The scarcely populated town of 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 ancestors 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 its 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.
Winner of Newfoundland Book Award
Short-listed for the Governor's General Award
Winner of the CBC Bookie Award for Fiction
Finalist for the Winterset Prize