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The Custodian of Paradise
The Custodian of Paradise | Wayne Johnston
4 posts | 1 read | 4 to read
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, Wayne Johnstons breakthrough novel based on the life of Newfoundlands first premier, Joe Smallwood, was published internationally and earned him nominations for the highest fiction prizes in Canada. One of the most highly praised elements of the novel is the character Sheilagh Fielding, with whom Smallwood shares a lifelong love-hate relationship. The Custodian of Paradise is a riveting narrative with Fielding at its heart. Fieldingadvancing on middle age, hobbled by disfigurement and personal demonsis headed for Loreburn, a deserted island off the south coast of Newfoundland. She has borne a lifetime of estrangement and heartbreak by setting herself apart from the rest of St. Johns society. By cultivating her isolation, shes been able to write, both in her journals and for the Telegram. By skirting Prohibition laws, shes also been able to dull the pain of her early years. Alone she remainsexcept for the mysterious stranger she calls her Provider. As Fielding revisits her articles, letters and journals, we are swept up in her tumultuous lifes journey and the mystery of this Providers identity. From the downtrodden streets of New Yorks immigrant neighbourhoods to the sanatorium where she fights TB, from the remote workers shacks of the Bonavista rail line to the underbelly of wartime St. Johns, the Provider seems to have devoted himself to charting Fieldings every move and to sending her maddeningly cryptic letters about his role in her life. Yet he has also protected her at times. While she fears that he may have followed her to Loreburn, she fears even more that he may not be able to find her there. With The Custodian of Paradise, Wayne Johnston continues his masterful exploration of life in pre-Confederation Newfoundland, and of the powerful forces that give rise to great characterindividualism, circumstance, and secrecy; memory, loss, and regret.
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review
Penny_LiteraryHoarders
The Custodian of Paradise | Wayne Johnston
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Mehso-so

A so-so?!? Right? But holy cats this was long-winded and repetitive!! 😩😩😩

rabbitprincess It is a big book! My edition is a hardcover which is probably why I haven't started yet... 5y
Penny_LiteraryHoarders @rabbitprincess I own both! I forgot I had the hardcover and bought the softcover after! 😆 580+ pages is too many when he repeats himself as much as he did here. 😭 5y
rabbitprincess @Penny_LiteraryHoarders Aargh! I hope First Snow, Last Light is better! Managed to find a paperback copy of that one. 5y
Penny_LiteraryHoarders @rabbitprincess I did like that one!! It made me so excited to read Custodian because it was going to be all Shelaigh! 5y
Penny_LiteraryHoarders I keep spelling her name wrong! It will either autocorrect and I don't notice or I put the i in the wrong place! 😚 5y
27 likes5 comments
blurb
Penny_LiteraryHoarders
The Custodian of Paradise | Wayne Johnston
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It's pouring rain out - hopefully it cools down this horrid heat and humidity. Hoping too that Shelagh Fielding can bring me an excellent reading experience. I need it!

mrsmarch Boston right now — ⛈⛈⛈⛈ 5y
Penny_LiteraryHoarders @mrsmarch 😕 but ....great book reading weather!! 5y
36 likes2 comments
blurb
rabbitprincess
The Custodian of Paradise | Wayne Johnston
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My best friend got me a SIGNED copy of The Custodian of Paradise for my birthday! She found it at the BMV on Bloor in Toronto. After we saw and enjoyed The Colony of Unrequited Dreams as a play earlier this year, this was a highly appropriate gift 👍🏻

LeahBergen Ooo! 😍 7y
rabbitprincess @LeahBergen And it is a nice hardcover with deckle edging! 7y
26 likes2 comments
blurb
Penny_LiteraryHoarders
The Custodian of Paradise | Wayne Johnston
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So I'm thinking of reading this next...I should be reading Music of the Ghosts, but thinking it's just a little too heavy for my reading mood. Wayne Johnston has the third book in this trilogy coming out (I've got it from Netgalley) so I'm thinking this would be wonderful right now.

Hooked_on_books I love his books! 7y
Tnovo This one sounds interesting...stacked 📚 7y
30 likes2 stack adds2 comments