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The Colony of Unrequited Dreams

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About this Book

Hardcover

July 15, 1999


0385495420
9780385495424

From the Publisher

"The Colony of Unrequited Dreams" is Newfoundland--that vast, haunting near-continent upon which the two lovers and adversaries of this miraculously inventive novel pursue their ambitions.

Joey Smallwood, sprung from almost Dickensian privation, is a scholarship boy at a private school, where his ready wit bests the formidably tart-tongued Sheilagh Fielding. Their dual fates become forever linked by an anonymous letter to a local paper critical of the school--a letter whose mysterious authorship will weigh heavily on their lives.

Driven by socialist dreams and political desire, Smallwood will walk a railroad line the breadth of Newfoundland in a journey of astonishing power and beauty, to unionize the workers--and make his name. Fielding, now a popular newspaper columnist, provides--in her journalism, her diaries, and her bleakly hilarious "Condensed History of Newfoundland"--a satirical and eloquent counternarrative to Smallwood''s story.

As the decades pass and Smallwood''s rise converges with Newfoundland''s emerging autonomy, these two vexed characters must confront their own frailties and secrets--and their mutual (if doomed) love.

The Colony of Unrequited Dreams combines erudition, unflagging narrative brio, and emotional depth in a manner reminiscent of the best of Robertson Davies and John Irving. Set in a landscape already made familiar to American readers by Annie Proulx and Howard Norman, it establishes Wayne Johnston as a novelist who is as profound as he is funny, with an unerringly ironic sense of the intersection where private lives and history collide.

About the Author

Wayne Johnston is the author of four previous novels, including The Divine Ryans, which will be published as an Anchor paperback in August 1999; a film adaptation starring Pete Postlethwaite will be released that fall. The Colony of Unrequited Dreams was nominated for the Giller Prize and the Governor General''s Award in Canada. Born and raised in Newfoundland, Johnston now lives in Toronto.

Other Editions

Format List Price Online Price
Trade Paperback $22.00 $17.60

From the Critics

Advance praise for The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston:

"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. I was only happy to finish The Colony of Unrequited Dreams because I then--and did so the next evening--could read it again. 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

"I read The Colony of Unrequited Dreams with great pleasure and some astonishment at the craftsmanship and literary sleight of hand that can pack the history of a country into a romantic novel that is also the autobiography of a real person--and make it work. It is a magic storyteller who can impel you to read on and on, surrendering your will to such an original narrative.  Like many former British colonies Newfoundland has found a literary voice, and hers is beginning to sound as pungent, as irrepressible, as idiosyncratic as Australia''s. Wayne Johnston is a major contributor to that voice."
--Robert MacNeil

"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

"Wayne Johnston has performed a feat more remarkable than ''making it all seem real.'' He''s transformed some actual history (totally unknown to most Americans) into what seems completely the work of his prodigious imagination. The Colony of Unrequited Dreams may span the entire twentieth century, but--if I may pay it the highest compliment--it''s a nineteenth-century novel. Johnston reminds us that politics, for all its squalor, is fit material for passion and suspense--and even so, he''s smart enough to let a love story run off with his exceptional book."
--Thomas Mallon

From The Community

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5

Reviews from the Community13 Reviews

  • wendy smallwood hynes

    wendy smallwood hynes

    One Man's Dream 4

    9 years ago

    Knowing the background of a person and the hardships they endured is the key to knowing what they're really about. This book is a fictional account of Joey Smallwood, focusing mostly on his life leading up to his greatest acheivement, bringing Newfoundland into Confederation. It provided a strong insight into the political person he was, and explored the possibilities of his deepest hearts desires. "Dreams" leaves one with a feeling of knowing Mr. Smallwood on a very personal level, at a time… read more

  • David L. Russell

    David L. Russell

    The Way We Were? 5

    This review is from: The Colony of Unrequited Dreams (Hardcover)

    8 years ago

    The reviewer was a childhood resident of Bay Roberts, Newfoundland, and remembers the great electoral battles of 1948 and 1949, though he was just ten years old at the time. He remembers numerous radio broadcasts by Joey; 'My fellow Newfoundlanders...' , the huge Valdmanis disappointment, etc., etc. So he found Johnston's story gripping as a novel and a compelling reminder of days long gone. The reviewer's father, George Russell, trod the tracks in the early 1940's as an itinerant… read more

  • NL Restless Soul

    NL Restless Soul

    Genuine Newfoundland Character 5

    This review is from: The Colony Of Unrequited Dreams (Trade Paperback)

    8 months ago

    This is an ambitious book that attempts to redefine all we think we know of Joey Smallwood. To take this genuine and formidable NL character and use him in such a meaty work of historical fiction was brave of Wayne Johnson to say the least. To read his quirky earlier works and then dive into "Colony" is to dive with Johnson out of his comfort level and enter a new realm of possibility in the work of fiction. Colony illustrates everything that is right about a good historical fiction. Take… read more

  • Shirley

    Shirley

    Take it from a Newfoundlander.... Read the book. 5

    9 years ago

    A brilliant, powerful story of Newfoundland history that touches on the very isolation that was outport Newfoundland at the beginning of the 20th Century as we struggled to make our way as a country. Eloquently written, with a cast of characters as unique and intriguing as the province itself. A must read for anyone, especially those with ties to Newfoundland, or those wanting to understand the inexplicable tie all Newfoundlanders have for "the Rock" we call home. For remember, "thou art a… read more

  • Jason Bailey

    Jason Bailey

    The Colony of Unrequited Dreams 5

    This review is from: The Colony of Unrequited Dreams (Hardcover)

    10 years ago

    I don't remember the last time a book gripped me as Johnston's has. I fell into this book and could not get out... did not want to get out. Fielding's alternating chapters on "the history of Newfoundland" are a brilliant addition... I sometimes laughed out loud and wished this Fielding were a real person so I could get a hold of more of her witty writings. I warmly reccommend this book to anyone... and it is a MUST read for every Newfoundlander.

  • karyn mckinnon

    karyn mckinnon

    Don't waste your time 1

    This review is from: The Colony Of Unrequited Dreams (Trade Paperback)

    3 years ago

    Unless you wish to spend your valuable time reading a novel that is drier than the paper upon which it's written it's not worth it. A very depressing, long labour to read.

  • Larry

    Larry

    The Colony of Unrequited Dreams 5

    This review is from: The Colony of Unrequited Dreams (Hardcover)

    11 years ago

    A great story for everyone, unless you are a Joey Smallwood fan! Johnston's fine tale creates a fictional story around the real character of the legendary Premier of Newfoundland who brought the province into Confederation in 1949. The story follows Smallwood's humble beginning and his journey to the top of Newfoundland politics via numerous branch detours, including a stint in New York City. The love story of Smallwood and the brilliant character Fielding provides a solid thread to this… read more

  • Aralar

    Aralar

    a man trapped by his own history 5

    This review is from: The Colony Of Unrequited Dreams (Trade Paperback)

    4 years ago

    In 1949 the British colony of Newfoundland and Labrador entered Confederation to become the youngest province in the Dominion of Canada. The man responsible for the political move was Joey Smallwood. Smallwood was a curious figure from the start. A man convinced of his own history and somewhat of a Canadian with a Napoleon complex. Too bad for Smallwood that the island of Newfoundland had not the resources nor he the access to build an empire. However, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, is a… read more

  • Wanda

    Wanda

    The Colony of Unrequited Dreams 5

    This review is from: The Colony of Unrequited Dreams (Hardcover)

    11 years ago

    Johnston manages to combine a fictional story, actual historical events and even a bit of romance in this entertaining look at how Joey Smallwood, Newfoundland's most famous premier, managed to fulfill his dream of fame and recognition. As the young Smallwood gets older, he leaves Newfoundland for New York, a place where he thinks he can make something of himself. After struggling there for several years, he returns home to fight his way into politics - and history. I really enjoyed this… read more

  • Judy Moore Vey

    Judy Moore Vey

    Colony of Unrequited Dreams 4

    This review is from: The Colony Of Unrequited Dreams (Trade Paperback)

    7 years ago

    I quite liked the book. The style of writing, the story, the diary and the history book was unusual in the beginning, but as you got into the story, it made it quite fascinating. You knew you would find out different information, depending what part you were reading. I didn't know a great deal about Joey Smallwood before I read the book and it taught me a lot. read more

  • Frank Young

    Frank Young

    Joey Smallwood's Slow Rise 4

    This review is from: The Colony Of Unrequited Dreams (Trade Paperback)

    10 years ago

    This is a really good book.

    Having said that, it must also be said that two of the major components of this novel are less than successful. The central "mystery" is ultimately of little consequence and one of the two main characters around whom this intricate, fascinating novel is wound is pretty shallow and ultimately uninteresting.

    However, the story of Joey Smallwood and his times and his native Newfoundland is incredibly well told. Gripping, funny, pathetic and full of… read more

see all 13 reviews

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