Grey Islands, The (audiobook)

The Grey Islands by John Steffler. Narrated by John Steffler and (in order of appearance) Frank Holden, Janis Spence, Deidre Gillard-Rowlings and Darryl Hopkins. Soundscape recordings made on islands off the coast of the island of Newfoundland. Originally published in 1985 by McClelland and Stewart. Now published in print form by Brick Books.

A novel in the form of poems, a physical exploration of Newfoundland’s past, a search for ghosts in an abandoned settlement on an abandoned island, this is the story of a come-from-away determined to immerse himself in the physical reality of Newfoundland in an abrupt and inescapable way. Indisputably a modern classic of Canadian poetry, The Grey Islands is one man’s mediation on the interplay between nature and human society in the rugged setting of coastal Newfoundland. The boats and houses of those who tried to live on the Grey Islands have disappeared, but their stories survive in the neighboring settlements—stories of treks on the sea ice, of near-starvation, of hunting ducks at night with muskets loaded with everything from nails to the parts of a gold pocket watch.

Physical: CD Listening time: approximately 2.5 hours