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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
Powerful story in the telling, I'm inspired to research the actualities continually reflected on while reading. Wonderfuly developed characters, fascinating descriptions of the circumstance and the terrain along with ascerbic wit, irony personified and laid on so thick it challenges belief.
This book was well-written in the sense that Johnston is a very good writer, but not in the sense of creating for me a compelling story. It has to be acknowledged that Johnston's task is a difficult one: the biographical novel is tricky business. Historical figures often don't have a story arc that conforms neatly into the realm of a novel. And the historical figure in this case is Joey Smallwood, best known as the politician who brought Newfoundland into Confederation. Not exactly high octane material.
So the trick Johnston has up his sleeve is the introduction of a character named Shelagh Fielding as Smallwood's unrequited love, nemesis and part-time narrator (and main supplier of wit in the story). That wit and Fielding's character are the most delicious parts of the story. However, after Smallwood's school days are recounted and the ambitious little man enters the working world, the story eventually grinds to a crawl. Also eroding was my belief in Fielding's personna as a presence in Smallwood's life. She becomes a device, and too much is made of the secret that led to both Fielding's and Smallwood's expulsions from school that it too becomes a device. In short, Fielding and the unrequited love felt contrived to me.
Equally, it's pretty clear that the author doesn't have a lot of special affection, or maybe more accurately, admiration, for Smallwood. That seems apt, given Smallwood's self-involvement and ego. However, with Fielding appearing as mere artificial foil and Smallwood growing increasingly unlikeable, there was little to compel my interest (nor do I really feel I understood Smallwood on an intimate level).
The book is also an ode to Newfoundland -- for better or worse. If you want to be able to picture life and the land on this island, this is a great book for that (as is Michael Crummey's Sweetland). But there were times when the passages felt overly long in their description of the land.
I slogged through to the end and, while glad I read it, I can't say that I especially enjoyed it.
So the trick Johnston has up his sleeve is the introduction of a character named Shelagh Fielding as Smallwood's unrequited love, nemesis and part-time narrator (and main supplier of wit in the story). That wit and Fielding's character are the most delicious parts of the story. However, after Smallwood's school days are recounted and the ambitious little man enters the working world, the story eventually grinds to a crawl. Also eroding was my belief in Fielding's personna as a presence in Smallwood's life. She becomes a device, and too much is made of the secret that led to both Fielding's and Smallwood's expulsions from school that it too becomes a device. In short, Fielding and the unrequited love felt contrived to me.
Equally, it's pretty clear that the author doesn't have a lot of special affection, or maybe more accurately, admiration, for Smallwood. That seems apt, given Smallwood's self-involvement and ego. However, with Fielding appearing as mere artificial foil and Smallwood growing increasingly unlikeable, there was little to compel my interest (nor do I really feel I understood Smallwood on an intimate level).
The book is also an ode to Newfoundland -- for better or worse. If you want to be able to picture life and the land on this island, this is a great book for that (as is Michael Crummey's Sweetland). But there were times when the passages felt overly long in their description of the land.
I slogged through to the end and, while glad I read it, I can't say that I especially enjoyed it.
Loved the character of Fielding. Her fictional presence is the central anchor for this story based on the true life of Canadian politician Joey Smallwood. I was uncertain how this combination of fiction and non-fiction would blend yet I found the reading quite satisfying.
It is the early 20th century, and Newfoundland is not a province of Canada yet, it would only become one after WWII, after a referendum. In this book we follow the story of Joseph Smallwood, from his childhood in an overcrowded poor house, to his time in boarding school, to his time in New York, to his start in Newfoundland politics, and eventually to the referendum and to his becoming the first prime minister of the province. We also see how his life is constantly intertwined with that of Sheilagh Fielding, an eccentric journalist from Newfoundland, whose love/hate relationship with him will be a constant annoyance and pleasure through his budding career.
You know how there are some books that on paper, judging by the summary alone, you should love, but then you start reading and you just don’t? Well this was the opposite. I haven’t the faintest idea why I added it to my TBR in the first place (I probably just saw “Canadian history” and got excited), but for a book about politics in a province I’ve never even visited, it was oddly fascinating. I mean I wasn’t fascinated enough that I’ll read the others in the trilogy, but I didn’t hate it like I thought I would when I actually took the time to read the summary for the first time.
That said, I think it could have been much shorter than its 562 pages. Between each chapter here was an extract of “Fielding’s Condensed History of Newfoundland” which, in my opinion, added absolutely nothing to the story.
In conclusion, I don’t recommend it if you’re not already interested in the history of Newfoundland, but it wasn’t as painful a read as I was expecting by any means.
You know how there are some books that on paper, judging by the summary alone, you should love, but then you start reading and you just don’t? Well this was the opposite. I haven’t the faintest idea why I added it to my TBR in the first place (I probably just saw “Canadian history” and got excited), but for a book about politics in a province I’ve never even visited, it was oddly fascinating. I mean I wasn’t fascinated enough that I’ll read the others in the trilogy, but I didn’t hate it like I thought I would when I actually took the time to read the summary for the first time.
That said, I think it could have been much shorter than its 562 pages. Between each chapter here was an extract of “Fielding’s Condensed History of Newfoundland” which, in my opinion, added absolutely nothing to the story.
In conclusion, I don’t recommend it if you’re not already interested in the history of Newfoundland, but it wasn’t as painful a read as I was expecting by any means.
Fine finctionalised depiction of Joey Smallwood's rise to power in Newfoundland.
I really wanted to love this book. It is often held up as THE book on Newfoundland, my home, and to an extent the writing does authentically capture the flavour of the place. There are too many problems however, each of which is comparatively minor but which, taken in aggregate, seriously detract from the reading experience.
1) The book is authentic Newfoundland, but it is the side of Newfoundland that I hate: self-pitying and self-defeating. Joey Smallwood is not a figure worthy of admiration in real life, nor is his fictitious character in this book. This may represent a real aspect of Newfoundland's culture, but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy reading about it.
2) Following from the above, Johnston seemed so determined to prove a point about Newfoundland that the narrative suffers. The emotional connection is lacking.
3) At the same time, Johnston follows Gwyn's biography of Smallwood (which I read in January) far too closely. The book is too long by a good 200 pages, and a big reason for this is that there are numerous chapters that do little to advance the story or develop the character, but which seem to be included only for the sake of completeness. It is a curious decision given the importance of Sheilagh Fielding's character, who is a complete fabrication.
"The Colony of Unrequited Dreams" is a worthwhile read, and it is thought-provoking as a meditation on Newfoundland's history, character, and what might have been. It lacks as a story though, and I don't know if I would recommend it to non-Newfoundlanders.
3/5 stars.
1) The book is authentic Newfoundland, but it is the side of Newfoundland that I hate: self-pitying and self-defeating. Joey Smallwood is not a figure worthy of admiration in real life, nor is his fictitious character in this book. This may represent a real aspect of Newfoundland's culture, but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy reading about it.
2) Following from the above, Johnston seemed so determined to prove a point about Newfoundland that the narrative suffers. The emotional connection is lacking.
3) At the same time, Johnston follows Gwyn's biography of Smallwood (which I read in January) far too closely. The book is too long by a good 200 pages, and a big reason for this is that there are numerous chapters that do little to advance the story or develop the character, but which seem to be included only for the sake of completeness. It is a curious decision given the importance of Sheilagh Fielding's character, who is a complete fabrication.
"The Colony of Unrequited Dreams" is a worthwhile read, and it is thought-provoking as a meditation on Newfoundland's history, character, and what might have been. It lacks as a story though, and I don't know if I would recommend it to non-Newfoundlanders.
3/5 stars.
i finished this novel a few days ago but, so far, i haven't been able to consolidate my thoughts vey well. so this 'review' may be a bit of a mess - sorry!
johnston is a great writer - his prose is lovely, funny and smart, and his eye seems to come at things from a slightly off-centre slant. i loved (LOVED!) the character of fielding. so much so, at moments i kept wishing this novel was all about her. johnston did a great job weaving the history into his story. i very much appreciated the feel for newfoundland presented through his writing.
where things fell apart for me a wee bit - and why i have't been able to come up with anything helpful to say for a few days - was at the end. it felt like the story was very backloaded and rushed, and the mystery of the letter writer was not very satisfying and ended up feeling unnecessarily drawn out.
so for now i have landed on 4-stars. for the most part, i was completely swept up by this book, and i wouldn't hesitate in recommending it to certain readers. i think i will get out my copy of [b:The Custodian of Paradise|296742|The Custodian of Paradise|Wayne Johnston|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348267939s/296742.jpg|287930], since my beloved sheilagh fielding takes centre stage!! thank you, wayne johnston!
johnston is a great writer - his prose is lovely, funny and smart, and his eye seems to come at things from a slightly off-centre slant. i loved (LOVED!) the character of fielding. so much so, at moments i kept wishing this novel was all about her. johnston did a great job weaving the history into his story. i very much appreciated the feel for newfoundland presented through his writing.
where things fell apart for me a wee bit - and why i have't been able to come up with anything helpful to say for a few days - was at the end. it felt like the story was very backloaded and rushed, and the mystery of the letter writer was not very satisfying and ended up feeling unnecessarily drawn out.
so for now i have landed on 4-stars. for the most part, i was completely swept up by this book, and i wouldn't hesitate in recommending it to certain readers. i think i will get out my copy of [b:The Custodian of Paradise|296742|The Custodian of Paradise|Wayne Johnston|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348267939s/296742.jpg|287930], since my beloved sheilagh fielding takes centre stage!! thank you, wayne johnston!
I didnt know much about Joey Smallwood and while this book is fiction it did have me on Google looking for more information about him. I was sad that Sheilagh Fielding is a fictional character as she is an interesting woman.
The meshing of a few real life people mixed with fictional was a intriguing concept
The meshing of a few real life people mixed with fictional was a intriguing concept
I love Newfoundland, but with it's hostile weather sometimes I wonder how ANY Newfoundlanders are left*. The Colony of Unrequited Dreams frames the life of Joey Smallwood as a long (SO LONG), detailed metaphor of Newfoundland history and the historic struggles of that charming and weird rock in the North Sea.
This book took me a long time to read but it was never boring and, weirdly, I want to learn more about Smallwood's real life and motivations. I'm interested in doing a deep dive into Johnston's motivation as well - especially the Fielding character (was she real?) and WHAT THE HELL with that plot twist.
I've wanted to read this book for over 10 years and I wish I had read it earlier. It was a long, interesting but slow-moving read with a few moments of unputdownable in between.
*Catholic families.
ETA: Crikey. All I want to do is read something light and fluffy and I see Wayne Johnston wrote AN ENTIRE OTHER BOOK about Fielding. Dammit Dammit.
This book took me a long time to read but it was never boring and, weirdly, I want to learn more about Smallwood's real life and motivations. I'm interested in doing a deep dive into Johnston's motivation as well - especially the Fielding character (was she real?) and WHAT THE HELL with that plot twist.
I've wanted to read this book for over 10 years and I wish I had read it earlier. It was a long, interesting but slow-moving read with a few moments of unputdownable in between.
*Catholic families.
ETA: Crikey. All I want to do is read something light and fluffy and I see Wayne Johnston wrote AN ENTIRE OTHER BOOK about Fielding. Dammit Dammit.
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes