Wayne Johnston. The Custodian of Paradise. Vintage, 2006.
A book club selection. A sequel to Johnston's Colony of Unrequited Dreams, with Sheilagh Fielding as the main character. A Newfoundland girl raised by a distant doctor father after her mother abandoned her at age six. A rebellious teenager who gets pregnant from her first and only sexual experience. Gives the babies to be raised in New York by her mother and stepfather. Writes. Develops a friendship with Joey Smallwood who was unfairly blamed for the folly which resulted in Sheilagh's being expelled from school. She drinks and is mysteriously helped to get her supply by an unknown benefactor who eventually emerges as her "Provider". During WW II, in her 40s, Sheilagh exiles herself to an island attempting to quit drinking and grieve the death of one of her twins killed in the war.
The ending feels tacked on and confusing, making the Provider the actual "custodian of paradise" and the female lead merely a pawn in his game.
No comments:
Post a Comment