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325th out of 347 books
—
198 voters
The Custodian of Paradise
In the waning days of World War II, Sheilagh Fielding makes her way to a deserted island off the coast of Newfoundland. But she soon comes to suspect another presence: that of a man known only as her Provider, who has shadowed her for twenty years.
Against the backdrop of Newfoundland's history and landscape, Fielding is a compelling figure. Taller than most men and strikin...more
Against the backdrop of Newfoundland's history and landscape, Fielding is a compelling figure. Taller than most men and strikin...more
Hardcover, 582 pages
Published
April 17th 2007
by W. W. Norton & Company
(first published 2006)
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When I'm travelling I like to read fiction set in that part of the world. In this case, I was in Newfoundland and wanted something "Newfunese". I particularly enjoyed Baltimore's Mansion by Johnston and thought Colony of Unrequited Dreams was pretty good so I chose another by him. (I was very pleased to discover that they study the former in highschool there.) To say that the protagonist, Sheilagh Feilding, has had a hard life is like saying Newfoundland is a bit rocky. In fact her life has been...more
Sheilagh Fielding was the magnificent heroine of this book. A very tortured woman who was in many ways defined by her height of 6'3". She was writing in retrospect of her life as an unloved, embittered, sarcastic but clever,and brave soul. Her mother abandoned her and her doctor father when she was 9. She became pregnant when she was 14. She was forced to have her twins in New York where her mother adopted them as her own with her second husband. Sheilagh's maternal instincts never left her and...more
Massive book.
The author, Wayne Johnston, has perception and skills far above anyone else I have remembered reading. Johnston is a native of Newfoundland. The protagonist, Sheliagh Fielding, was first introduced in a superb prior novel by Johnston, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams. In this one, at age 44, Fielding seeks the isolation of an abandoned settlement on an island off the coast of Newfoundland, and she essentially takes the reader back in time for the bulk of the novel. There is not mu...more
The author, Wayne Johnston, has perception and skills far above anyone else I have remembered reading. Johnston is a native of Newfoundland. The protagonist, Sheliagh Fielding, was first introduced in a superb prior novel by Johnston, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams. In this one, at age 44, Fielding seeks the isolation of an abandoned settlement on an island off the coast of Newfoundland, and she essentially takes the reader back in time for the bulk of the novel. There is not mu...more
I was in love with this novel. Most of the novel is the first person account of a witty, eccentric, outcast who struggles to discover her true identity and purpose in the world while providing biting commentary of East Coast Canadian and American society during the early 1900s. The narrator's story and voice are fascinating, and so well-written, that it makes it that much more devastating when the author chooses to break his contract with the reader in the final chapter, and conclude this truly...more
Johnston is a master storyteller, and The Custodian of Paradise is no exception. This novel focuses on Sheilagh Fielding's odd life (readers of The Colony of Unrequited Dreams will remember her from that novel). Long, but worthwhile. This novel may be challenging for young readers - it may be difficult for them to believe how damaging something as commonplace as divorce was a century ago, how scandalous it was for a woman to smoke and drink, how an illegitimate birth could ruin not only her life...more
WARNING - if you have not yet read The Colony Of Unrequited Dreams, and think you might like to do so, read it before you read The Custodian of Paradise. While both books are said to stand alone, The Custodian of Paradise is a sequel, and I think would serve as quite a spoiler if one read the two books in the wrong order. I am so glad that I got to know the delightfully unconventional, tragically damaged and hilariously witty Sheilagh Fielding in The Colony of Unrequited Dreams before I got to k...more
Oct 06, 2008
Jennifer (aka EM)
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
CanLit lovers; character-based stories; romantics who love a good yarn spun well
Shelves:
lonely-hearts-club,
on-da-rock-or-nearby
Wayne Johnston is a national (Canadian) treasure. He creates characters both real and fictional who can come from only one place: Newfoundland. Even when he transplants them to New York temporarily or permanently, as he seems to do frequently (not sure why), they still retain their quirky idiosyncrasies that mark them as Newfies. That his tales are tall--even when dealing with historical figures such as Joey Smallwood--is irrelevant, when the characters are this appealing and this richly rendere...more
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This book's characters are clasped, like hinges on a diary, with Johnston's earlier The Colony of Unrequited Dreams (a book, that partially inspired me to move to Newfoundland for graduate studies). How terrific to discover that The Custodian of Paradise, along with its heartbreaking protagonist, Sheila Fielding, surpassed its formidably great companion. (I'm also itching to re-read Douglas Glover's Elle and meditate about exiled women on islands in Canada.)
This book was haunting. There is a type of mystery, as I guessed and wondered about the identity of the prime people in the life of the main character. But it was such a portrayal of deep cultural biases and prejudices. It is a tragic story of deep wounds from early relationships. The story pulled me along. I could not put it down.
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I really didn't like this book - the very first part wasn't so bad - it was actually a bit interesting but then once the Forger letters started, I lost interest. I'm not even quite sure what exactly made this book so bad for me. I definitively never connected with any of the characters. I would have given the book up but it's a book for our book club so I felt I needed to finish it. And I never regained interest afterwards. Hoping our next book club book selection is much better.
Not as good a read as "Colony..", yet I felt that it was wonderful writing. It really transports you to St. John and the time of war and how it affected the populus along the eastern shore.
I did feel invested in the outcome of knowing Sheilagh's truths as they were finally exposed. Too many revelations that were hard to believe despite human flaws and frailties.
This is the second book i have read by Wayne Johnson and while this story has its moments of good reading I felt that the author meanders through some of the details. he relates events and then goes through them again in great detail. I also felt that having created a great character he then goes nowhere with it.
This is sort of an odd book. I continued to read it because of the prose. The setting was at the end of WWII off the coast of Newfoundland. It is about Sheilagh Fielding, a loner that had been deserted by her mother at six years of age. Her father doubted that she was his child, and made no bones about it. Taller than most men, she was a heavy drinker who became pregnant at the age of fifteen. Her father sent her to her mother in New York, where the babies (twins) were passed off as her mother's...more
Wayne Johnston is one my my favorite writers and this novel, which brings together characters introduced in his magisterial The Colony of Unrequited Dreams (a five star favorite of mine). Althugh the story isn't pleasant, it is gripping and Johnston's ability to evoke character and landscape are wonderfully done.
From The Atlantic review:
The Custodian of Paradise
by Wayne Johnston (Norton)
In this wildly dramatic novel, Johnston, ever bold in character, plot, and setting, has plucked the 6-foot-3-i...more
From The Atlantic review:
The Custodian of Paradise
by Wayne Johnston (Norton)
In this wildly dramatic novel, Johnston, ever bold in character, plot, and setting, has plucked the 6-foot-3-i...more
I think I would have liked this book better if I hadn't have read the prequel (ish) Colony of Unrequited Dreams. I found that this book went over way too much territory already covered in the first book. I liked the setting and I like Johnston's writing style but I found the ending a bit disjointed. All of a sudden it was about war, where the hell did that come from.
Almost as good as Unrequited Dreams. Talked to Johnston after this came out. He said there will be another Fielding book. Cannot wait.
He also said they can be read in any order...they're not sequels, so you don't have to read COURD to understand this one.
He also said they can be read in any order...they're not sequels, so you don't have to read COURD to understand this one.
I loved this book, as unlikely as the scenario is. What a great book. I was captivated right up until the end. The isolation she faced, personally, geographically, societal, was heartbreaking and the scarcasm she employed to cope was brilliant. I'd read this again.
Ok, did not really read this, but I tried. Got to page 150 and thought... what is this book really about? And then decided that there were so many other books to read at the cabin, something else would have to engage me more than this one!
I loved this book- dark - mysterious and really in the characters head....I handed it to my mom not knowing what she would think and she loved it too. Just enough bizzare information and story twist to keep the pages turning quickly.
A perfect follow-up to Colony of Unrequited Dreams. I'm not telling you a damnable thing. Just go read them both. If you're at all sensible, you'll be grateful for the experience.
4.25 What a character Sheilagh Fielding is: Six foot three, with a bad leg, a smart mouth, a mother who abandoned her at age six, and a doctor father who doesn't think she is his biological daughter. All this during World War I in St. John's, Newfoundland, where she becomes pregnant at age 14, is forced to drop out of school so there won't be a scandal, and sent to her now married again mother in New York for the duration of her pregnancy. Mom keeps her out of sight and passes off Sheilagh's twi...more
I read this awhile back, shortly after I finished W. Johnston's other book, Colony of Unrequited Dreams. While not as good, still a good recounting of life in Newfoundland.
Like Colony, I like this book very much. Johnson evokes Newfoundland better than most East Coast writers - he makes me want to return to Nfld for another visit and maybe even find the deserted island that Fielding shuts herself away on. Fielding is an amazing character, full of wit and fire, tossing off puns and heartbreak. I actually like the character more than the plot around her which veers toward melodrama. And I love Joey Smallwood's return, as the man who is considered not even fit to fat...more
Feb 09, 2009
Anne
added it
I only made it to page 266 of this book, then it was due back at the library. I thought I liked it, but never checked it out again, so.....?
A sequel to "Unrequited Dreams"...I love how this guy constructs sentences and writes dialogue. A must read for aspiring writers.
I really enjoyed how the story unfolded but for all the lead up the conclusion was lame - no pun intended (the lead character has a limp).
Wayne Johnston has an amazing way with words. His wordplays are worth reading the book for alone - except it's a really good book as well.
Thoroughly enjoyed the wit and intellect of our heroine. This book is thick with suspense and plot. Well done.
Didn't like it enough to complete it. Seemed contrived. Should have given it a second chance but didn't.
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