Any book that can make a reader who hales from the land of pleasant living (i.e., the mid-Atlantic region of the United States) seriously consider spending a winter in Newfoundland is clearly worth reading. Wayne Johnston once again manages to turn what most of us would consider a very dull subject (growing up in Newfoundland) into a minor masterpiece. If you enjoyed "Colony of Unrequited Dreams," you will be equally charmed, intrigued and entranced by "Baltimore's Mansion" but in a more personal -- and, perhaps, more meaningful -- way. I expect that if Mr. Johnston were from the USA, his books would stay at the top of the best seller lists. As it is, he remains a bit of a hidden treasure. Perhaps "Baltimore's Mansion" will help change the situation.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
In this forceful, complex memoir, Wayne Johnston returns to the setting of his 1999 novel, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams. Johnston doesn't just come from Newfoundland, remotest of Canada's provinces; he comes from the Avalon Peninsula, the most isolated portion of Newfoundland (and confused in young Wayne's boyish imaginings with the mythical Avalon, where King Arthur sailed to be healed of mortal wounds). It's an apt metaphor for a land that "was the edge of the known world, and looked it." Avalon's natives fiercely resented the 1948 referendum that joined Newfoundland to the Canadian Confederation--especially Johnston's father, the memoir's central character, who keens for lost independence in a manner highly reminiscent of Stephen Dedalus's father in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Indeed, parallels with Ireland are evident throughout, not just because the Johnstons are descended from Irish immigrants but because the Newfoundlanders exhibit a similar passionate insularity and zest for feuding among themselves. Johnston's muscular, plainspoken prose bears little resemblance to that of James Joyce, but his themes of exile and loss, loyalty and betrayal, and an ancient culture's ambivalent relationship with modernity resonate with the great writer's most urgent concerns. --Wendy Smith
Praise for The Colony of Unrequited Dreams:
"The Colony of Unrequited Dreams is an indispensable masterpiece. It reshapes and animates history with luminous verisimilitude. Every page of Wayne Johnston's stunning novel displays the highest regard for his reader's intelligence and for the art of writing itself...Mr. Johnston has genius in him, and I think haunting, unmitigated, uncanny vision and grace."
--Howard Norman
"This splendid, entertaining novel is both a version of David Copperfield transposed to twentieth-century Newfoundland and an evocation of vanished ways of life in a place caught in tumultuous political changes. Rich and complex, it offers Dickensian pleasures."
--Andrea Barrett
"A novel of cavernous complexity that nevertheless does not overwhelm the reader, who can repose in pure narrative."
--Luc Sante, New York Times Book Review
"As absorbing as fiction can be-and a marvelous introduction to the work of one of our continent's best writers."
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Wayne Johnston is a brilliant and accomplished writer, and his Newfoundland--boots and boats, rough politics and rough country, history and journalism--during the wild Smallwood years is vivid and sharp."
--Annie Proulx
"Grand and operatic...this brilliantly clever evocation of a slice of Canadian history establishes Johnston as a writer of vast abilities and appeal."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A mighty accomplishment: Here's a novel that is as much a tale of two people as it is a history of the harsh, odd, and ultimately fascinating land from which they hail. There is indeed more to Newfoundland than salt cod and tundra, and Johnston brings it all to life."
--Chris Bohjalian, San Francisco Chronicle Book Review
"A long, impassioned, absorbing novel...bravura storytelling."
--Dennis Drabelle, Washington Post Book World
"A capacious, old-fashioned summer hammock of a book--the kind you fall into, enchanted, and hate to leave...I wouldn't have missed the trip for anything."
--Dan Cryer, Newsday
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Shipping:
US$ 3.99
Within U.S.A.
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00058656832
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Wonder Book, Frederick, MD, U.S.A.
Condition: Very Good. Very Good condition. Like New dust jacket. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain light spine creasing or a few markings such as an owner's name, short gifter's inscription or light stamp. Bundled media such as CDs, DVDs, floppy disks or access codes may not be included. Seller Inventory # C02M-00840
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: As New. No Jacket. Pages are clean and are not marred by notes or folds of any kind. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.09. Seller Inventory # G0676971466I2N00
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Fair. No Jacket. Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.09. Seller Inventory # G0676971466I5N00
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Half Price Books Inc., Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
hardcover. Condition: 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!. Seller Inventory # S_411192475
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Book Lover's Warehouse, Johnson City, TN, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: As New. FAST SHIPPING & FREE TRACKING!. Seller Inventory # 200299
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Irolita Books, Aurora, ON, Canada
Hardcover. Condition: VERY GOOD. Dust Jacket Condition: VERY GOOD. 2nd printing. Signed and inscribed by author on title page. Light shelfwear. Dust jacket is protected in new archival mylar. 272 pages. -- Please feel free to ask for additional information, or detailed photos. Ships in sturdy cardboard packaging, with tracking. US orders ship USPS from Niagara Falls, NY. Canadian orders ship from Ontario. Signed by author. Seller Inventory # 10433
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: A Good Read, Toronto, ON, Canada
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. First Edition; First Printing. A Good Read ships from Toronto and Niagara Falls, NY - customers outside of North America please allow two to three weeks for delivery. Light wear to top pf DJ, some water damage to back of DJ, light bruisiong tot tips of boards, small knick in DJ spine. Signed by Author; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 272 pages; Signed by Author. Seller Inventory # 206145
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Booked Experiences Bookstore, Burlington, ON, Canada
Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. Second Printing. pp.272 clean tight copy with some rubbing to edges and corners Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Seller Inventory # 020964
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Attic Books (ABAC, ILAB), London, ON, Canada
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First Edition. 272 p. 22 cm. 2 maps. Hardcover in mylar-covered dustjacket. Signed by author on title page. Seller Inventory # 131724
Quantity: 1 available