The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston

I knew next to nothing about Newfoundland before I read this well written book, but now I have an understanding of it's history, geography and people. One of the main characters is Joey Smallwood who was a real person; the main force that brought the Dominion of Newfoundland into the Confederation of Canada in 1949, and Newfoundland's first Premier. He worked throughout his life towards bettering the lot of the poor who lived in harsh living and working conditions. This is a book which I think one day will be seen as a classic alongside Dickens; with it's cast of characters and depicting the poor and downtrodden.  A 100 pages in and I am already drawn into the story. At this point the most memorable chapter for me was the episode of the sealers and the hard life they led. Having recently read Moby Dick I recognize the same tribute made to men who may have had to do a cruel hard job so as to save their families from starvation. People today complain so much about conditions in workplaces but looking back, previous generations would have thought we have it easy, which compared to them, we do. A very moving chapter on their courage and sacrifice. The first 3 parts. The first part, detailing Smallwood and Fielding's school years I thoroughly enjoyed. Part 2 set in New York was not as interesting but the book picks up again in part 3 when Smallwood is back in Newfoundland. What I am enjoying the most are the newspaper columns and history of Newfoundland written by Fielding. Her irony is very amusing and smart. Out of all the characters I feel sorry the most for her. She seems to be a woman who is unable to believe the man can do any good from choice and as a result is a very lonely cynical woman; yet at heart she has a flicker of desire/hope that she is wrong. In part 4 Johnson juxtaposes the lives of the poor fishermen and their families in remote areas ice locked a lot of the time, with the British Commission, wealthy Newfoundlanders, and their wives. In the remote areas the fisherman have no money to buy anything and all their homes and furniture are made out of things like old crates and doors; the things others throw away. They have not enough to eat and live and work in harsh conditions. A caribou herd travels through one settlement he is staying and he asks the son of the home if they eat them. He says that not much due to few having guns and those that do cannot afford many bullets. When he returns from these regions, Smallwood is invited to attend an evening with the British Commission. There the tables are groaning with rich and expensive foods, and the people 'running the whole show' are dressed up like the aristocracy. As Smallwood says, to a fellow Newfie journalist, "We are living in an occupied country. A marvelous piece of writing worthy of 5 stars. The book continues right to the end to be worthy of 4.5 stars.