good adventure story.......2005-03-06
This book tells the story of two expeditions across Labrador. The first took place in 1903 by three men, on which one of them, Leonidas Hubbard, died. Three years later, his wife, Mina, made the same journey successfully. These accounts are well written and make good use of the original journals.
Annoying novelistic style.......2004-04-03
As you can see from other reviews, most people seem to really like this book. I, however, got a few pages in and found I had no use for it, even though I generally go for just this sort of story. The authors of "Great Heart" use a novelistic narrative style, filling in from their imagination all manner of little details that they obviously could have no way of knowing. I'm apparently enough of a purist that I want my narratives based on reliable source material, not imagination. When an author begins to fictionalize, how can one ever know where the boundary between fact and fiction lies? This doesn't seem to have bothered most of the reviewers, but you might want to stay away from the book if you're similarly picky.
Great book.......2003-09-14
Excellent read - hard to put it down.
A First Rate Wilderness Adventure with a Twist!.......2000-11-01
This is a fabulous narrative of a wilderness adventure, like many others filled with the hazards adventurers encounter when they stray far from home. What makes the story unique is not a side-bar intrigue of romance and mystery but a deep underlying question about human motivation, relationships and dreams - as lived through the minds and bodies of the adventurous. The story is told with skill and grace - and is spellbinding.
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