Covering a span of roughly 100 years Galore tells the many stories of two sparring families in fictional Paradise Deep, (a purposefully ironic name), as they literally weather the abundance and deprivations, both physical and emotional, that life in 19th century Newfoundland affords. This wonderfully cyclical story begins with the emergence of a man from the belly of a beached whale and proceeds through six generations of equally quirky characters.

Award-winning author Michael Crummey wanted to infuse the book with folklore and was even drawn to the title Galore, because of “lore” being in the word. There are stories galore, characters galore and folktales in abundance–a term, the book reminds us, that can be both positive and negative. As the characters scrabble to eke out an existence and fight against the tide of inevitability, they both glory in and suffer from abundances both good and bad. While the story mostly makes a forward progression, the unpredictable jumps in time can be challenging, but also add to the spontaneous and quirky feel of the narrative.

The story does not rely on a central protagonist, so our allegiance is blown from one family member to another like the gale-force winds that come driving in from the sea, but that also means that we have the opportunity to attach ourselves to several powerful characters throughout this family saga.

Crummey says he admires both Jane Smiley’s novel, Greenlanders and Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, and he has done a marvelous job of creating a new work that simultaneously captures a culture and unfurls a history of family feuds.

Like the rugged and rocky landscape of Newfoundland, Galore isn’t easy to navigate (thank goodness for the family tree), but the rewards for persistence are breathtaking.

Laura