Galore

PRAISE FOR
GALORE

Winner of the Commonwealth Writers’
Prize for Best Book (Canada and the Caribbean)

Winner of the Canadian Authors Association
Literary Award for Fiction

Finalist for the Governor General’s
Literary Award for Fiction

Finalist for the Thomas Head Raddall
Atlantic Book Award

Finalist for the Winterset Award

Finalist for the Canadian Booksellers Association
Libris Award for Fiction Book of the Year

Finalist for the Atlantic Independent Booksellers’ Choice Award

A Sun Media Book of the Decade

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF
2009
IN
:
The Globe and Mail
National Post
Winnipeg Free Press
Amazon.ca
Georgia Straight
Hour.ca (Montreal)

“Michael Crummey’s
Galore
is a fabulous, fable-filled ball of yarns such as I’ve never encountered before. Tall but plausible tales, odd, eccentric but weirdly familiar characters, dialogue straight out of the mouths of outport Newfoundlanders, historicized fiction, fictionalized history—it has, as its title suggests, a superabundance of good things. This is art, but not art full of solemn, self-importance.
Galore
is artfully, and seriously, entertaining.”

—Wayne Johnston, author of
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams

“Michael Crummey is a passionate storyteller. His world is intensely imagined and starkly real. Life leaps off the pages of
Galore
.”

—Jane Mendelsohn, author of
I Was Amelia Earhart
and
American Music

“[Crummey’s] two previous novels,
River Thieves
and
The Wreckage
, were critical successes and national best sellers, and deservedly so. They were very good books and I enjoyed them immensely.
Galore
blows them out of the water.… A book that will live in the minds of readers long after they’ve turned the final page.… Crummey is without a doubt one of Canada’s finest writers.… The Newfoundland that exists in my imagination—the one that may not be real and if it ever was real likely doesn’t exist today—smells and tastes and sounds like
Galore
.”

—Steven Galloway in
The Globe and Mail

“Magical and ribald … downright intoxicating … an epic tale sprawling across a century.”

—
The Gazette
(Montreal)

“A gorgeous and mysterious whale of a book—part multigenerational love story, part riff on the Bible, and part tall tale. Spanning several generations in a remote Newfoundland outport, this story is bursting with fantastical events, colorful characters, and delicious dialogue. An unforgettable journey.”

—Governor General’s Literary Award jury citation

“Rich, abundant, and satisfying as its title suggests.… Crummey forges unforgettable characters and fashions spectacular, riveting stories.… Crummey brilliantly evokes the world of this book, conjuring the claustrophobic isolation of the community—the smells and textures of the place, the harsh climate and the hardness of the people who endure it.…
Galore
is remarkable.”

—
Winnipeg Free Press

“One of Newfoundland’s great storytellers.… This novel has the same lushness as
One Hundred Years of Solitude
, by Gabriel García Márquez.… Deep and intricately woven.”

—
Chronicle Herald
(Halifax)

“Crummey’s powers of storytelling and evocation are considerable. [
Galore
is] rich in folklore, folk songs, curses, spells, and superstition.”

—
Vancouver Sun

“Newfoundland and Labrador, situated as it is on the far edge of the country, often seems like another world entirely, and that’s never been truer than in
Galore:
There are spells and resurrections, curses and ghosts, all of which hold very real places in the history of that province.”

—
Edmonton Journal

“
Galore
is an absolute pleasure. In Crummey’s capable hands, the setting breeds magic, and the individuals that populate its rugged terrain are nuanced and real, as gentle as they are harsh, as hateful as they are loving. Each unfolding generation flows into the next in a complex narrative that feels effortless, yet is woven so tightly that the magnificent artistry of its creator cannot be ignored.”

—
The Walrus

“Fantastic … masterful … Reading any good book a second time lets you in on some of its more craftily hidden secrets. But Crummey has tucked enough into his third novel that reading the aptly titled
Galore
a second time is like reading a sequel.”

—
Toronto Star

“Pitch-perfect, boisterous.… Well told and strangely credible, despite the magic.…
Galore
is an endearing romp. For the language alone—and there is so much more—I loved the book.”

—Katherine Govier in the
National Post

“Michael Crummey’s new novel,
Galore
, is a tour de force. Long touted as a terrific storyteller, the Newfoundland writer has exceeded himself in this two-century saga of almost mythic proportions. The book is a page-turner; fresh, surprising, and brimming with life.… A chronicle full of sheer energy and sudden surprise … [it] places Michael Crummey, in one giant leap, among the top rank of Canadian novelists.”

—
Toronto Sun

“A work that surprises and reveals. With this new novel … [Crummey] reaffirms his position as a leading voice in the literature of the Rock.… [
Galore
is a] dense, intricate, and absorbing tale, rich in the nuances of human relationships.”

—
Quill & Quire

ALSO BY MICHAEL CRUMMEY

River Thieves

Copyright © 2009 Michael Crummey Ink

Other Press edition 2010

Production editor:
Yvonne E. Cárdenas

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from Other Press LLC, except in the case of brief quotations in reviews for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, or broadcast. For information write to Other Press LLC, 2 Park Avenue, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10016.
Or visit our Web site:
www.otherpress.com

The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:

Crummey, Michael, 1965–
Galore / by Michael Crummey. — Other Press ed.
p. cm.
eISBN: 978-1-59051-435-1   1. Rural families—Newfoundland and Labrador—Fiction.   2. Newfoundland and Labrador—Fiction.   3. Domestic fiction.   I. Title.
PR9199.3.C717G36 2011
813′.54—dc22        2010040763

PUBLISHER
’
S NOTE
:
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

v3.1

for Arielle, Robin and Ben

The invincible power that has moved the world
is unrequited, not happy, love
.

G
ABRIEL
G
ARCÍA
M
ÁRQUEZ

I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea
.

P
SALMS