The Custodian of Paradise

The Custodian of Paradise
By:Wayne Johnston
Published on 2010-01-08 by Vintage Canada

The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, Wayne Johnston’s breakthrough novel based on the life of Newfoundland’s 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. Fielding—advancing on middle age, hobbled by disfigurement and personal demons—is 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. John’s society. By cultivating her isolation, she’s been able to write, both in her journals and for the Telegram. By skirting Prohibition laws, she’s also been able to dull the pain of her early years. Alone she remains—except for the mysterious stranger she calls her Provider. As Fielding revisits her articles, letters and journals, we are swept up in her tumultuous life’s journey and the mystery of this Provider’s identity. From the downtrodden streets of New York’s 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. John’s, the Provider seems to have devoted himself to charting Fielding’s 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 character—individualism, circumstance, and secrecy; memory, loss, and regret.

This Book was ranked at 41 by Google Books for keyword Spinning Silver.

Book ID of The Custodian of Paradise's Books is 10f08jp0hzgC, Book which was written byWayne Johnston

Book which was published by Vintage Canada since 2010-01-08 have ISBNs, ISBN 13 Code is 9780307375445 and ISBN 10 Code is 0307375447

Book which have "528 Pages" is Printed at BOOK under CategoryFiction

This Book was rated by 5 Raters and have average rate at "3.5"

eBook Version Availability Status at PDF is falseand in ePub is true

Book Preview