In sweetlands case, moses fights through snowstorms, lack of electricity, near starvation and the madness that comes from loneliness. He went to university with no idea what to do with his life and, to make matters worse, started writing poems in his first year. Michael crummey has published ten books of poetry and fiction. The provincial government is offering resettlement money to. Michael crummeys fourth novel, sweetland, takes place chiefly on a little island of the same name off the coast of newfoundland and has at its center the aging moses sweetman, the last of the sweetmans who have inhabited the island for something like 200 years.
The plot of this story is quite timely and intriguing. Aug, 2014 sweetlands longdead brother hollis is jesses best friend. Reading some passages, i could almost feel the bite of the north atlantic wind and hear the cries of the. Sweetland, by michael crummey compulsive overreader. Now, in the second decade of the 21st century, they are facing resettlement, and each has been offered a generous compensation package to leave. Lynn kurland ebooks epub and pdf downloads ebookmall. Nov 20, 2015 sweetland by michael crummey, 9781631491108, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Sweetland shares the same setting and crummey depicts a place that is itself about to become nothing more than a distant memory. All of the blackandwhite photographs in this book are from the ed herrmanns collection.
As in his critically acclaimed novel galore, crummey masterfully weaves together past and present, creating in sweetland a spectacular portrait of one man. By turns darkly comic and heartbreakingly sad, sweetland is a deeply. Its slow decline finally reaches a head when the mainland government offers each islander a generous resettlement packagethe sole stipulation being that everyone must leave. Aug 17, 2014 i received a copy of sweetland by michael crummey from its canadian publisher random house canada. Sweetland, crummeys finest novel yet, reaches its mythic and mesmerizing heights. The scarcely populated town of sweetland rests on the shore of a remote canadian island. If youve been following my blog for a while youll know that i am a fan of canlit canadian literature. The government has offered a resettlement deal to the community, which is struggling after generations of industry loss and depopulation. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading sweetland. Part independent people for the fierce portrait of its main characters unwavering determination and part absalom, absalom. I know it was a while ago, but i am only just slowly coming back now. Crummey leaves that questions unanswered, and it is in the very lack of articulation of sweetlands motives that the novel ultimately rests.
The scarcely populated town of sweetland clings to the shore of a remote canadian island. Michael crummeys sweetland is all of a piece, its apparent simplicity of style, like that of its protagonist and his setting, concealing a primordial power. For twelve generations, when the fish were plentiful and when they allbut disappeared, the inhabitants of this remote island in newfoundland. Crummeys novels have covered a wide range of newfoundland history, from the extinction of the beothuks two centuries ago to sweetlands. The book has a singular appeal, one which will live in the minds of readers.
Ever since i heard that a new book was coming out by michael crummey, i have been excited about it. Last month it was the martian by andy weir, and this month we were lucky enough to discuss sweetland by michael crummey. Once a fisherman and lighthouse keeper, moses now fills his day with putting up wood for the winter, trapping rabbits for. Sweetland by michael crummey is a work of art, a masterpiece, brilliant for its humanity. Michael crummeys sweetland is like a song of mourning the. Sweetland will remain among my favourite novels of all time, and crummey in my top five authors. Lynn kurland is the new york times and usa today bestselling author of dozens of historical, time travel, and fantasy romance novels. It demonstrates, as the best fiction does and as crummeys novels. Michael crummeys latest novel is the tale of a man living on a small, imaginary island off newfoundlands southern coast, the eponymous sweetland, a couple of years ago. As mentioned above, it is in part the mystery of history and geography. The holdout is moses sweetland, whose ancestors settled the town. Awful, awful things happen to this guy, crummey says.
Michael crummeys sweetland, and more the new york times. Grab a spot on the hammock and browse through our sweet romance books. Sweetland by michael crummey penguin random house canada. Greetings lili saint germain, i currently finished reading one of your greatest books, seven sons diana. Michael crummeys 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. Briefly, sweetland is the story of a canadian island deemed unviable by the government, too expensive to serve with ferries, schools, road repair, and the like. By turns darkly comic and heartbreakingly sad, sweetland is a deeply suspenseful story about one mans struggles against the forces of nature and the ruins of. Michael crummey explains how he wrote a book where the entire last half features only one character. A former fisherman and lighthouse keeper on the verge of 70, sweetland has never been married.
In this context, the castaway story is told as one of stubborn resistance to change, and eventually of madness and death. Aug 22, 2014 michael crummeys sweetland is all of a piece, its apparent simplicity of style, like that of its protagonist and his setting, concealing a primordial power. Evoking the shipping news, michael crummeyone of canadas finest novelistsconjures up the mythical, sublime world of sweetlands past amid a stormbattered landscape haunted by local lore. Sweetland is a thing of beauty, one of the finest novels we are likely to encounter this year. From the awardwinning, bestselling author of galore comes another unfor. A former fisherman and lighthouse keeper on the verge of. Born in buchans, newfoundland, crummey grew up there and in wabush, labrador, where he moved with his family in the late 1970s. Sweetland explores the relentless pull of nostalgia and the complicated connection between man and land in previous novels such as the awardwinning galore, michael crummey has depicted his homeland, the canadian province of newfoundland, as a place where myths and legends can come to life. When a person is emotionally tied to the land they live on, money for that land is of little or no appeal. Its slow decline has finally reached a head, with the mainland government offering each islander a generous resettlement package the only stipulation being that everyone must leave. From the awardwinning, bestselling author of galore comes another unforgettable novel. Sweetland ebook by michael crummey 97803856822 rakuten kobo.
Michael crummey says sweetland is about mortality the star. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction. Sweetland might be michael crummeys best novel, even though such earlier work as river thieves, the wreckage and galore has garnered both literary awards and international acclaim. Sweetland about this months author michael crummey michael crummey on sweetland resettlement is not a new idea to newfoundland sixty years ago, it was a hamfisted social engineering project instituted by the smallwood government to. And sweetland the person is not localhero material. Winner of the commonwealth prize for canada, crummey sets his new work on a sparsely populated canadian island. Crummeys prose in sweetland is distinct from that of galore, which in its taut poetry reflected the lifedrive of a community battling impossible. Sweetland, by awardwinning canadian author michael crummey, was published in 2015. Crummeys novel in no way resembles a hollywood treatment of this recognizable storyline. He has written a story about an old man who doesnt want to leave his harsh but beloved island, and he has made it a captivating and satisfying read. Evoking the shipping news, michael crummey one of canadas finest novelistsconjures up the mythical, sublime world of sweetland s past amid a stormbattered landscape haunted by local lore. In sweetland, crummey fills each room just right, and the foundations rock solid, built just right for the rooms above. Such is the case with moses sweitlund, a stubborn man who has no intention of letting anyone take away his home. By turns darkly comic and heartbreakingly sad, sweetland is a deeply suspenseful story about one mans struggles against the forces of nature and the ruins of memory.
Sweetland is both a placea small island off newfoundlandand a personmoses sweetlandand both have seen better times. Every detail of that community, its hardbitten people and their lifestyle rings true. Once a fisherman and lighthouse keeper, moses now fills his day with putting up. Download and enjoy your favorite ben sweetland audiobooks instantly today to your mobile phone, tablet, laptop or desktop at. In moses sweetland, crummey has created one of the most engaging, multilayered, truetolife characters one is likely to encounter in a work of fiction. Michael crummeys novel galore is set in coastal labrador, a captivating place, unfamiliar to most readers, that allows for thrilling and chilling descriptions of the cold. Aug 19, 2014 in sweetlands case, moses fights through snowstorms, lack of electricity, near starvation and the madness that comes from loneliness.
It is the tale of a small north atlantic island in newfoundland and an elderly man, both bearing the name of sweetland. Sweetland was a finalist for the 2014 governor generals award for fiction. In anticipation of sweetland, the globe and mail published an essay by crummey titled what it means to be a newfoundlander is quickly changing as if, post1940s, that was anything new. This summer my book club kept finding irresistible gems to read. This does not affect my opinion of the book in any way. A superb fourth novel from michael crummey macleans. For a writer who always explores the same themeloss, both accidental and inevitable, coupled with a resilience that surprises the characters themselvesmichael. Read sweetland by michael crummey available from rakuten kobo. But sweetland, crummeys finest novel yet, reaches its mythic and mesmerizing heights only after the others depart, leaving moses. It seemed likely to be another piece about how newfoundland is so wealthy and cosmopolitan now, how the streets of st. Ben sweetland ben sweetland is the author of books such as grow rich while you sleep. For twelve generations the inhabitants of a remote island in newfoundland have lived and died together. Aug 23, 2014 michael crummeys latest novel is the tale of a man living on a small, imaginary island off newfoundlands southern coast, the eponymous sweetland, a couple of years ago.
Ben sweetland books biography and list of works author. Aug 19, 2014 sweetland by michael crummey is a work of art, a masterpiece, brilliant for its humanity. Ruthie, sweetlands sister, who thought the sun shone out of his arse when she was a girl. Sweetland by michael crummey overdrive rakuten overdrive. Michael crummeys sweetland is like a song of mourning. For twelve generations, when the fish were plentiful and when they allbut disappeared, the inhabitants of this remote island in. Buy sweetland by michael crummey from amazons fiction books store. Sweetland the place is not a bucolic paradise threatened with despoliation. Soon, we will have a newsletter with sweet read books that are on sale and new releases in your favorite series. Sweetland is a tiny fictional island off the coast of newfoundland, dependent on the government ferry for the transportation of supplies and people to and from the mainland. As in his critically acclaimed novel galore, crummey masterfully weaves together past and present, creating in sweetland a spectacular portrait of one. Moses sweetland recalls that, in leading the lost sri lankans to shore years earlier, he was startled each time to see what was following in his.
Sweetlands home as both a lived reality but also an imaginary space, which functions as a representation of newfoundland more. Now the government has offered to resettle folks from the islands one town, sweetland, provided that everyone agrees to leave. Sweetland was a national bestseller and a finalist for the governorgenerals award. Sweetland by michael crummey, 9781631491108, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide.
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