Customer Reviews

Theatre of Fish: Travels Through Newfoundland and Labrador

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Fish without end" is Newfoundland and Labrador's social, economic and political burden. For something no longer there, the weight seems strangely ponderous. In this account of Canada's youngest Province [cliche for sale - cheap], barrister and travel writer John Gimlette takes us on an historical and sociological tour of the Newfoundland that was - and is. Although a Londoner, Gimlette has ties to "The Rock". His great-grandfather, Dr Eliot Curven, tended bodies and souls in the distant colony, and Wilfred Grenfell was headmaster of Gimlette's school. Grenfell's adventures in Newfoundland clearly helped inspire Gimlette's sprightly prose in relating his follow-along journey.

Gimlette understands the multicultural foundation of this location at "the Edge of the World" as many Canadians do not. He reminds us of the Basque, Portugese, and Spanish who preceded the first hesitant British probings along those shores. He reminds us that cod [the only fish under consideration here] could be taken up in baskets. Photographs in the book show these weren't "pan frys" but substantial animals. With fish so plentiful and the means to take them so restricted, it was natural that control of the industry would pass to a few. Gimlette describes the rise of the "Fishocracy" where a few merchants controlled the flow and price of fish. That control passed along to the entire social structure of the island. Even the "home" government in London had far less power than the merchants. There were the merchants and the fishermen - no "middle class" could arise and farming was next to impossible on the rocky barrens. And now the fish are gone.

Using his great-grandfather's journal, Gimlette tours The Rock [Newfoundland] and along the Labrador coast. His journey is spiced with historical accounts of the original settlers and their modern descendants. The stories aren't always happy reading. Poverty and struggle are a fundamental element in life here. If nothing else, the wind is able to toss houses and shift churches on their foundations. And in tightly packed communities of wooden dwellings, fire is an ever-present threat. St John's itself burned in the 19th Century alone. Grenfell arrived just after one of these conflagrations. In remote towns, dogs offer one threat while the polar bears provide another. Life here may be hard, but it shouldn't be boring. Yet that's exactly what led one of Gimlette's contacts into local politics.

Gimlette's narrative is a rollicking adventure of observation and commentary. He's hardly a "detached" journalist, as his account of Premier Joey Smallwood's career demonstrates. There are heroes, heroines and villains aplenty. Gimlette manages to understand a few of them, even though 66 dialects have been identified and to him, one man sounds as if he's "speaking Irish through shingle". Gimlette doesn't fall into the trap of simply cataloging local idiosyncracies, however. He's more interested in, and relates with fine prose skills, the lives and struggles of people living in a forbidding place. Ye'll never use the term 'Newfie' again, b'y. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

This book has me totally exhausted. John Gimlette is a poet and so much more. In such few words he can paint the most extraordinary mind pictures. He combines his impressionistic descriptions with a palatable dollop of extensive historical research, some rather esoteric. (But isn't that one of the reasons we read these sorts of books?) Who would ever have thought that the people of Newfoundland could be so incredibly varied? Not only in regards to where they live, but where their ancestors came from, when, and how they live. What an incredibly interesting place! It's probably the most interesting part of Canada. John Gimlette certainly convinces this reader.

I read this book and then I read it again out loud. Every so often I had a hard time suppressing the tears in my voice. More often I had to laugh and at times marvel at his expressions. Except for the few Gaelic quotes, this book is superbly written for reading performance!!! I hope someone records it!

I think he has portrayed the people and their situation in an even-handed way. There were many people he met whom one must admire for their intellectual honesty, their resilience in the face of life's hardships and their generosity as an expression of their integrity as human beings. I realize that Newfoundlanders don't appreciate being explained by those from 'away' so I'll be interested to read their views. The people are portrayed as being proud of their heritage, their ability to survive and to enjoy life. The quotes are hilarious. Islanders everywhere develop their unique patois and Newfoundlanders definitely have theirs. They even have a huge Dictionary of their own.

Gimlette's ancestor worked as a doctor in 1893 briefly with Grenfell. So there's a great romantic quest here to retrace his footsteps. Grenfell and his mission play a relatively large role in the book owing also to the fact that the author attended a boarding school in England which is owned by the Grenfell family. ....a bizarre time had by all, one can assume. (Are all English boys boarding schools so surreal?)

Mr. Gimlette, I am on my way to visit Labrador and Newfoundland. Your book gives me not only more insight but also instills some not insignificant fears. About those 120,000 moose? I hope not too many of them choose to saunter into the road while I'm passing by. No night driving for me!

Congratulations. Extremely well done! People are fighting me for my copy!!!

John Gimlette is downright poetic as he describes the geographic, social and sad economic landscape of Newfoundland and Labrador. This prose poetry has a style, but I'm at a loss to say what that style could be called.

His ability to turn a phrase, though, is outdone by the Newfies and Labs themselves... "She'd an eye for my father... always put her tent up he did"... a boat ran into "dirty weather" (a hurricane) and "Got no eyes... got no teeth... but I still shoot". Once you get into it, you laugh out loud when Gimlette tells a local he's a lawyer. Without any of the modern sensibilities about this, the Newfie resonds, "So you're a li'ar, you say."

It's a harsh world he describes using information that I don't believe is available anywhere else. Besides quotes from his great great grandfather's journal, there are recounts of new stories and oral histories. One weakness is that not all sources are attributed in the text and there are no footnotes. He catalogs many horrible ways people have died of cold, hunger and dogs. He tells of famous people who came to this area, made history and left without a trace.

Gimlette describes the "Truck" system that ruled till the 1950s, the fish equivalent of sharecropping, that served to entrench poverty. (Some fisherman never used money in their lives.) With the end of fish in the 1990's, government assistance helped some and 50,000 others left.

I've been to the South Coast of Newfoundland, which he briefly describes in more positive terms than any other place in the book. Reading about this merely "Dickensian" area is somewhat like a relief after all the tragedy JG describes elsewhere on this rock. I stayed in a home much like he describes (clean... momentos... scant furnishings...no running water). The beauty of the landscape and the hospitality of the people left me totally unaware of the suffering all around. This book, is lovingly written and communicates the writer's affection for the area and his understanding of and empathy with its people.

If Gimlette decides to trace his great great grandfather's steps in China, I'll be very interested in that book.

In thinking about my friends and family who live in Newfoundland - I think they probably would've felt a little bit offended by meeting the author of Theatre of Fish. At times the writing is difficult to follow. He is a very witty English fellow. I was not fond of the first chapter (or scene, as he writes them) - which opens in a strip bar in St. John's. He describes the people of Newfoundland as freaks - which they aren't. With his colorful observations of the way things look, feel and smell - its a disservice he doesn't try to describe the countrymen with a bit more flourish. I would've liked to have read that.

This book is my first experience with Mr. Gimlette's travel writing, and rarely have I read something that moved me so much. I've been to Newfoundland three times, but never ventured beyond the St. John's city limits. Unlike most Canadian capitals, St. John's concessions to the tourist trade never included abolition of historic properties or determined smothering of the old way of life. Gimlette's portrayal of the quirky, independent, and proud Johnsmen gives you an insight into a people and lifestyle that has changed little over the years of its own volition.

The outport and Labrador chapters were especially poignant. From start to finish, John Gimlette has done a magnificent job of describing life in Newfoundland, that bleak yet beautiful province.

Author John Gimlette calls Newfoundland a "far-flung place." It's a place that has always fascinated him. And with good reason.

He has known since childhood that his greatgrandfather, Dr. Elliot Curwen, traveled throughout Newfoundland and Labrador in 1893 and kept a journal as a starting-off point for his own journey of a region that, by most accounts, can be considered one of the most eccentric places inthe world, certainly in North America.

Gimlette describes the provinces often-desolate landscape and it's colorful history. Most of all, he revels in the residents themselves, many of them descendants of rebels, deserters and fisherman ("fish-thieves and outlaws," he calls them)

They're a frothy cultural stew of Irish, Scots, English and Micmacs who speak their own distinctive language. (The Dictionary of Newfoundland English is a hefty 700 pages).

The crew from the movie The Shipping News gets some space (if stayed 8 weeks) as does Helge Ingstad, the Norwegian exployer behind L'Anse aux Meadows, a Norse archeological site.

Everybody here seems to agree that Newfoundland is special, but they are not sure why. Using their circular brand of Newfoundland logic, they surmise, "If we only knew why it was so special, it wouldn't be special."

It's hard to imagine how this book could be improved upon. It is, first, a wonderful work of descriptive prose, containing brilliant character sketches in St. Johns, the horrors of a demoralized Native village, and the beauties of the various landscapes he encounters.

To this, add a piercing historical review, containing not only exhaustive research but also the incomparable advantage of his grandfather's diaries, giving a first-hand account of perhaps the most significant events in the province's history. This would be akin to having the private papers of George Washington's aide-de-camp while writing about Valley Forge.

To this, add Gimlette's inimitable writing style, which is deadly precise when needed and startling funny when the mood strikes him. His unprovoked description of moose as "luggage-faced, ugly, skinny-arsed, bog-squelching oafs" still makes me laugh. There's really nothing to be gained by romanticizing these creatures, as Gimlette understands.

Who would have known? Well John Gimlette knew. Following his great grandfather's footsteps and using that forebearer's journal the author has enlightened us to the topography, history, politics and diversity of this rocky place at the "edge of the world". Newfoundland and Labrador, far away, cold and wet. Who would have ever imagined that this harsh, forbidding area was so incredibly involved in the growth of the "new world". The author has provided us with a look into the past of this oldest settled region of Canada and a view of the present in this economically challenged area of the world.
Little thought is given in this modern era to Newfoundland and Labrador as important crossroads of history. John Gimlette's research and travels however reveal that many colorful events and interesting decisions concerning this region influenced decisions in the evolving western world. With his wonderful command of the English language, his sly humor and keen interest in history John Gimlette has again used travel to excite and educate the reader. Gimlette is the type of author that a travel reader seriously enjoys.

Reading John Gimlette is a real treat. His use of the language is extraordinary as he gives a clear-eyed, sympathetic yet unsentimental portrait of a place you'll want to know more about. I'll read him writing about anything.

An interesting narrative of the author's travels through Newfoundland and Labrador- a little known corner of North America. An intriguing insight to the fall of a society when the natural resources - i.e., the Cod - disappeared.