Great memoir of the author's boyhood in Newfoundland, undertaken with the same combination of warmth, hometown pride, and self-deprecation that marks his stage presence. I felt like I had some sense of Petty Harbour before listening, but his vivid portraits of the town itself (divided by both river and religion) and its characters (ranging from the stoic to the incorrigible) brought the place and its spirit into sharp focus.

There are many funny moments, as when a young Alan seeks clarification about transubstantiation and his family members repeatedly give a pat answer followed by encouragement to "go run up and down the hill," and of course some mildly appalling boys-will-be-boys antics (he gives the impression that humans and animals [not counting fish, of course] come out largely unscathed from these experiences), but few dull moments.

The book barely touches on GBS—though there are allusions galore for alert fans—taking us right up to the first day Alan spent with Séan McCann. The ending was naturally a bit bittersweet, given the revelations of the last two years, but that only added poignancy to an otherwise lighthearted love letter to his hometown.

[I'm trying to get a bit less stingy with my five-star ratings, and this seemed as good a place as any to start.]