The Colony of Unrequited Dreams is a novel about Newfoundland that centres on the story of Joe Smallwood, the true-life controversial political figure who ushered the island through confederation with Canada and became its first premier. Narrated from Smallwood's perspective, it voices a deep longing on the part of the Newfoundlander to do something significant, "commensurate with the greatness of the land itself". Smallwood, born in 1900, is the first of thirteen children raised from the 'scruff' of Newfoundland, as ...
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The Colony of Unrequited Dreams is a novel about Newfoundland that centres on the story of Joe Smallwood, the true-life controversial political figure who ushered the island through confederation with Canada and became its first premier. Narrated from Smallwood's perspective, it voices a deep longing on the part of the Newfoundlander to do something significant, "commensurate with the greatness of the land itself". Smallwood, born in 1900, is the first of thirteen children raised from the 'scruff' of Newfoundland, as opposed to the 'quality'. Smallwood seems an unlikely hero to fulfil what he sees as his mission: to transform the 'old lost land', with its lack of identity, into 'the new found land.' With perseverance and determination, he sets about the task, becoming a journalist for a socialist newspaper in New York and then a union leader, at one point walking the 700-mile railway track across the island to sell memberships to the section-men living in shacks. He sees beyond his unpromising background, the cold and unrelenting hardship and isolation, envisioning a proud and great destiny. Eventually, a politician full of wild moneymaking schemes, he is swept into a world of intrigues and the machinations of the power elite, just as Newfoundland must decide whether to become an independent country or to join Canada. In counterpoint to the earnest endeavours of Smallwood is the Dorothy Parker-like figure of his lifelong friend, Sheilagh Fielding. Fielding becomes an acerbic newspaper columnist, a hard drinker with a sharp tongue who shares a strange love-hate relationship with Smallwood. Smallwood's chronicle of his development from poor schoolboy to Father of the Confederation is a story full of epic journeys and thwarted loves, travelling from the ice floes of the seal hunt to New York City, in a style reminiscent at times of John Irving, Robertson Davies and Charles Dickens. Absorbing and entertaining, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams provides us with a deep perspective on the relationship between private lives and what comes to be understood as history.
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Add this copy of The Colony of Unrequited Dreams to cart. $2.98, like new condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Vintage Books Canada.
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Add this copy of The Colony of Unrequited Dreams to cart. $4.00, very good condition, Sold by Half Price Books Inc rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Vintage Canada.
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Add this copy of The Colony of Unrequited Dreams to cart. $4.99, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Diamond rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Vintage Canada.
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Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of The Colony of Unrequited Dreams to cart. $5.59, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Ruby rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Vintage Canada.
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Add this copy of The Colony of Unrequited Dreams to cart. $7.99, good condition, Sold by Russell Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Victoria, BC, CANADA, published 1999 by Vintage Books Canada.
Add this copy of The Colony of Unrequited Dreams to cart. $7.99, fair condition, Sold by Russell Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Victoria, BC, CANADA, published 1999 by Vintage Books Canada.
Newfoundland is a Province of Canada, way out east, in the middle of the North Atlantic, a stone's throw from Ireland. Its people are eccentric and peculiar, its history similarly so. Joey Smallwood was the first Premier of Newfoundland when the rocky island joined Canada as a tenth province, rejecting independence from Britain or colonial status by popular referendum. This story should not be compelling reading, but it is. Most Americans know of Newfoundland only from Annie Proulx's "Shipping News," but here readers have an opportunity to read the "real stuff," actual Newfoundland characters put through actual historical events by a marvelous writer, in the form of a fictionalized autobiography of Joey Smallwood. Incidentally, for those interested in such things, it is also a great piece of neo- or post- colonial writing in the spirit of Naipaul, Keats, et al.
