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A Novel
by Michael Crummey
Book Reviewed by:The epic tale of an endangered Newfoundland community and the struggles of one man determined to resist its extinction.
The scarcely populated town of Sweetland rests on the shore of a remote Canadian island. Its slow decline finally reaches a head when the mainland government offers each islander a generous resettlement package—the sole stipulation being that everyone must leave. Fierce and enigmatic Moses Sweetland, whose ancestors founded the village, is the only one to refuse. As he watches his neighbors abandon the island, he recalls the town's rugged history and its eccentric cast of characters. Evoking The Shipping News, Michael Crummey—one of Canada's finest novelists—conjures up the mythical, sublime world of Sweetland's past amid a stormbattered landscape haunted by local lore. As in his critically acclaimed novel Galore, Crummey masterfully weaves together past and present, creating in Sweetland a spectacular portrait of one man's battle to survive as his environment vanishes around him.
Sweetland is perhaps a perfect novel for book group discussions, as it offers numerous opportunities for interpretation and even speculation about everything from the reasons underlying Sweetland's stubbornness to the nature of his ultimate fate. It's also a powerful character study of an older, scarred but undefeated man, as well as a potent portrait of the land and people he adores...continued
Full Review
(586 words)
(Reviewed by Norah Piehl).
At one point in the novel, Moses Sweetland travels to a nearby island to stock up on supplies. While there, he is questioned by the French authorities and asked for his passport. Readers might do a double-take when they read this section — the island in question is only a few miles off the coast of Newfoundland, after all — why would he need his passport.
The tiny islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, sixteen miles off the coast of Newfoundland, are governed and financed by France, which means that residents can vote in French elections and the Euro is the default currency (although Canadian and American dollars are accepted). French cars and pastry shops contribute to the islands' Old World feel. Saint-Pierre is the ...
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Michael Crummey's Sweetland is a beautiful prayer for a dying island and an elegy for the titular character, who is both haunted and haunting, besieged by ghosts and yet trying to stop himself from becoming one.
