What do you think?
Rate this book
Donovan's Station
“Eighty-four years is time enough for one life,” Keziah Donovan muses as she waits for death to re-unite her with her “own sweet man”. Stricken down by a paralytic stroke, Keziah’s body is immobile but her mind is on a journey through a life that spans tw
- GenresHistorical Fiction
193 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
1 person is currently reading
20 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 26, 2019
This is my favourite of Robin McGrath’s books, novels or poetry. I read the original print version of this local historical fiction novel about 15 years ago and was glad to revisit it in audiobook form. It was nice to be reacquainted with 84 year-old Keziah Donovan as she looks back on her life around St. John’s, Newfoundland.
I enjoyed the narrators. But I wish the publisher had not used harmonica and concertina interludes between chapters, which I found disruptive and out of keeping with the otherwise quiet and steady flow of the novel.
I’m counting this as my first book logged for #readingirelandmonth19, given the number of Irish or Irish-Newfoundland characters, including main character Keziah Donovan’s husbands and the historical figure Bishop Michael Fleming.
I enjoyed the narrators. But I wish the publisher had not used harmonica and concertina interludes between chapters, which I found disruptive and out of keeping with the otherwise quiet and steady flow of the novel.
I’m counting this as my first book logged for #readingirelandmonth19, given the number of Irish or Irish-Newfoundland characters, including main character Keziah Donovan’s husbands and the historical figure Bishop Michael Fleming.
January 10, 2019
This is an excellent audiobook. I don't know if I would've appreciated it as much in written form...the characters voices and audio extras made me feel like I was listening to an old style radio program from the 1950s (my parents era).
February 23, 2019
Newfoundland is full of talented writers and Robin McGrath belongs in that esteemed company. In the past I have enjoyed her poetry but this is the first time I have read one of her novels and this one published in 2002 was her first. The story traces the life of Keziah Donovan who was born in poverty in 1830 but at the end of her life owned and operated the Donovan Hotel.
McGrath has created a wonderful character in Keziah who in 1914 as the novel begins, is eight-four and dying from a stroke. She lies in her bed, unable to move or speak intelligibly, spending her long days staring at the ceiling. She can hear what is going on and wants to speak, but finds it difficult to know if words are actually coming out of her mouth or if she is just imagining it. She has eaten little, trying to encourage death to come quickly so she can join her husband and the Bishop in the sweet hereafter, whatever that is and wherever that may be. As she waits, her mind constantly runs through events in her life, lived by the sea and later on in an inland farm on this huge rocky island called Newfoundland. Her story begins with her early life in the small fishing village of Petty Harbour as she helps Bishop Fleming during a smallpox outbreak and as the narrative continues, her voice is supplemented by her daughter Kate’s entries in her diary and letters written by her granddaughter Lizzie.
As a young girl, Keziah quickly learned to read and spent time at the school helping the teacher with the younger ones. When she was eleven she was attacked by a young man hired on as summer help, but avoided the assault and got away relatively unscathed. Although not much happened, news of the event spread in town and many thought that something more had happened than Keziah let on. The rumors had an effect on Keziah’s prospects for marriage and in future years no respectable boy came to court her. With all the young people paired up as couples, things appeared bleak until the Bishop intervened, introducing her to Paddy Alward, a shoe and boot maker who had good prospects for a secure future as a first class journeyman. Paddy was neither as clean nor as sober as Keziah would have liked but with the rest of the men in town indifferent to her, she had little choice for a future husband. Both her father and the bishop made it clear they believed it would be a good match, so anxious to please them both, she married him.
Keziah worked hard to help her husband develop and run a profitable business in town, but Paddy spent money as quickly as it was earned. Life was marked by times of feast or famine, times when they either had money or did not. As time passed, Keziah discovered even more about Paddy that bothered her. It was easy for him to wander from the truth because lying came easily to him. He was always quick to put himself forward, blowing his horn and bragging when in truth he was not as good as he thought he was, would cut corners with the shoes or boots he crafted and take on more work than he could handle. He was loud, enjoyed being the life of the party and had a charming way with the ladies, some of whom found him attractive. Keziah who had looked forward to the intimacy of married life found him rough, clumsy and impatient. It was not the life she had hoped for, but she resigned herself to it.
Their disagreements followed a pattern which simply repeated itself, escalating and more violent over time. It started with roaring harsh words and name calling followed by broken crockery until the pushing and shoving became open handed slaps. After several violent arguments, Keziah withdrew from Paddy and never again let him touch her as a husband. He was left to find relief in the alleyways with the local trollops.
After Paddy’s death, Keziah moved her three girls Johanna, Min and Kate from the city and bought a farm in the country. It was a big change for the girls who missed their life by the sea. When the railroad came through close to her backyard, Keziah began serving food to the passing tourists. She took another big step when she created Donovan’s Hotel where she rented out a small number of rooms and became widely known for the delicious meals she served.
After her disappointing marriage to Paddy, Keziah was happy to remain single until she met Mr. Donovan, a transient laborer who was several years younger. He was intelligent, treated her respectfully and with kindness and she enjoyed his conversation and humor. She married him despite their age difference and it proved to be a good match. He was a gentle, patient lover and they shared happy years together until his death. As Keziah explained to those who questioned her choice of a much younger man, you cannot know who you are going to love and why. She called him the love of her life.
There is a secondary plot that threads its way through Keziah’s narrative involving the actions of Reverend Roche, a man desperate to become the next bishop. He has visiting a number of people trying to find out all he could about Bishop Fleming’s past. Roche keeps dropping in to visit Keziah and her daughter Kate who is caring for her, always pressing them with questions. They wonder why he keeps bothering them and what he wants, wondering if he is out to damage the Bishop’s memory. Keziah knows Father Roche as a political man with ambitions to succeed Bishop Fleming. She has never liked him, finding him arrogant and pushy, always putting himself forward when an opportunity presents itself. As life continues to ebb from Keziah’s body, Reverend Roche’s visits increase. He begins pressuring her about the past, reminding her that her final confession must include everything if she is to enter the gates of heaven. Keziah finds his visits annoying and wishes to be left with her own parish priest, but Roche insists and she has no choice but to deliver her final confession to him. Even when it is done, she keeps thinking she has forgotten something, something important that has to do with Paddy, but as the end has neared, her memory has become increasingly muddled and she can’t remember what it is.
Readers cannot help but admire this strong woman who kept such a positive attitude throughout her life. No matter how bad things became, she never lost her belief she could improve her lot through hard work and effort. She tried to give her three daughters a healthy happy future, knowing every life must weather its difficult times.
McGrath’s writing helps readers appreciate how difficult life was on the island. The soil was thin, held few nutrients and had to be worked hard just to bring forth cabbages, turnips and potatoes. The men who lived by the fishery were always at the mercy of the weather. The sea was their master and the weather turned deadly quickly. Their families back on the land had to keep an eye on the skies as they did the back breaking work of gathering, spreading, turning and salting the fish out on the flakes. McGrath's writing brings readers right up to that backbreaking work, their hands reddened and sore and their weathered faces burnt by the salt and the sun. She places readers in the small damp fishing shacks during the cold winter months when the men sat around their huts on the wharf, mending the nets, sharing stories and drinking beer. Winters were long, cold and boring but when summer came with its throngs of biting flies, there was never enough time to do everything that needed to be done, minding the animals, repairing roofs, picking berries and slaughtering goats. The cod ran in the summer but that conflicted with the needs of the gardens, yet somehow these families had to find a way to manage both.
This is a very enjoyable read, with colorful characters, beautiful prose and interesting historical detail. It can sit proudly holding its own on the shelf alongside many other talented Atlantic Canadian writers.
McGrath has created a wonderful character in Keziah who in 1914 as the novel begins, is eight-four and dying from a stroke. She lies in her bed, unable to move or speak intelligibly, spending her long days staring at the ceiling. She can hear what is going on and wants to speak, but finds it difficult to know if words are actually coming out of her mouth or if she is just imagining it. She has eaten little, trying to encourage death to come quickly so she can join her husband and the Bishop in the sweet hereafter, whatever that is and wherever that may be. As she waits, her mind constantly runs through events in her life, lived by the sea and later on in an inland farm on this huge rocky island called Newfoundland. Her story begins with her early life in the small fishing village of Petty Harbour as she helps Bishop Fleming during a smallpox outbreak and as the narrative continues, her voice is supplemented by her daughter Kate’s entries in her diary and letters written by her granddaughter Lizzie.
As a young girl, Keziah quickly learned to read and spent time at the school helping the teacher with the younger ones. When she was eleven she was attacked by a young man hired on as summer help, but avoided the assault and got away relatively unscathed. Although not much happened, news of the event spread in town and many thought that something more had happened than Keziah let on. The rumors had an effect on Keziah’s prospects for marriage and in future years no respectable boy came to court her. With all the young people paired up as couples, things appeared bleak until the Bishop intervened, introducing her to Paddy Alward, a shoe and boot maker who had good prospects for a secure future as a first class journeyman. Paddy was neither as clean nor as sober as Keziah would have liked but with the rest of the men in town indifferent to her, she had little choice for a future husband. Both her father and the bishop made it clear they believed it would be a good match, so anxious to please them both, she married him.
Keziah worked hard to help her husband develop and run a profitable business in town, but Paddy spent money as quickly as it was earned. Life was marked by times of feast or famine, times when they either had money or did not. As time passed, Keziah discovered even more about Paddy that bothered her. It was easy for him to wander from the truth because lying came easily to him. He was always quick to put himself forward, blowing his horn and bragging when in truth he was not as good as he thought he was, would cut corners with the shoes or boots he crafted and take on more work than he could handle. He was loud, enjoyed being the life of the party and had a charming way with the ladies, some of whom found him attractive. Keziah who had looked forward to the intimacy of married life found him rough, clumsy and impatient. It was not the life she had hoped for, but she resigned herself to it.
Their disagreements followed a pattern which simply repeated itself, escalating and more violent over time. It started with roaring harsh words and name calling followed by broken crockery until the pushing and shoving became open handed slaps. After several violent arguments, Keziah withdrew from Paddy and never again let him touch her as a husband. He was left to find relief in the alleyways with the local trollops.
After Paddy’s death, Keziah moved her three girls Johanna, Min and Kate from the city and bought a farm in the country. It was a big change for the girls who missed their life by the sea. When the railroad came through close to her backyard, Keziah began serving food to the passing tourists. She took another big step when she created Donovan’s Hotel where she rented out a small number of rooms and became widely known for the delicious meals she served.
After her disappointing marriage to Paddy, Keziah was happy to remain single until she met Mr. Donovan, a transient laborer who was several years younger. He was intelligent, treated her respectfully and with kindness and she enjoyed his conversation and humor. She married him despite their age difference and it proved to be a good match. He was a gentle, patient lover and they shared happy years together until his death. As Keziah explained to those who questioned her choice of a much younger man, you cannot know who you are going to love and why. She called him the love of her life.
There is a secondary plot that threads its way through Keziah’s narrative involving the actions of Reverend Roche, a man desperate to become the next bishop. He has visiting a number of people trying to find out all he could about Bishop Fleming’s past. Roche keeps dropping in to visit Keziah and her daughter Kate who is caring for her, always pressing them with questions. They wonder why he keeps bothering them and what he wants, wondering if he is out to damage the Bishop’s memory. Keziah knows Father Roche as a political man with ambitions to succeed Bishop Fleming. She has never liked him, finding him arrogant and pushy, always putting himself forward when an opportunity presents itself. As life continues to ebb from Keziah’s body, Reverend Roche’s visits increase. He begins pressuring her about the past, reminding her that her final confession must include everything if she is to enter the gates of heaven. Keziah finds his visits annoying and wishes to be left with her own parish priest, but Roche insists and she has no choice but to deliver her final confession to him. Even when it is done, she keeps thinking she has forgotten something, something important that has to do with Paddy, but as the end has neared, her memory has become increasingly muddled and she can’t remember what it is.
Readers cannot help but admire this strong woman who kept such a positive attitude throughout her life. No matter how bad things became, she never lost her belief she could improve her lot through hard work and effort. She tried to give her three daughters a healthy happy future, knowing every life must weather its difficult times.
McGrath’s writing helps readers appreciate how difficult life was on the island. The soil was thin, held few nutrients and had to be worked hard just to bring forth cabbages, turnips and potatoes. The men who lived by the fishery were always at the mercy of the weather. The sea was their master and the weather turned deadly quickly. Their families back on the land had to keep an eye on the skies as they did the back breaking work of gathering, spreading, turning and salting the fish out on the flakes. McGrath's writing brings readers right up to that backbreaking work, their hands reddened and sore and their weathered faces burnt by the salt and the sun. She places readers in the small damp fishing shacks during the cold winter months when the men sat around their huts on the wharf, mending the nets, sharing stories and drinking beer. Winters were long, cold and boring but when summer came with its throngs of biting flies, there was never enough time to do everything that needed to be done, minding the animals, repairing roofs, picking berries and slaughtering goats. The cod ran in the summer but that conflicted with the needs of the gardens, yet somehow these families had to find a way to manage both.
This is a very enjoyable read, with colorful characters, beautiful prose and interesting historical detail. It can sit proudly holding its own on the shelf alongside many other talented Atlantic Canadian writers.
April 2, 2014
This is another book that I had to really persevere with. Once sufficiently attuned to its language and rhythm, I relaxed and enjoyed the narrative of someone who cannot speak aloud and is recalling her life from deep inside herself on her deathbed. Lots of interesting observations on culture, history, and relationships.
Read
June 20, 2014Enjoyed it but while it's labelled a novel it's clearly a family story complete with photos. There are no clues to this other than in the photo credits. Interesting chronicle of village life and transitions to St. John's.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews