Sweetland

Summary

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.