Joyner’s Dream by Sylvia Tyson
published by HarperCollins Canada, 2010

Joyner’s Dream is a multi-generational story of a family bound by love of music, especially for a fiddle called Old Nick.
At the other side of the moon, the family struggle against a curse, or ‘Joyner’s malady’: a natural aptitude for thieving, and fate that deserves to the family a narrow path towards troubles.
The story begins in England in 1780; continues in Halifax, Nova Scotia, beginning of twentieth’s century; and eventually in Toronto, nowadays.

Each book’s chapter tells about a member of the family, who best shows the ‘marks’ of the family.

“As for myself, having been a diligent and enthusiastic collector of books since first I learned to read, it seems to me that there exists an overabundance of tales chronicling the lives of the high and mightily in which ordinary folk like us serve only as colourful backdrop, comic bumpkins or faithful retainers.”
Another theme of Joyner’s Dream is the strong desire in the family’s members to create a history of the family, beyond the chains that tie them to the ‘ordinary folk’.
In other words a desire for a continuum that could be destroyed by the fate intended for this family. Although it is clear from the start that it is in vain.

In my opinion Joyner’s Dream needs a good work of screaming, many parts are described just as a list of events while other parts are very gripping for the readers.
Beth Joyner and George Fitzhelm’s stories are the best of the book: both are living human beings (beyond the paper); because they accept, they fight, with and against the family’s dark side. The History, in these two chapters, is not just glued to the characters as in other chapters, but comes together with Beth and George’s stories.

Who is interested, can listen to Joyner’s Dream’s songs on Amazon.com.

I received this free e-book from NetGalley. ( )

I thought this quite an extraordinary book for someone more known for songwriting and performing. A story told from many perspectives through many eras and it works. ( )

I was so happily surprised by Tyson's novel. Cynically, I did wonder how much weight her musical fame carried in securing a publishing path for Tyson's first novel. Well, I was sucked right in, by page three. Joyner's Dream tells the multi-generational story of the Joyner-Fitzhelm families.

I shall link to the Globe and Mail's review for now, until I compile my own thoughts. Though, I do disagree with the reviewers comparison - likening Tyson to [a:Robertson Davies|23129|Robertson Davies|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1225671081p2/23129.jpg]. !?!?! ( )

It is my father's wish that I should set down these events, as he can neither read nor write, and wishes to leave an account of his life so that some part of him will remain in the world and in the memory of those who follow. Although I have somewhat tempered his rough-spokenness, I have endeavoured to record him faithfully, and to in no way alter his intent. Here, then, are my father's words.

So starts Chapter One of a 420 page, seven chapter family saga. Told in epistolary format, the chapters are the family journal of the Joyner/Fitzhelm clan that has been handed down the generations, with each generation entrusted with the journal to continue the family record by telling their story in their own words, before passing the journal on to the next generation to carry forward.

Now, I will say upfront that it took some dedication of time on my part before I was able to immerse myself in the story. I found this wasn't something that you pick-up and conveniently put down to return to later. The chapters, until you reach Chapter five and George Fitzhelm's story, are written as long, continual letters with no easy breaks to insert the bookmark. This book demands the reader's full attention for longer stretches of time than the usual novel does. What I did enjoy was the author's ability to present the unique voice of each narrator in turn and the detailed descriptions of the time periods the journal passes through. The family legacy is a dubious one as lovers of music, a family violin, genetically gifted with manual dexterity for creating things and the occasional thievery, and at times subject to uncontrollable bouts of mania and depression. Fortunes are made and lost, and blended into an interesting family story that spans over 8 generations, 150 years and two continents.

While the book is predominantly a journal that follows the natural progression of each generation, Tyson has anchored the stories to come full circle by having a prologue and epilogue set in modern day with Leslie Archibald Fitzhelm, the youngest member of this family tree, as narrator. It is Leslie's history, as he tells it, and the discovery of the journal upon his father's death, that gives this story an interesting modern day context. I really enjoyed Chapter Five, George Fitzhelm's story, as it focused on the great music era of the 1920-1930's in North America, particularly Montreal and Toronto but with an eye for what was happening in Chicago, New York, etc. As with any story with multiple narrators, there is some overlap of stories and some information gleaned from the next generation that the previous generation omitted from their story.

Leslie stated it best:

The journal became my map, my focus, my obsession. I grew expert at deciphering Frank Joyner's neat script, Gerry's angular scrawl, Beth's slightly back-slanted and rounded hand, George's precise, almost printed writing, and Gina's careless looping phrases. They were more present to me than poor Teddy, who hovered in the background like a mother hen trying to tempt me to eat. He must have felt as if Gina at her most manic had returned to haunt him.

As I said above, this story took some time and effort for me to settle into, but once I did have the feel for the story, the characters and the tempo, I continued reading it through to the end. Overall, I found this debut novel to be a nice blend of family history, music, musical instruments, books - oh yes, books are mentioned in this one! - and characters that seem to gently leave the pages and sit beside you as they tell their story. ( )

This story covers two centuries as recorded through the family "journal" of the Joyner's and Fitzhelm's. Connected by their love of music and a violin, these primarily thieving con artists, recount their experiences, lives and loves from 18th century England to modern day Canada. A delightful and well written book. ( )