camrynrose2709 's review for:

The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston

4.0

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Started this book many years ago and didn't finish it. However, finally got there and it was worth the read. Joey Smallwood was a fascinating figure in Canadian History one I'm sure many children in school nowadays know nothing about, and as such his life deserves reviewing. Told from the perspective of Joey himself for the most part, this book takes you through his childhood, his struggles towards adulthood and his monumental failures for the better part of his life, until he manages to bring Newfoundland into Confederation and becomes the first premier of Newfoundland. Funny, touching, self deprecating at times Joey tells an interesting (if not always honest) tale. The counterpoint to Joey is a fictional character named Sheilagh Fielding, a kind of drunken Jiminy Cricket to Joey's often wobbly conscience and political commitment. She haunts his whole life and in many ways gives insight to the man Joe Smallwood becomes by pointing out some of his glaring omissions and questionable justifications.