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21st out of 401 books
—
296 voters
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams
A mystery and a love story spanning five decades, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams is an epic portrait of passion and ambition, set against the beautiful, brutal landscape of Newfoundland. In this widely acclaimed novel, Johnston has created two of the most memorable characters in recent fiction: Joey Smallwood, who claws his way up from poverty to become New Foundland's fi...more
Paperback, 592 pages
Published
May 2nd 2000
by Anchor
(first published 1998)
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I provided a review in mistake..wrong Johnston book. But I anticipate enjoying it since his other works drew me in so completely.
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The history of Newfoundland is not a subject I would ever think I would enjoy learning about. This brilliantly written book manages to sum up the history of that island in a truly fascinating way. I never felt like this book was dragging, even though it is very large and stuffed to the brim with information, facts, and observations. By following the life of the future first premier of the country, Wayne Johnston reels his readers in. Joe Smallwood is like the little engine that could, he just ke...more
Seemed a bit derivative of Howard Norman (Sheilagh Fielding is a close sister to Margaret Handle in The Bird Artist, which was published a few years earlier). Although the writing is good—the author excels at description and character develpment—the story somehow doesn’t seem to justify the length (500-plus pages). That said, the interwoven pages from Fielding’s history of Newfoundland are an interesting device. Without them, there’d be less of a sense of place, which is essential for the story....more
This title fit the book very well.
I enjoyed the characters very much and felt that Fielding was essential to the story. I loved the layers of irony and the demonstrations of things simply stated. Eg. Smallwood said he was not a good father or husband and then throughout the book you realize how little the wife and children play a part its incredibly demonstrative of how poor he is at those roles.
One of the highlights of the novel is a series of brief interpolated chapters under the rubric of "Fi...more
I enjoyed the characters very much and felt that Fielding was essential to the story. I loved the layers of irony and the demonstrations of things simply stated. Eg. Smallwood said he was not a good father or husband and then throughout the book you realize how little the wife and children play a part its incredibly demonstrative of how poor he is at those roles.
One of the highlights of the novel is a series of brief interpolated chapters under the rubric of "Fi...more
I've never been to Newfoundland, couldn't find it on a map. I'm half-way through this huge book and have no desire whatsoever to go there. I have no clue how this tome ended up in my bookcase. It must weigh six pounds. It took up a lot of space so I decided to read it to clear the shelf.
Fabulous, fabulous. I want to be Fielding. I want to buy boots for Joe. I want to vote two or three times in some local election. The bitterness of their lives is buried under hope, love, loyalty, confusion, dedi...more
Fabulous, fabulous. I want to be Fielding. I want to buy boots for Joe. I want to vote two or three times in some local election. The bitterness of their lives is buried under hope, love, loyalty, confusion, dedi...more
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This is more toward historical fiction than biography, but Wayne Johnston does a satisfying job of creating a somewhat fictional life of Joey Smallwood with the bulk of the book concentrating on the years before Smallwood becomes Newfoundland's first premier.
The made up character of Fielding is even more interesting than Smallwood, I think, although I probably wouldn't say that until almost the end of the book. Before that we have an incomplete account of her life - the reasons become obvious in...more
The made up character of Fielding is even more interesting than Smallwood, I think, although I probably wouldn't say that until almost the end of the book. Before that we have an incomplete account of her life - the reasons become obvious in...more
This novel is a work of arcane Canadiana brought to life. That said, it is involving, gripping, and reminiscent of the tone you might find in a Robertson Davies novel. For those of you who may have read and loved Annie Proulx's "The Shipping News" you might enjoy another portrayal of Newfoundland, with equally quirky and engaging characters. Joey Smallwood, who was the first premier of Newfoundland when it became the tenth province of Newfoundland is the hero, and Shelagh Fielding, a Dorothy Par...more
This was the most fun I can ever remember having with Canadian history. I was fascinated by the characters' personal lives, and very interested in the development of Newfoundland as a country before it entered Confederation. I wish it could have been written from the point of view of Sheilagh Fielding, who I found much more interesting than Joey Smallwood. Smallwood's naked ambition was almost his only character trait. But I guess Johnston might not have been able to include as much detail in hi...more
Historical fiction about Newfoundland, and how it became part of Canada in 1949, led by a man named Joe Smallwood. I knew nothing about this part of history before, so I learned a lot. Interesting. If you are Canadian or love anyone who is Canadian (or otherwise interested in Canada?), you may find it even more personally fascinating than I did. One note: the novel switches back and forth between chapters of plot that advance the action, and excerpts from a supposed text of Newfoundland history...more
Published just before his death, this fictional biography of Joseph Smallwood, premier of Newfoundland, is stunning in its imagery and love story. It's been 10 years since I read it and I still am haunted by images of the isolated and desolate house, just a step from the train track, somewhere in the middle of this snow-covered island, where Smallwood's unattainable love interest lives alone for reasons I can only gather as self torture and an inability to deal with humanity. And this is only on...more
The best work of historical fiction I have read in a long time. Based on history - that of Newfoundland's entry into Confederation and the architect of that event - Newfoundland's first premier, Joey Smallwood, this is still very much a work of fiction. I'm not sure how much of the Smallwood we read about is real, but he is certainly an engaging, complex and well developed character. His longtime friend/love/nemesis, Sheilagh Fielding is one of my favorite female characters of all time and I'm s...more
Apr 03, 2013
Brian
added it
I am typically a harsh critic of historical fiction (a crude subject heading that allows for the inclusion of fictionalized history) so it was both surprising and enchanting to discover in Wayne Johnston's The Colony of Unrequited Dreams a beautiful story tucked into a bed of "real" events and people. For those easily side-tracked by history, for those that read primarily to "better themselves," beware the temptation to think this is the story of Joey Smallwood just because he is the first-perso...more
This book was highly recommended to me so I started with high expectations. But no matter how hard I tried, I could never really get into it. I should have abandoned it after a while but I kept reading through it, which took me a while to end it.
It's not that it is a bad book or anything. It is well written with great vocabulary. But it's the whole tone to it... I felt like the author wanted to write about Newfoundland itself and the book was just a pretence to get to do that. Half formal histo...more
It's not that it is a bad book or anything. It is well written with great vocabulary. But it's the whole tone to it... I felt like the author wanted to write about Newfoundland itself and the book was just a pretence to get to do that. Half formal histo...more
I'm reviewing this novel with much trepidation and caution. My copy is signed by Mr. Johnston who I met at a reading this past November for his latest novel. He's a nice man and a great reader. He could be a stand-up comic, very dry, very patient with his story telling, and has a very good understanding of story at that. My caution comes from my own writing about Newfoundland, and I have to be very cautious for I am a Mainlander, not a native son.
I have a sense of what Newfoundland is about. I'...more
I have a sense of what Newfoundland is about. I'...more
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston
Wayne Johnston is a wonderful writer. I read "The Navigator Of New York" a few years ago and found the same excellent reading this time. These books aren't the sort you just have to keep reading to see what happens next. I had no problem setting this one aside to read our Book Club selection then picking it up where I had left off. That doesn't sound like much of a recommendation but a sizzling plot isn't everything. These books have good stories...more
Wayne Johnston is a wonderful writer. I read "The Navigator Of New York" a few years ago and found the same excellent reading this time. These books aren't the sort you just have to keep reading to see what happens next. I had no problem setting this one aside to read our Book Club selection then picking it up where I had left off. That doesn't sound like much of a recommendation but a sizzling plot isn't everything. These books have good stories...more
Jun 19, 2008
C
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people who like books about Newfoundland
I liked this book, but I didn't love it. I found it really long. I was sucked in from the beginning with Smallwood's hard luck story and burned through the first 300 or so pages, however once the book got into his mid-life I started to lose interest. I could understand why he wanted to do something great in life, but after his efforts to bring Newfoundland into confederacy with Canada are successful he really falls off as a likable character to me. He's consumed with accomplishing something that...more
Fictional biography of Newfoundland’s famous premier, Joseph Smallwood. This is a tricky thing to do—using the facts of a person’s life and building a novel around them. I want to read a non-fiction biography of Smallwood and fix the “facts” in my mind soon.
I think the author did a great job of defining what drove Smallwood. Johnston’s prose goes down as smoothly as a spoonful of chocolate pudding.
This is one of the best books I’ve read this year. 5 stars
I think the author did a great job of defining what drove Smallwood. Johnston’s prose goes down as smoothly as a spoonful of chocolate pudding.
This is one of the best books I’ve read this year. 5 stars
Fictional biography of Newfoundland’s famous premier, Joseph Smallwood. This is a tricky thing to do—using the facts of a person’s life and building a novel around them. I want to read a non-fiction biography of Smallwood and fix the “facts” in my mind soon.
I think the author did a great job of defining what drove Smallwood. Johnston’s prose goes down as smoothly as a spoonful of chocolate pudding.
This is one of the best books I’ve read this year. 5 stars
I think the author did a great job of defining what drove Smallwood. Johnston’s prose goes down as smoothly as a spoonful of chocolate pudding.
This is one of the best books I’ve read this year. 5 stars
Engaging and elegantly written. If you are at all curious about the culture and ways of Newfoundland, this is a very entertaining way to get a feel for their culture and history. The characters are developed so thoroughly that by the end of the story I felt so attached to them, I felt sad to have to let them go. Also the vehicle of putting 1 or 2 pages of the "history" of Newfoundland in between each chapter was a really clever and enjoyable device.
Sep 15, 2009
Concetta
marked it as to-read
Recommended to Concetta by:
Book Lover's Calendar 8/1/07
Shelves:
review
From Book Lover's Calendar 8/1/07:
You've Never Read Wayne Johnston?
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams is a gorgeous, absorbing novel-and one that is not as well known as it should be. It's the story of Joe Smallwood, his lifelong unrequited love of his classmate Sheilagh, and his rise to power in brand-new Canadian province Newfoundland. "A brilliant and bravura literary performance," according to The New York Times.
You've Never Read Wayne Johnston?
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams is a gorgeous, absorbing novel-and one that is not as well known as it should be. It's the story of Joe Smallwood, his lifelong unrequited love of his classmate Sheilagh, and his rise to power in brand-new Canadian province Newfoundland. "A brilliant and bravura literary performance," according to The New York Times.
This book was amazingly written but took me along time to read. I fell in love with Sheilagh Fielding and really loved her character. It was a book that I wanted to end a certain way but took you in a totally different direction than you anticipated but the ending was perfect for the story that unfolds. I have really deep apprciation for Wayne Johnston. After this novel he became one of my favorite authors!
Sorry, I had to put this book down. I just couldn't get into it and wasn't enjoying it. The characters were not likable or interesting (except for the rantings of the drunken father who disappeared very soon to my disappointment). The seal killings sickened me and I had to skip over that part, so I missed most of the even more important loss of the men on the expedition. I did keep trying for about 120 more pages, but the politics of the times were uninteresting. I gave it up.
This story of the history of Newfoundland...a political, historical view through the life of the first premier of Newfoundland, from his early life, through perils of living in Newfoundland and New York in dire poverty, but with a satirical flair. Also alongside is a short, very funny history of the country by the protagonist's love interest, a very compelling character. I think I learned a lot about Newfoundland.
I loved Wayne Johnston's "The Navigator of New York", but when I read that this book was about Joey Smallwood the first Premier of Newfoundland, I thought I'd pass. Sounded very dry. Years have passed and he wrote a sequel, "The Custodian of Paradise". Curiousity made me read "The Colony of Unrequited Dreams". Glad I did. It was great, an enjoyable read. It is written in the voice of Joey Smallwood himself. It involves a childhood mystery, a hidden truth, misunderstandings--politics only a backd...more
I enjoyed about the first half of the book, interesting settings and characters etc; I don't know too much Canadian history, especially Newfoundland, and this was a painless way to absorb quite a lot of information. But then for me, the book turned into a bit of a slog, and I stopped caring about the characters, the events, and then I found myself skimming to get to the end. I think, however, that most people really enjoyed this book from start to finish.
My first book in Newfoundland proper. It's an historical fictional account of Joe Smallwood. His "friend" Fielding steals the book with her stoic, ironic attitude towards just about everything, yet Smallwood's life was quite fascinating. At times had an Angela's Ashes feel. I never could decide whether or not I liked Smallwood, which I think perhaps would let me fit in with many Newfoundlanders.
To leave or not leave, and having left, to stay away or to go back home. I knew of Newfoundlanders who had gone to their graves without having settled the question, some who never left but were forever planning to and some who went away for good but were forever on the verge of going home. Page 144
As the daughter of a Newfoundlander who left as a young man, and as I have only visited a handful of times, this title filled in some of the vital history necessary to understand this place. I wish I h...more
As the daughter of a Newfoundlander who left as a young man, and as I have only visited a handful of times, this title filled in some of the vital history necessary to understand this place. I wish I h...more
I didn't care too much for this book. So cynical, and hard to care about the main characters. The fact that the narrator is a real historical figure, and that he is portrayed rather negatively (selfish, bad husband and father, vain and self-serving), leaves me wondering if he was really that bad or if the author is painting this poor dead man in a worse light than is warranted.
The story of Joey Smallwood and how he brought Newfoundland into Confederation.
Just loved this book.
Loved the union work he did and his tenacity and passion for his beliefs.
Loved the character of Sheilagh Fielding as well - especially the times and places and contexts in which she would show up.
A wonderful Canadian read for sure.
Just loved this book.
Loved the union work he did and his tenacity and passion for his beliefs.
Loved the character of Sheilagh Fielding as well - especially the times and places and contexts in which she would show up.
A wonderful Canadian read for sure.
Compared to David Copperfield if written by John Irving fictionalizing FDR. Joey Smallfield's life and rise from poverty to power as Newfounland's first premier after joining Canada, along with his love hate relationship with fictional reporter Sheilagh Feilding drive the plot. Newfoundland itself is the main character,
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