The fictional biography of a minor character who was the father of the confederation of Newfoundland. A hilarious, splendidly entertaining account of a strange man in an even stranger place. This novel takes its power not from the bare facts of a not-so-dramatic life, but instead from the powerful setting and turbulent relationship between the protagonist, Joe Smallwood, and a powerful woman -- the alcoholic, larger-than-life Shelagh Fielding -- who contributes the hilarious excerpts from a condensed history of Newfoundland that are interspersed throughout the novel.  (NFL08, $17.00)