Words Jackie LaPlante
The Maritime provinces of Canada produce admirable numbers of award-winning authors – not to mention comedians and musicians. The cultural voice of the region is distinct, as the Irish and Celtic heritages of many residents influence the accent and music. The region has often been seen as politically under-regarded, and suffers harsh weather and fluctuating resource-based employment.
Physically separated from Canada, and entering into Confederation only in 1945, Newfoundland is the most distinct of the maritime regions. While outports had been settled for centuries, these villages were isolated, at the mercy of hard weather and a short, difficult growing season. The ocean delineated the lives of the residents and St. John’s was distant, so comfort and amusement were found in folk mythologies and the storytelling tradition.
Galore, by Newfoundland’s Michael Crummey, is a fantastical tale set in Paradise Deep, an outport whose residents live a life of isolation and hardship. When a beached whale spills a naked, living albino man from its stomach, the event is taken in stride, though his arrival sets off two centuries of rivalry between the families of “King-me” Sellers and the Widow Devine.
Crummey is an avid collector of Newfoundland folklore and delights in using local idiom. His character names and inclusion of local expressions are evocative: Azariah and Jabez Trim join Judah and Absalom in highlighting the biblical excessiveness of Paradise Deep’s rivalries, while those bush-borns and merry-begots who are not lazy stawkins jig up together.
The expansive storyline is not meant to be history but a compilation of folktales woven into a cohesive narrative: triplets with one pair of boots between them, a travelling parish priest who regularly beds a parishioner in the presence of her husband’s ghost, and mummers whose boisterous banter reveals dark secrets. However, the depiction of Newfoundland and its wind-ravaged coasts is real. Families’ lives depended on the fishing fleet, and neighbours – friendly or not, Catholic or Protestant – were essential while a wry humour provided ease. By favouring folk over fact, Crummey underscores the role that cultural history and community stories play in the distinctive character of this region.
There are so many excellent novels set in Eastern Canada, from Wayne Johnston’s fictionalized account of Joey Smallwood’s rise, to stories of Nova Scotia families who struggle, but find love and solace in strong community. These books will break your heart, amaze you, and provide pithy, entertaining reading.
1. The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston
2. Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald
3. Nights Below Station Street by David Adams Richards
