Listen free for 30 days

  • A Newfoundlander in Canada

  • Always Going Somewhere, Always Coming Home
  • Written by: Alan Doyle
  • Narrated by: Alan Doyle
  • Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (444 ratings)

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
A Newfoundlander in Canada cover art

A Newfoundlander in Canada

Written by: Alan Doyle
Narrated by: Alan Doyle
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $49.13

Buy Now for $49.13

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

Following the fantastic success of his best-selling memoir, Where I Belong, Great Big Sea front man Alan Doyle returns with a hilarious, heartwarming account of leaving Newfoundland and discovering Canada for the first time.

Armed with the same personable, candid style found in his first book, Alan Doyle turns his perspective outward from Petty Harbour toward mainland Canada, reflecting on what it was like to venture away from the comforts of home and the familiarity of the island.

Often in a van, sometimes in a bus, occasionally in a car with broken wipers "using Bob's belt and a rope found by Paddy's Pond" to pull them back and forth, Alan and his bandmates charted new territory, and he constantly measured what he saw of the vast country against what his forefathers once called the Daemon Canada. In a period punctuated by triumphant leaps forward for the band, deflating steps backward, and everything in between - opening for Barney the Dinosaur at an outdoor music festival, being propositioned at a gas station mail-order bride service in Alberta, drinking moonshine with an elderly churchgoer on a Sunday morning in PEI - Alan's few established notions about Canada were often debunked, and his own identity as a Newfoundlander was constantly challenged. Touring the country, he also discovered how others view Newfoundlanders and how skewed these images can sometimes be. Asked to play in front of the queen at a massive Canada Day festival on Parliament Hill, the concert organizers assured Alan and his bandmates that the best way to showcase Newfoundland culture was for them to be towed onto stage in a dory and introduced not as Newfoundlanders but as "Newfies". The boys were not amused.

Heartfelt, funny, and always insightful, these stories tap in to the complexities of community and Canadianness, forming the portrait of a young man from a tiny fishing village trying to define and hold on to his sense of home while navigating a vast and diverse and wonder-filled country.

©2017 Alan Doyle (P)2017 Penguin Random House Canada

More from the same

What listeners say about A Newfoundlander in Canada

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    402
  • 4 Stars
    38
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    377
  • 4 Stars
    15
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    351
  • 4 Stars
    38
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Entertaining from start to finish

Just loved this light hearted read! Read well and written by a true story teller. For me, it was over too soon.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful

I giggled, I laughed, I had tears in my eyes at times. Not only a great musician, but a great storyteller as well. A fantastic listen. Highly recommend.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

This book made me smile!

Loved listening to Alan's voice, the great Newfoundland dialect. This was such an entertaining book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved this book!

This was funny, interesting and heart warming.

I especially loved how Alan Doyle compared each province as a family member.

Highly recommend this book.

I laughed out loud many times, and walked longer because I had to know what came next.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Highly Recommended!

I have long been a fan of Great Big Sea. After having read the very positive reviews re: this audible I thought it would be something that I might enjoy. What an understatement! Alan’s reading of his own book was a stroke of genius. I went through a gamut of emotions from tears to outright belly laughs. I’m sure the book is a good read but I am doubly sure the audible is the way to go. Absolutely 100% excellent.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Phenomenal

Amazing book by a fellow East Coaster! Great story and was nice to hear it read by Mr. Doyle himself.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

LOVED IT!

I've been a Great Big Sea fan from their early days at the Lower Deck and I find anything Alan Doyle does highly entertaining. But this was the first of his books I have read. It will not be the last. I can't express how much joy I got from listening to this audiobook and have the author tell the stories. I listen in my car to/from work and it was the highlight of my day. I'm sure the other commuters watching me laughing in my car as I drove along, thought I was off my rocker. Of all the audiobooks I have listened to, this one was at the top with Barack Obama. I've downloaded his other books now too and can't wait to listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Great Tour of Canada..especially Newfoundland

Loved it! Great narration that was warm and genuine. Lovedthe dialectics accept. Looking forward to other books by Alan Doyle.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Just finished, and I’m a better person for it !!

Could listen to this voice for hours more, narrated by Allan Doyle himself, best kind !

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding

Thoroughly enjoyed this! Great insight into Newfoundland culture in the context of Great Big Sea touring Canada. Lots of funny and heartwarming stories. Wish the BC chapter was a bit longer.Proud Canadians!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!