BRITAIN and CANADA	INTERNATIONAL
‘A picaresque story of human strangeness … a fascinating book.’ Libby Purves, Midweek, BBC Radio 4	Nominated as one of ‘The 100 Notable Books of the Year’ The New York Times
‘Terrific stuff …A dazzlingly multi-faceted portrait of the region … A hugely entertaining book in which the interest never flags … As a descriptive writer, a master of the telling observation and the well-chosen epithet, [Gimlette] is in the highest class.’ Max Davidson, The Daily Telegraph	‘Always beautifully written and brimming with Gimlette’s appreciation for the landscape and those who inhabit it’ The International Herald Tribune
‘This is a dark book … But it is also an exhilarating one, lit up by the vividness of the reporting, the sense of history it conveys, and the irresistible verve of Gimlette’s prose. It told me a great deal I did not know and am glad to know, and entertained me greatly.’ Tom Fort, The Sunday Telegraph	‘Gimlette is laugh-out-loud funny. His nature is to be thrilled, not put off, by the unruly and the odd’ Elizabeth Royte, The New York Times
‘A lovely and affectionate travel book … I’m sure this book will be popular, and Gimlette sounds like a warm-hearted man who’d be a delight to travel with’.’ Michael Winter, The Globe and Mail (Toronto)	‘The hilarious British travel writer who put Paraguay on the map with "At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig" takes a trek north to Newfoundland and Labrador, where his great-grandfather traveled in 1893’ The Seattle Times
‘Vivid comic prose … where his relative tried to spread order and organisation, collate the flora and label the fauna, it is, Gimlette writes, ‘the unruly Newfoundland that I’d admired most’, its ‘smashed coasts and crackery people.’ It is an unruliness that seeps from the pages of this highly entertaining book.’ .’ Joanna Kavenna, The Spectator (uk)	‘One of the most eccentric places in the world. Gimlette describes the province’s often desolate landscape and its colourful history. But most of all he revels in the people themselves …’ The Chicago Tribune
‘With his quiet respectability shining throughout, Gimlette’s tale is not just a travel yarn or a family history, it tells a story in its own right too.’ The Sunday Express (UK)	‘An outstanding travel/adventure book … a seamless witty narrative that often rivals Alice’s trip down the rabbit hole for strangeness.’ Tom Powers, The Flint Journal
‘A book rich with bizarre incident and anecdotes’ Sarah Hampson, The Globe and Mail (Toronto)	‘Handsomely written’ Anthony Day, The Loss Angeles Times
‘An exceptional piece of travel writing … John Gimlette fears that Newfoundlanders will mistrust his book. They shouldn’t, even though the residents of ‘The Rock’ think it impossible for any foreigner to portray them accurately.’ Christopher Ondaatje, The Literary Review	‘Oddly compelling … [a feast of stories, gathered from taverns ferry rides, and old journals: drownings, battles with the ‘Esquimaux’, greenhorns challenging an unforgiving wilderness …’ Jerry V Haines, Washington Post
‘Whilst [Gimlette] displays a great affection for the tough people who live in this vast, barren area, he graphically portrays the poverty he found, especially in the wake of the collapsed cod industry … a must for anyone who wants to understand Canada’s last province.’ Yvonne Crittenden, The Toronto Sun	‘A remarkable travel book … Gimlette is one of those writers you will search out. You’ll wish you could read everything he writes, for he does so with wit, enthusiasm, empathy, an eye to historical accuracy and fairness. John Davis, The Decatur Daily (US)
‘A salty, colourful tale.’ Waterstones, Books Quarterly	‘A lively, idiosyncratic book’ Newsday (New York)
‘If you have fears that the world is becoming a homogenous place, then this is a good antidote: a powerful picture of a wild and extreme place with people to match.’ Publishing News (UK)	‘Readers will be fascinated by Newfoundland’s and Labrador’s bizarre, often tragic pasts and equally strange presents, and they will be glad it was the eloquent Gimlette who made the trip so they don’t have to’ Publishing Weekly
‘The arrival of a new book by John Gimlette, barrister and author of the critically acclaimed At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig, is a cause for celebration. Few modern writers knit such meticulous prose, boast such a keen eye for detail, or possess such mordant wit … Theatre of Fish is a superbly apt title for the results. As a kind of outpost on the edge of the Americas, Newfoundland’s people seem to have an almost Dickensian quirkiness, perfect for Gimlette’s approach. Yet perhaps most admirably, the book holds them up to the light without a hint of ridicule. As in Paraguay, the author appears genuinely drawn to its cast of lost souls, eccentrics and the bizarre. Similarly, much of the history he recounts is darkly unpleasant, and yet he manages to recount it without either losing his sense of humour or perspective. Intellectually, Theatre of Fish is a delight.’ Piers Moore Ede, The Traveller (Wexas)

 
 
April 2006