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Born into debilitating poverty, Smallwood is sustained by a bottomless faith in his own industry. His unabashed ambition is to "rise not from rags to riches, but from obscurity to world renown." To this end, he undertakes tasks both sublime and baffling--walking 700 miles along a Newfoundland railroad line in a self-martyring union drive; narrating a homespun radio spot; and endlessly irritating and ingratiating himself with the Newfoundland political machine. His opaque and constant incitement is an unconsummated love for his childhood friend, Sheilagh Fielding. Headstrong and dissolute, she weaves in and out of Smallwood's life like a salaried goad, alternately frustrating and illuminating his ambitions. Smallwood is harried as well by Newfoundland's subtle gravity, a sense that he can never escape the tug of his native land, since his only certainty is the island itself--that "massive assertion of land, sea's end, the outer limit of all the water in the world, a great, looming, sky-obliterating chunk of rock."
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams bogs down after a time in its detailing of Smallwood's many political intrigues and in the lingering matter of a mysterious letter supposedly written by Fielding. However, when he speculates on the secret motives of his peers, or when he reveals his own hyperbolic fantasies and grandiose hopes--matters no one would ever confess aloud--the novel is both apt and amiable. Best of all is to watch Smallwood's inevitable progress toward a practical cynicism. It seems nothing less than miraculous that his countless disappointments pave the way for his ascension, that his private travails ultimately align with the land he loves. This is history resuscitated. --Ben Guterson
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: New. 1st Edition. First edition hardcover in dust jacket. Signed by Mr. Johnston on the title page. Shortlisted for the Governor General's Award and the Giller Prize. Fine/Fine. Signed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # 263565
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: As New. 1st Edition. New, An Unread Copy. May Have Minor Shelf Wear To Dust Jacket. - For More Information On Condition. Please See All Photos In The Colony Of Unrequited Dreams, Wayne Johnston Transforms The Story Of Longtime Newfoundland Premier Joey Smallwood Into A Vastly Inventive Drama Of Ambition, History, And Landscape, Aided By The Entirely Fictional Creation Of Sheilagh Fielding: Unconsummated Love Interest, Eccentric Journalist, And A Character So Vivid And Singular That She Even Overshadows Smallwood Himself, One Of The True Originals Of Canadian History. Seller Inventory # 007377
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: New. 1st Edition. New - Unread - 1St Edition - Signed - For More Information On Condition. - Please See All Photos. - In The Colony Of Unrequited Dreams, Wayne Johnston Transforms The Story Of Longtime Newfoundland Premier Joey Smallwood Into A Vastly Inventive Drama Of Ambition, History, And Landscape, Aided By The Entirely Fictional Creation Of Sheilagh Fielding: Unconsummated Love Interest, Eccentric Journalist, And A Character So Vivid And Singular That She Even Overshadows Smallwood Himself, One Of The True Originals Of Canadian History. Signed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # 003462