Galore

A Novel

By: Michael Crummey

Narrated by: John Lee

When a whale beaches itself on the shore of the remote coastal town of Paradise Deep, the last thing any of the townspeople expect to find inside it is a man, silent and reeking of fish but remarkably alive. The discovery of this mysterious person, soon christened Judah, sets the town scrambling for answers as its most prominent citizens weigh in on whether he is man or beast, blessing or curse, miracle or demon.

Though Judah is a shocking addition, the town of Paradise Deep is already full of unusual characters. King-me Sellers, self-appointed patriarch, has it in for an inscrutable woman known only as Devine’s Widow, with whom he has a decades-old feud. Her granddaughter, Mary Tryphena, is just a child when Judah washes ashore but finds herself tied to him all her life in ways she never expects. Galore is the story of the saga that develops between these families, full of bitterness and love, spanning two centuries.

With Paradise Deep, award-winning novelist Michael Crummey imagines a realm in which the line between the everyday and the otherworldly is impossible to discern. Sprawling and intimate, stark and fantastical, Galore is a novel about the power of stories to shape and sustain us.

Michael Crummey is a poet and storyteller, as well as the author of the critically acclaimed novels River Thieves and The Wreckage and the short-story collection Flesh and Blood. He has been nominated for the Giller Prize, the IMPAC Dublin Award, and the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, and he won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Canada for Galore. He lives in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

©2009 Michael Crummey Ink (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Crummey lovingly carves out the privation and inner intricacies that mark his characters' lives with folkloric embellishments and the precision of the finest scrimshaw." (Publishers Weekly)

Historical fiction of a small fishing town

The magnitude of the change in this village and it’s citizens that is covered in this book is expansive.

The Irish transplanted.

What did you like about this audiobook?

I swore after reading Angela's Ashes I would never read or listen to another Irish novel again.

How has the book increased your interest in the subject matter?

How a whole culture and it's literature can be built on drunkenness and starvation is beyond me.

Does the author present information in a way that is interesting and insightful, and if so, how does he achieve this?

It is a good story with an array of interesting characters.

What did you find wrong about the narrator's performance?

Well read by John Lee who has become my favorite reader.

Do you have any additional comments?

why can't i just write a review without answering these questions?

Beautiful prose going on and on for generations

I started into this book thinking that I had really picked a winner. The prose was really beautiful and the story started off with great characters and setting. But it really seemed to go on and on with so many characters that it was hard to feel invested in any of them. Perhaps I was supposed to be feeling invested in the place itself, but that didn't happen. Instead, I found myself tuning out and generally, hoping it would end soon.

The voice was excellent and the recording was too.

spellbinding

Galore is a spellbinding novel set in far away Newfoundland. Author Crummey uses his exotic but fiercely real homeland to create the setting for a novel which is by turns magical and real.

The Divine family takes in a stranger who slips from the belly of a beached whale. We follow the Divines and other families of the small shore village through generations, as they adapt to changes in faith and fisheries on the North Atlantic.

John Lee's narration is outstanding as always. His sonorous voice and the prose of the book were so engaging that I found myself swept away and needed to backtrack a few times to follow the story.

Galore is outstanding, but not perfect. I enjoyed the magical realism, but other readers may find it a bit too woo-woo...... 4 1/2 stars.

Disappointing

I love "sagas" but found this very hard to follow. The jumping back and forth from one generation did not add add anything to the story and the author often repeats himself. To make it worse, the reader's monotone, sing-song style did not help. It's hard enough to tell when Lee switches between characters, as he does them all the same. Couple that with the confusing story line and this was not a winner for me. Perhaps this is one book that must be read to be appreciated. (or read by someone else)

Compelling

This is a long, beautiful genealogy of a Newfoundland town that is forever altered by the appearance of an albino man found in the belly of a whale is superbly narrated by John Lee. The inhabitants of this town are affected and unaffected by world events and Michael Crummey does a fantastic job of describing the insularity and deprivation of a small fishing village that is dragged into the early twentieth century.

Intriguing saga

The first time I started to listen to this, I was doing it passively and waiting for the book to draw me in. After half an hour or so, I gave up in frustration, unable to keep up with the fast-paced character introductions. The second time I tried, I gave it my full attention, and let it take me where it would. Soon, I was hooked and loving the ride. John Lee's narration is wonderful and enhances Crummey's multi-generational tale. The book reminds me of the oral histories I heard as a child in upstate New York, rich and familiar. The characters are immigrants from Ireland, many still speaking Gaelic, and like immigrants everywhere, they carry their histories and prejudices with them. Their society is divided by status and wealth, as most are, but the individuals are well-drawn and compelling.

I didn't know much about Newfoundland, but this was a good introduction. Now I'd like to visit.

Such a letdown

Very poor writing (crummy) and the narration, in my view, ruined the listening experience. I felt the story lacked any sense of refinement and the crudeness unnecessary, no sense of feeling developed for any of the characters. I couldn't finish it.

What a great book

I loved this book. It was a little hard to keep all the names straight, there are multiple generations of families. (My memory for names is not good anyway.) But it was beautifully written, very interesting to read. I actually wish I had read it instead of listening, partly to be able to go back and remember who was who and partly to savor the reading experience. John Lee is a great reader, too. I felt ( to my American ear) that the accents were understandable. But they were still definitely accents that take the listener to another time and place, allowing me gain insight into people living in a world very different from the one I am in.

Did not hold my interest

Just couldn't get into it. Didn't hold my interest, only book I haven't finished.