Book ~ "The Smiling Land: All Around the Circle in My Newfoundland and Labrador" (2025) Alan Doyle

From Goodreads ~ Few Canadian musicians or authors are as synonymous with their home province as Alan Doyle is with Newfoundland. And now Alan wants to introduce the rest of the world to his home, taking readers on a freewheeling, eclectic trip through the province. From Fogo Island to the Southwest Coast, Labrador to Ferryland and everywhere in-between, Alan's Newfoundland awaits.

There are plenty of stops along the way to admire the sites and take in the history and culture. Among the stops, a discussion of Newfoundland's eccentric place names, which include Horse Chops Island, Bread and Cheese Cove and, the (in)famous, Dildo. There are visits to wind-swept coastlines and towering crags, former Beothuk, Viking and Basque settlements, as well as more recent settlements, such as Foley's Shed, a jaunty live-music pub that, as its name suggests, happens to be located in some guy named Foley's shed. There are savvy insider tips, such as how to score fish and chips and a free ride by hopping into the delivery person's car as they deliver your food to your desired destination. And what tour of Alan's Newfoundland could be complete without a short history of what can best be described as "icebergs that look like things," an illustrious history that includes an exact replica of the Virgin Mary that once washed into St. John's harbour, and the more recent, and far less holy, "Dickie Berg," which made international headlines for looking like ... well, not the Virgin Mary.

I was a fan of Great Big Sea and had seen them many times in concert over the years. Alan Doyle was one of the members in Great Big Sea and this is his fourth book (I enjoyed his first three). 

This book is part travel guide/part homage to Doyle's home province of Newfoundland. He takes readers on a trip around Newfoundland and Labrador, sharing stories and history. He visits fishing towns, rugged coastlines and lively communities, mixing in local legends, music and humour. For example, he lets you know where to find the best fish and chips, how to spot puffins and tells tales about rumrunning and lighthouses.

It must have been fun for Doyle to embark on this project and to have his wife and son along with him on some of the adventures. I liked the writing style and found that his personality came through ... like we were sitting chatting and having a pint. I found the history of places for the most part interesting (it's obvious he did a ton of research) but I enjoyed his personal stories more of how they related to the places ... like one of his few experiences being in Port aux Basques years ago or his respect for Ron Hynes when visiting his house. 

His descriptions of buildings and places were vivid but it would have been nice to have pictures included (it sounded like he did stop and take pictures along the way) ... I would pause and Google so I could see what he was talking about. I've been to some of the places he wrote about (like St. John's and Saint Pierre) so it was fun to relive them through his eyes.