The Iambics of Newfoundland

June 18, 2007
Well-known nature writer Finch (The Cape Itself) presents his impressions of Canada's most remote island, drawing a detailed portrait of a harsh but beautiful world and the hardscrabble people who populate it. And a quirky world it is: Newfoundlanders have a language all their own, wherein everyone is addressed as "boy" and towns have names like "Squid Tickle"; visitors are "almost invariably treated with hospitality, though still referred to as a stranger," and even "if a stranger takes up residence in a village, he is a CFA, or come from away"; one Newfoundland town is still a departement of France, and its residents use the language, food and money of the home country while driving about on John Deere tractors rescued from a 1950s ship wreck; Fifty-five lighthouses line the shores of Newfoundland, more than any other North American province or state, fitting for a people whose lives and dreams are driven by fishing. While Finch's skill at capturing the flora, fauna and landscape of a given area is unparalleled, his writerly skill is at its sharpest capturing Newfoundland's children, parents, fishermen and "strangers," and his blossoming friendships with them, that sets his book apart from other fish-out-of-water travelogues. Though far from a traditional guide, anyone curious about "the unknown shore" will find this an exacting, delightful tour.