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    Sweetland
    Sweetland
    Sweetland
    Audiobook9 hours

    Sweetland

    Written by Michael Crummey

    Narrated by John Lee

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    The epic tale of an endangered Newfoundland community and the struggles of one man determined to resist its extinction.

    The scarcely populated town on Sweetland rests on the shore of a remote Canadian island. Its slow decline finally reaches a head when the mainland government offers each islander a generous resettlement package-the sole stipulation being that everyone must leave. Fierce and enigmatic Moses Sweetland, whose inspectors founded the village, is the only one to refuse. As he watches his neighbors abandon the island, he recalls the town's rugged history and it eccentric cast of characters. Evoking The Shipping News, Michael Crummey-one of Canada's finest novelists-conjures up the mythical, sublime world of Sweetland's past amid a stormbattered landscape haunted by local lore. As in his critically acclaimed novel Galore, Crummey masterfully weaves together past and present, creating in Sweetland a spectacular portrait of one man's battle to survive as his environment vanishes around him.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighbridge Company
    Release dateJan 12, 2015
    ISBN9781622316533
    Sweetland
    Author

    Michael Crummey

    Michael Crummey wurde 1965 in der Bergarbeiterstadt Buchans, Neufundland, geboren und zog mit seiner Familie Ende der 1970er Jahre nach Wabush, Labrador. Er ging zur Universität und begann zu allem Überfluss bereits im ersten Jahr, Gedichte zu schreiben. Kurz vor Abschluss seines Studiums gewann er den Gregory Power Poetry Award. Schon Crummeys Debütroman »River Thieves« (2001) war wie »Galore« (2009) und »Sweetland« (2014) ein kanadischer Bestseller, er gewann in der Folge etliche Literaturpreise. Crummey lebt mit seiner Frau und drei Kindern in St. John’s, Neufundland.

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    Reviews for Sweetland

    4/5

    204 ratings30 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Moses Sweetland lives on the island of Sweetland, off the rugged coast of Newfoundland, and he is as much a part of the land as his name suggests. Twelve generations of Sweetlands have made the island their home. When the Canadian government offers to resettle the islanders on the mainland with a generous payout, Moses is the last holdout, despite threats and warnings. Through a series of flashbacks to his youth, and time spent working in Toronto that changed his life, the reader grows to understand his obstinacy. My grandparents all emigrated to the United States from Newfoundland in the 1920s, and the rhythm of the characters' speech, their vocabulary, and the depiction of the life and the landscape rang very true for me. Ultimately, this is the story of how a man can measure his life against all the adversity it offers. Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      Protagonist Moses Sweetland lives in a small community on an island off the coast of Newfoundland. The island is named Sweetland after Moses’s ancestors. The government has offered to relocate the residents if they all agree to move to the mainland. Moses becomes the lone holdout, which makes him a target for abuse by the other residents. He has previously been a fisherman and a lighthouse keeper, but fishing was outlawed (due to overfishing) and the lighthouse was automated.

      One of the highlights is the relationship between Moses and Jesse, the teenage son of his niece. Jesse has autism and enjoys listening to Moses’s stories. Moses eventually figures out how to get what he wants, but at a terrible cost. It is a sad story, full of loneliness. The message seems to be that adapting to change and neighbors helping each other are important to survival. Crummey writes in a way that calls to mind a vanishing way of life. I very much enjoyed this book, but it is not cheery.
    • 4/5
      I'm torn: this is an excellent piece of fiction: subtle, engaging, original... but one not to be read after over a year of pandemic. The themes of isolation, despair and abandonment hit too close to home, which is really a testimony to the author's talent of conveying these moods. So adroit is he in his descriptions that I could feel myself walking through the village and across the island just like the ghost inhabitants of the past.Spooky, endearing, touching and heartfelt, this novel is worth a read. Reserve it for lighter days.
    • 5/5
      Sweetland, by Michael Crummey, was one of my last reads of 2019, and my introduction to Michael Crummy. And what an introduction. Sweetland will remain among my favourite novels of all time, and Crummey in my top five authors.This is a novel which has it all: scintillating writing with believable, fascinating and flawed characters, a deep understanding of the culture and milieu, a plot which is relentless, alternating between tragically hilarious and heartbreaking in its futility. There was one point, during a sleepless night, I was reading in bed and wept inconsolably, inadvertently woke my husband with grief, and could only mutter to his query after my welfare: "It's such a good story."Set on a eponymously named island in Newfoundland, Crummey writes a tragic story about family, secrets, an unwillingness to accept change, and an inability to face demons. It is classic literature in scope, a story which should be read by every Canadian.
    • 4/5
      LibraryThing keeps recommending Canadian-authored books to me . . . . because I keep giving them good ratings. This one, although the author is a man, is no exception. As almost inevitably occurs in Canadian-set novels, the climate is the main 'character' in this story. To some degree this is a 'man-against-environment' story, but it's also much more than that. As someone approaching end of life myself, I liked the book because Moses Sweetland's story is very much the story of a man looking back on his life with regret and unhappiness. Not only has Moses Sweetland had a sad life, but many other characters have also ended up in situations of compromise and disappointment. Secrets abound as people aren't able to face up to their mistakes. It's a small community where everyone knows about everyone else, but really they don't know each other at all.
    • 5/5
      Moving, heartbreaking, humorous story told so well! I am glad I read this without reading the synopsis, I preferred not knowing how the story was going to unfold and the blurb written above gives too much away for my taste! Moses Sweetland is a memorable character and Michael Crummy is a brilliant writer. He has taken an issue straight out of the headiness and brought it to life through the eyes of a lovable cranky old man. Sweetland's story is the story of a Maritime way of life that is fading away; here it is beautifully preserved.
    • 5/5
      Finally a book by a Canadian author about Newfoundland that sounded like Newfoundland; funny, warm, quirky, heartbreakingly beautiful. You can hear the music of Moses Sweetland's voice as his tale unfolds, detailing his stubborn persistence and determination to end his days on the island named after his family. You can smell the sea air, picture the harsh, breathtaking landscape and the unique people who populate this small slice of Canadian heaven. Thank you Michael Crummy for a book that I couldn't put down.
    • 5/5
      Moses Sweetland, “one crazy coot”, lives on a remote island off the coast of Newfoundland in a community that has been served for decades by a Government-funded supply boat. Now the government wants to cut the boat run so they’ve offered generous packages for the islanders to resettle on the mainland. The catch is, all the residents must agree to the scheme, and Moses doesn’t want to go.Faced with mounting pressure from the government and the community, he signs the deal and then fakes his own death so that he can be left behind on the island.Crummey is a poet first and that is evident in his prose. But his story is every bit as good as his form. I highly recommend Sweetland. 5 stars
    • 4/5
      "The sound of rain approaching out over the ocean, how he could hear it coming miles off before it hammered across the island like a herd of wild animals passing through." - page 196It's tough for me to find words for this book. I think Crummey intentionally leaves the book vague, the reader in a fog like the character Moses Sweetland starts out with on the first page. A book about solitude, connecting people to places. Sweetland chooses to remain at the island that is named after his ancestors, even when he isn't supposed to (the reason isn't clear as to why everyone must leave an island that already has the internet.) The books starts shifting towards weirdness, reality or the delusions of Moses Sweetland it is tough to distinguish. Crummey intentionally makes Sweetland distant, even if you can't help but be sympathetic to his situation. It's tough to tell what is going on in his head, which is what fiction does best, I think. Crummey also leaves many female characters to the side but if his main character is difficult to figure out, why is that a surprise? I liked the setting though. Crummey's writing style is great, if only because he loves the Newfoundland he is writing about. Crummey will remain on my radar for future books to read, but I hope they all aren't such intentional puzzles.
    • 4/5
      SweetlandBy Michael CrummeyNarrated by John LeeⓅ 2015, HighBridge Audio, A Division of Recorded Books9 hours, 12 minutesLIT-FICA seventy-year old man, Moses Sweetland, has lived most of his entire life on a Newfoundland island his forefathers founded (and named “Sweetland”) many generations ago. Faced with the prospect of resettlement by the government, he lives with his memories and ghosts. Sweetland is a bittersweet tale about a man trying to survive his past and outrace his present; but the future is coming for him whether he’s prepared for it or not…Present-day scenes merge nicely with the flashbacks (and back again); but overall, the story is less than the sum of its parts. The novel is packed with scenes of tension, sadness, even comedy; but it fails to actually deliver tension, sadness or comedy – which leads to an emotional disconnect between the text and the story, the story and the listener. This may be in part due to the way the events are ordered within the novel – which kills the suspense, the author providing obvious hints which tips the hand as to the events about to unfold – which leeches any sort of emotional tension; and eccentricity being too self-aware to be actual humorous or even quirky. We, the Drowned (by Carsten Jensen) and The Solitude of Thomas Cave (by Georgina Harding; coincidentally narrated by John Lee as well) immediately come to mind in terms of the tie-in between land, sea, and man; and there are some stylistic points that the three books share as well which makes the novel feel both familiar, but not particularly special.John Lee’s narration was rather surprisingly brisk. Over the years, the careful, sometimes overly-enunciated performances have given way to this faster approach. This can prevent the listener from getting bogged down in lit-fic prose; but it can also get in the way of the listener savoring the language, or even understanding what a scene entails. The only other note, though perhaps small beer for many listeners, is that Lee is British-American narrator who was cast to read a POV1 story about a Canadian; but there was no attempt imitate the regional accent, or even pronounce “Newfoundland” as a Newfie would.
    • 5/5
      Moses Sweetland does not want to take the Government buy-out and move off the isolated Newfoundland island named for his family. The only time he left the island for any period of time left him infertile and deformed. But the community must move on. So after losing more than he can bear, he figures out a way to accept the package but never leave the island. He and an inadvertently-abandoned dog stay together, without electricity, telephone, or a motor boat. As time progresses, alone with his thoughts, he begins to see the inexplicable - or does he? Masterfully written.
    • 4/5
      I liked the author's writing style and I understood he was trying to portray all the old ways of Newfoundland. I found this book very deppressing and sad. The author would move seamlessly between past and present. He's a very talented author but I wasn't satisfied with the end of the story, I would have liked to know more about what happened to the people who left the island. Perhaps the author is thinking of a sequel to the story....
    • 5/5
      A beautiful written novel. It was filled with love for the the old ways in coastal Nfld. My favorite expression was "Jesus in the garden" when Moses looks at himself in the mirror. The novel moves into the past effortlessly with stories of growing up in a remote , coastal area where everyone knows each other. when Moses refuses to leave Sweetland he survives on his own although past, present real and unreal blend together.
    • 5/5
      The government has decided to buy the residents of Sweetland out for a handsome sum and then will relocate them to a place of their choice. However, 100% of the residents must sign on for the deal to proceed. Moses Sweetland is the last holdout and the townspeople are beginning to resent his obstinacy. The deal is sweet, and they are not happy that Moses is preventing them from getting their money. They want to leave the island that is no longer able to support them or their families, and they want to begin again elsewhere. Moses does not want to begin again elsewhere, and he has his good reasons, too. Soon, the once close community begins to unravel and diminish in size as the residents voice their resentment to him, sometimes acting out against him, and eventually, also moving on to new homes in other places.The description of the quiet, hardscrabble lifestyle that the elements demanded of the residents is spot on. The dialogue is simple and perfectly captures the way in which the locals would have bantered with each other. Moses kept many secrets which he thought protected the community as well as protected the residents, in some cases, from the community’s wagging tongues. The climate was unforgiving and the commercial opportunities were scarce. Most subsisted on meager “givings” from the land and their livestock, working off-island, at times, to support their families. They adjusted to the way of life and would acclimate to their new lives as well. They were hardy people, and of necessity and also because of true concern, they usually treated each other like family, caring for and helping each other when necessary, until, that is, their greed began to obsess them. Leaving Sweetland for Moses, would mean losing his heritage, the home in which he grew up, his memories, his buried relatives, and along with the camaraderie of his friends, neighbors and relatives, he would also lose himself, his raison d’etre. Leaving the island would mean erasing his entire past and ancestry. He and his family would simply disappear from memory. Sweetland struggles with and deals with his dilemma in the way of a simple man, without thinking it through well enough, because he didn’t really have the wherewithal to do anything else. He simply had the desire to protect what was his and on a wing and a prayer, he went forward. The tale moves back and forth between the present and the past as Sweetland’s history and the secrets in his life are revealed. This is a story about a man the reader is going to love and root for, because he is a gentle, soul, not well educated, sometimes with a sharp tongue, who has simple needs and will probably confound and confuse the reader with his actions. He is dedicated to holding on to what he believes in, holding on to his heritage. He is being forced to resist the efforts of the townspeople he has lived with all his life, the friends and relatives who are now trying to convince him to take the deal and leave the land his family settled and for which the island is named. This remote area of Newfoundland is called Sweetland, and nearby, there is also an even smaller island that is called Little Sweetland. Did the island become a prison for Moses, eventually, rather than a refuge, or was it his salvation as he marched into oblivion?
    • 4/5
      Moses Sweetland does not want to leave the island that has been his home most of his life when the government comes in to resettle the families there. He plots and plans to stay but will he?An interesting read. Moses is unforgettable. As the story moves forward with the resettlement plans, flashbacks of Moses' life are mingled through the story. I liked how the flashbacks are their own separate chapters but without the traditional chapter numbering. They are not in a chronological order. The flashbacks are just Moses' way of telling his story and his reluctance to leave his home. Watching Moses as he interacts with the other islanders, especially with his great nephew Jesse, gives a picture of Moses as a curmudgeonly old coot who values his independence. He loves these people but won't tell them but he's there for them, helping them in his own peculiar way. He hassles Jesse and teases him but wants the best for Jesse. I couldn't help but fall in love with them both.I liked the set up of the story. The first part of the talk and decisions of the resettlement. The second part of the aftermath of the resettlement and Moses' actions and reactions. This was a hard life for these islanders. I am haunted by this story. This is one that will leave an impression on me for a long, long time.
    • 3/5
      The remote island of Sweetland off the Newfoundland coast has fallen victim to changing times. With the collapse of the cod fishery the island's dwindling population has lost its primary means of support. Seeking an alternative to providing ongoing subsidies to artificially prop up Sweetland's miniscule economy, the government has offered every resident $100,000 cash and help with resettlement in exchange for leaving the island. The catch is that every Sweetlander must accept the offer before it becomes official. And it's not long before everyone has agreed to take the money, everyone except Moses Sweetland, Michael Crummey's cantankerous and eccentric protagonist. Moses--former fisherman and lighthouse keeper--holds out against pressure from the government and threats from his fellow residents for as long as he can, even though, as he admits, he's at a loss to explain even to himself why he wants to stay. For most of the residents, the island is the only home they've ever known, and yet they are more than willing to abandon it. Moses regards this as a sort of betrayal and his resistance to the government offer is based in nostalgia rather than any practical consideration. His family is buried in the cemetery, ghosts from his past inhabit every nook and cranny of the house where he lives. He insists he would be fine if everyone else took off and left him on his own, but of course the government cannot let this happen. When he finally knuckles under and agrees to the settlement, the gesture is symbolic and anything but sincere. He only agrees because he understands how important the money is to his friends and neighbours and he wants them get what's been promised. As for himself, he has other plans. Michael Crummey has few equals when it comes to writing of the natural world and the longing for place. The setting in this novel comes vividly and often frighteningly alive in a manner that you rarely encounter in modern works of fiction. The level of detail is often astounding and pulls the reader into a densely written story that gains momentum as it approaches its tragic conclusion. But once we make it through the book's harrowing second half and reach the end, a question remains. Is Moses Sweetland's desire to cling to life on an island that as the story progresses becomes perversely hostile to his presence at all reasonable? And if this desire is not reasonable, how is the reader to regard a protagonist who seems hell bent on acting against his own best interests? Does he retain our sympathy? This is the risk the author takes when he sends Sweetland hurtling into the void of his own volition. Michael Crummey courageously leaves it to the reader to decide if it’s a risk worth taking.
    • 4/5
      It was a little problematic to follow what timeframe we were in with the audio version because the transitions were sudden. The almost overwhelming descriptions of one elderly man's efforts to survive all alone on an island while his mind begins to drift in time to the point that he loses his grip on what is real and what is imagined. Particularly painful were his relationships with Jesse, the 12 year old autistic boy and his Wolf dog friend. I'm not quite sure what I wanted the end to be...but there it was.
    • 4/5
      Moses Sweetland is the main character of this long story about families on an the island of Sweetland on the south west coast of Newfoundland. I say this because at one point he says that he can see St.Pierre et Miquelon from a cliff. The majority of the residents on the island have opted to leave with encouragement and a sizable grant from the federal government to relocate in St. John's or elsewhere because the cod fishery has closed. Sweetland and his pal Loveless are the only holdouts. He is being harassed by unknown neighbours as it has to be everyone or no one for the grant to kick in. Over the narrative we learn about Sweetland's past, his family, his brother Norris and his sister Ruthie and other friends and relatives and his nephew Jesse who has autism. At this point in his life he is close to 70 years old and is planning on surviving alone. It is a very well told and well written story about surviving in a very harsh climate. I grew a little weary with the last one hundred pages or so when there was a lot of hallucinations. Overall it is a good story but could have been shorter.
    • 5/5
      There is so much to say about this book that I could probably write a review many pages long. First, let me say that I absolutely loved the book! It is one of the most perfect pieces of fiction that I've read in a long, long time. Michael Crummey is a poet and this is obvious by his beautiful lyrical language and by his cadence as he unfolds the story. The book is set on a tiny island on the south coast of Newfoundland. The name of the island is Sweetland, named after the Scandinavian settlers who settled there many many years before. Now let me introduce you to Moses Sweetland, the 70 year old protagonist of the novel. His ancestors have lived on this island for many decades. Moses is a remarkable and iconic fictional character. He is strong, forceful, rugged and steady, just like the island that he lives on. The time is present-day, but the book is really about a part of Newfoundland history that began in the 1950's and continues to this day. When the cod fishing industry collapsed there were a lot of tiny fishing communities that were dying off. The Newfoundland government paid people to leave their homes and settle in a larger community somewhere else. This resettlement policy uprooted a lot of families and left abandoned communities all over the island and also on smaller surrounding islands. The toll it took on the uprooted people was never really considered and I think it was hardest on the oldest and youngest people. When the book opens we meet Moses and we learn that his community is next to be resettled. The people in this tiny community are being asked to move away from their island and to resettle anywhere somewhere else. The only condition is that there must be 100% consent for the money to come through. Moses cannot picture leaving the island where he was born, so he is the only holdout in the community, which causes his friends and family that live there to badger and hound him to sign the deal so they can get their money and leave. Moses finds his own solution to the problem and manages to find a way to stay on the deserted island. This book is about his strength of character and it's about his personal struggle to survive in the upheaval of his changing world. It's a book about human strength and weakness, about the importance of family and friends, and mostly it's about a great man who chooses his own way in life. I absolutely loved this book and it is now on my all-time favourites list. Crummey's writing is lyrical, poetic and spare. His main character, Moses Sweetland, is a man whom I will never forget. He is so real - this salt-of-the earth, crusty, strong, wonderful man, that I can't believe he's a fictional creation. It was sheer bliss reading this book!
    • 5/5
      This novel is set on a small island off the coast of Newfoundland. The island is home to a tiny rural community, but the government is keen to buy up the property and is offering the inhabitants a good sum of money to relocate. (It's never explicitly stated why the government wants the land, but I'm guessing the idea was to designate the place as a wildlife refuge.) Pretty much everybody agrees to take the deal, except for one Moses Sweetland who, for reasons he cannot properly articulate, simply cannot bring himself to leave.I was a little uncertain about this one going in, as the premise could far too easily have served as the basis for some simplistic, sentimental Salt-of-the-Earth Old Coot Heroically Holds Out Against the Man narrative. But it's not. It's really, really not. What it is instead is a wonderfully smoothly written portrait of a damaged man and a vanishing place, with perhaps just a touch of the uncanny. And it's made my breakfast this morning very late, as I was thirty pages from the end and could not bring myself to put it down, no matter how hungry I was.
    • 5/5
      The protagonist of Michael Crummy’s excellent novel is Moses Sweetland. The setting is the island of Sweetland, an austere and isolated place off the Newfoundland coast. Moses’ family has lived on the island for generations and his character reflects the island’s isolation and austerity. He is tough, stubborn and resourceful. The inhabitants of the island have survived with few resources but supported each other. Although he seems to revel in his isolation, Moses does seek to mitigate his loneliness with the limited companionships that are available on the island, notably Jesse, the autistic son of his sister and a stray dog he calls “fox” or “Fawkes” after the dissident who set fire to the British Parliament. Jesse’s isolation and affect seem to suggest a younger version of Moses’ personality. Sweetland recognizes their similarity developing a close bond with the boy. More importantly, Moses also seems to realize that there is something missing in lives that are so introverted.The plot turns on Sweetland being the lone refusal to accept a government payout to leave the island. He receives some vague threats from his neighbors but eventually relents. The themes Crummy expertly explores in the novel include ageing and death, tradition, isolation, imagination and reality. Moses is an old man facing his inevitable passing. He recalls his life and through that prism, Crummy asks questions about how one should evaluate the value of a life that many might consider being quite limited. Moses never married, had no children and really only left the island twice, the second time to experience a personal tragedy. Moses values this place and the memories it holds for him; his family and friends; and his limited possessions.The novel is structured in two distinct halves—the first is more realistic, establishing the setting and characters, while the second is more interesting as it becomes internal and magical as Moses contends with surviving a harsh winter alone on the island. One possible interpretation of this second section might be that Moses may have actually died at the end of part one. There is ample evidence for this in the chronically wrong weather forecasts; the specters he sees by the lighthouse where he used to be the keeper; his multiple near death experiences that most septuagenarians would likely not survive; the mysterious lights he sees in adjacent houses: and the celebratory holiday gun shots he hears. The government man sent to convince him to take the payout asks him whether he would prefer to “stay here with the dead,” Moses’ reply also is suggestive: “A body could do worse for company.” Alternatively, Moses’ increasing unreality in the second part of the novel may not signify his death, but his increasing awareness that the idea of “a life” as an unreal thing only gaining meaning when one faces his inevitable death.The writing is lyrical and the Crumley handles his themes deftly, leaving plenty of room for thought and speculation.
    • 4/5
      Sweetland is an island, off the southern coast of Newfoundland. The fishing village is populated, with tough hard-scrabble, residents, as rugged and colorful, as their surroundings. When the government decides to relocate the population, due to severe erosion, they offer everyone, a sweet package deal to depart. The only holdout, much to the chagrin of the other villagers, is Moses Sweetland.Moses, who's ancestors, founded the island, is sixty-nine years old and a stubborn, lifelong bachelor. He knows no other life, than this one and has no reason to leave, despite familial ties. The pressure from his neighbors and a recent tragedy, involving someone he loves, begins to chip at his resolve.This is a terrific story, filled with adventure, mystery and beauty, wrapped in a mystical shroud, that blends the past and the present. At the helm is Moses, one of the most resilient and scrappy characters, I have ever read. Highly recommended.
    • 3/5
      Moses Sweetland is an irascible elderly single gentleman living on a small island off the shores of Newfoundland that his ancestors had the audacity to name Sweetland. He is as swift with a clichéd Newfoundland curse as he is with a kind word for the autistic boy, Jesse, who lives next door, grandson of his dead sister, Ruthie. Along with Jesse’s mother, Clara, and her blind father, Pilgrim, there are a host of other “characters” eking out a small living on the island. But their days are numbered. The Newfoundland government has a plan to depopulate the island now that the fisheries are shut down. They are offering the inhabitants each a substantial sum to relocate to the mainland, but no one gets anything if a single one of them refuses the offer. Moses is one of the last few holdouts.The first half of the novel consists in the episodic meanderings of the characters as pressure comes to bear upon those who don’t wish to leave their homes. The pressure is relentless, sometimes mean spirited, and ultimately effective. Then, just as it seems the novel must be reaching a close, despite being only about half way through, one of the central characters dies. And that seems to precipitate a rapid evacuation of the island and moves us into the second half of the novel which concerns Moses Sweetland as the sole remaining person on the island, though having faked his own death, no one else has any idea that he has remained behind after the last ferry has departed. What follows is, as you might expect, an unending bout of loneliness, dissipation, dissolution, and despair. That and some eerie ghost-like apparitions.Moses Sweetland is a wonderful character, but his complex personal history takes too long to be made clear. The other characters are mostly character-types. It is Sweetland alone on whom the story depends. But there isn’t a lot that Crummey seems to be able to do with him. Especially when he is left alone on the island. He gets into one scrape after another, each of which ought to lead to death from hyperthermia for an elderly gentleman. But each time Moses just barely survives. It’s as though Crummey was at a loss for how to push the novel over the 300-page mark. Which sounds harsher than I mean it to. After all, I think Crummey is a great writer and there are moments here that are almost priceless. But they are just moments. It might have worked better as a novella, or perhaps a few linked short stories. But as whole it doesn’t really work for me. It won’t dissuade me from reading the next novel or book of poetry that Michael Crummey has on offer, but it does prevent me from recommending this one.
    • 3/5
      I hate it when I know a book doesn’t reach me the way it has others. Maybe it was because this one was an audio book and it took me a couple of weeks to get through, but Sweetland seemed remote to me and I had to replay a few scenes simply because I felt ambushed by them. The story of Moses Sweetland in which his present dilemma about whether to leave his island home at the behest of the Canadian government brings up all kinds of memories of the past just left me wondering what the point was. I’m not saying it has no merit, but it didn’t touch me. I felt similarly about My Antonia by Willa Cather. Nice writing, but I didn’t really connect or care. Moses is irascible, ornery and just plain weird. Over time we discover a lot of the reasons why, but for me they were revealed too slowly and then without a lot of rhythm or grace. Some took me by surprise as in I didn’t really understand what I was hearing until I went back over it again. Maybe I should have read this with my eyes and not my ears. Especially at the end when he’s starving, frozen and possibly hallucinating. His entire world seems populated with dead people. His estrangement from just about everyone living means he spends a lot of time among the memories of the dead; his brother, Queenie, Jesse, the dog, even the stupid cow. Maybe if I listen to it again, it will resonate more.
    • 5/5
      Moses Sweetland is the solo holdout when the government depopulates the Newfoundland island that has always been his home. His lonely existence is a continuing struggle to survive. Memories and hallucinations become his companions as he faces bad weather, dwindling supplies, and illness. The novel is nostalgic; witty; and, considering that it is the tale of a loner, full of interesting characters.Library book.
    • 4/5
      Sweetland is a very powerful story. When the government wants to relocate the entire community of Sweetland, Moses Sweetland is the last hold-out. We watch him struggle to hold on to his life, and to protect those closest to him -- which may not be the same thing. This book explores major themes of life and death, belonging and isolation, truths shared and hidden. The writing is amazing and Moses Sweetland is a deeply real character. Mr. Crummey can not only tell a story, he can create an atmosphere and sense of place -- I was able to empathize strongly with Moses.
    • 2/5
      Crummey, Michael. Sweetland. 8 CDs. unabridged. 9.25 hrs. High Bridge Audio. 2015. ISBN 9781622316256. $39.99. 8CDs. Crummey (Galore) creates a compelling and epic story of one man's quest to stay on his beloved island on the Newfoundland coast after a government buyout. Moses Sweetland refuses to leave the island his ancestors founded, it holds too many memories and he feels compelled to stay for reasons he can't quite articulate. As the island's residents slowly start to leave he finds himself reminiscing on his and the town's history. From the eclectic residents to old traditions, Sweetland finds solace in looking back on the island's past. Soon he finds himself utterly alone and all he has to keep him sane are his thoughts. The story alternates between the present story, Sweetland's youth, and various other memorable moments in his lifetime. Narrated beautifully by the prolific John Lee, who does an impressive job creating distinct voices for all characters, most notably in Moses Sweetland. Verdict Fans of literary novels, and rugged island life will enjoy this astonishing tale of an old man determined not to let go of the past. - Erin Cataldi, Johnson Co. Public Library, Franklin, IN
    • 5/5
      How does one measure the value of a man's life? Is it the house he lives in? The amount of possessions he has? The family and friends who love him or those he loves? Twelve generations have lived on the island of Sweetland, a mythical place off the Newfoundland coast, they have made due with little and supported each other through hard times. The governments price is 100,000 dollars, but only if everyone leaves the island. Many accept, this is their chance to have an easier life and that is a lot of money. Their are a few holdouts but then only one is left. Moses Sweetland and this is his story.His life his here, his memories, his secrets and he has all the comforts he needs. He plays video poker, has his niece and her son. It is her son he is most worried about, Jesse is a little different and doesn't take well to change. Soon the pressure for Moses to change his mind is taken to extreme measures and he will reluctantly give in and accept the offer. But after a tragedy ensues, he decides on an act that will set the stage for the rest of the book.A wonderful story that really resonated for me, got under my skin. This is a quiet book, really atmospheric and it was easy for me to envision myself traveling along with Moses. A survival story about hanging on and its dangers and a look back in his memories so that the reader gets a very well rounded look into his character. He is a difficult old man, now at the age of seventy, with a sarcastic sense of humor. Yet he is content with his life as it is and doesn't want it to change, doesn't see why it should. A book and a character that I won't soon forget.Arc from publisher.
    • 4/5
      Seventy-year-old Moses Sweetland lives in the outport of Chance Cove on an island off the southern coast of Newfoundland. The inhabitants of this island – named for Moses’ family – have been offered a substantial financial incentive to relocate. The proviso is that everyone has to accept the offer but, not surprisingly, Moses is the last holdout. Moses’ life on the island in its waning comprises the first half of the novel: “The whole place was going under, and almost everyone it mattered to was already in the ground” (92). The second half details Moses’ solitary life after he fakes his death just before the last Sweetlanders leave. Moses is certainly memorable. Just as I have never forgotten Hagar Shipley in Margaret Laurence’s The Stone Angel, I am unlikely to forget this character. Initially, he seems to be an old curmudgeon but gradually we discover, especially through his relationship with his great-nephew Jesse, that he is capable of great love and compassion. Through flashbacks, we learn about the events that shaped Moses’ life and come to understand the reasons for his brusque exterior. Many of the other inhabitants also come to life as fully realized characters. Many have an eccentric trait which distinguishes them, but that does not mean they are flat characters; they prove to be complex people with both positive and negative qualities. Duke Fewer, the barber who for 20 years has never actually cut hair or shaved any man, is one example of someone who emerges as being more than first impressions suggest. In the second part of the novel, Moses is the only living resident on Sweetland, but he has several phantoms for company. At times I found myself wondering whether Moses had actually died and was himself a spectre, especially considering the last conversation in Part I, so I kept looking for Pincher Martin clues. In that vein, the constantly incorrect weather forecasts are suspicious: “there wasn’t a single reliable detail in the announcements. As if the island had drifted into its own latitude, beyond the reach of the CBC’s meteorologists” (293).Moses does a lot of thinking about life and death as he struggles to preserve island life from vanishing. He muses that “A life was no goddamn thing in the end . . . Bits and pieces of make-believe cobbled together to look halfways human, like some stick-and-rag doll meant to scare crows out of the garden. No goddamn thing at all” (141). Our place in the universe is like that of people set adrift in a lifeboat: “To be set adrift without warning or explanation, with nothing to say if they would ever be found. Or if anyone was even looking for them. Orphaned on an ocean that seems endless” (143). And there is no stopping change: “There was a new world being built around him. . . . The generations of instinct they’d relied on to survive here suddenly useless . . . like the VHS machines and analog televisions dumped on the slope beyond the incinerator. Relics of another time and on their way out” (277).This novel, like all of Crummey’s books, has realistic characters confronting universal issues. Furthermore, there is the Newfoundland setting which is painted so vividly; by the time the novel comes to an end, the reader is left feeling he/she could fill in the names on a map of Sweetland. To read this book is to indeed enter a sweet land and, like Moses, to feel “of a sudden like singing” (318).
    • 5/5
      I think Michael Crummey's writing is simply brilliant. His latest book, Sweetland, is newly released. Knowing I would become immersed in Crummey's storytelling, I saved it to devour on a week off. Oh, where to start? I simply don't think I have the words to do this book justice. Moses Sweetland has lived on Sweetland Island, Newfoundland for his entire sixty nine years - as did his father and many generations before that. There were a few trips off island for work, but this is home. Until the government decides that the community needs to be 'resettled'. (This is very real - both past and present) The offer is generous and all of the residents accept the package - except Moses Sweetland. But the government's offer stipulates that everyone must agree and sign before the offer goes through. The first half of the book introduces us to Moses and the other residents of the village. Crummey's residents are unique and unforgettable - from the woman who has not set foot outside her house in forty years to the barber who hasn't cut anyone's hair in almost that long and more. Moses's young nephew Jesse was particularly moving. But it was the character of Moses that grabbed me and simply wouldn't let me go. Moses's crusty exterior and brusque manner disguise his emotions and 'softer side.' His self sufficiency and work ethic reminded me so much of the hardworking older generations in my life. Taciturn men (and women) who 'just got on with it'. Crummey tells his story with bits and pieces of the past explained and explored in separate chapters. From these, we are privy to the events that have shaped Moses's life. Sweetland is divided into two parts. Crummey caught me totally unawares with the final pages of the first part - I felt like I had taken a punch to the stomach. I had to go back and reread just to make sure I had it right. This was not what I wanted to have happen! I had become totally invested and immersed in Moses's world and tangibly felt his loss and pain. Does Moses take the offer? As this is in the flyleaf, it's not a spoiler. Yes, he does. But does he leave the island? No. And that's the second half of the book. Moses and the land he loves. Alone. Crummey has described his setting so vividly. Crummey himself is Newfoundland born and bred and his voice captures the tone and timbre of a land and it's people. I felt like I was walking along with Moses as he heads up to the mash, down to his stage and up to the keep. The land and rocks, the ocean and the weather are all characters in the book as well. Much more so in the second half as Moses battles the elements, his memories and the thought that he might be going mad. As much as I loved the first half of the book, it was the second half that had me in tears. I stayed up very, very late to finish this book. My house was still, the night was still. I headed outside after turning the last page. I live in a rural area and my neighbours are a ways away. I sat and looked at the stars and I thought of Moses alone on his island. Sweetland is the kind of book that will stay with me for a long, long time. A life lived. The strength and resilience of the human spirit. Those that go about getting things done without fanfare. The battle between past and present. The land and people that make up Canada. Sweetland is such an amazing read - highly, highly recommended