I lived in Newfoundland for sixteen months while stationed at the Argentia Naval Air Base on the Avalon Peninsula. I worked with Newfoundlanders on a daily basis and came to know some of them during this short period. Robert Finch has traveled extensively in Newfoundland and writes well of his times there.

I would want to add my experiences to his. On language, he has recounted many words and expressions unique to Newfoundland, most of which I have forgotten from 45 years ago. But, I do remember that their intonation was quite a bit different to what I had heard. Many people pitched there voices quite high in the first 3/4 of a sentence and then drop it at the end, speaking moderately fast.

I loved the fact that Newfoundlanders had their own music and poetry. And this Finch recounts quite well. The name of the book is a take off from the expression a person used in talking to Finch and shows that the formation of poetry is certainly intentional on their part.

Towards the end of the book, the sailing ship he is on comes to the port of Argentia. In my day, it was busier than he saw, but not really busy in the sense he might have imagined it to have been. There was ship that came in maybe weekly after stopping all along the south coast of Newfoundland. It was met by a mixed train that would take freight and passengers to St. John's. This train perhaps average 19 miles per hour, and I am sorry I never rode it. I did take the major train across the island, officially named the Caribou, but jokingly referred to as the Newfie Bullet. I was not and am still not sure how perjorative a term Newfie is.

The fishing of cod and other species was king when I was there and now this is mostly all gone, the so-called Moratorium to rebuild the stocks, and this is taking a long time. This underlays a lot of what has happened.

One thing I found in Newfoundland was the dominance of religion in people's lives. Finch did not find quite the same thing that I remember. I was struck by how Anglican the south coast of Newfoundland was, and Finch did not observe this, and maybe it's no longer true. I'll have to do research on this. The Canadian Census does record religious affiliation. Much to of the Avalon Peninsula beyond St. John's was very Roman Catholic, but I'm sure the observance levels are way down from a half century ago.

This is a great book to read about an island seldom visited. And I would like to own the book. ( )

Good intro to Newfoundland. Well written and accessible. ( )