Think of the Canadian Confederation as a big family. It's a pretty common metaphorical recourse.

You've got Papa Ontario and Mama Quebec and I suppose the other provinces are their siblings or adult children.

But then you've got Newfoundland, who, for years and years, was the old man bachelor boarder in the basement apartment. Sometimes he'd bang on his ceiling (your floor) and yell "come near at your peril, Canadian wolf!" and children were often frightened by his eccentric and solitary ways.

But in 1949, he moved up into the family home, started taking his meals at the family table, began depositing and withdrawing from the Canada family's bank account (and, despite tut-tuts from Papa Ontario and Brother Alberta, the old man contributes quite a bit).

He's got different blood and different ways and different pasts, but over the years he's become accepted into the family. Still, you don't know much about him. Maybe Aunt Nova Scotia was an acquaintance of his back before the house was built? Anyway, most of the family have even learned how to say his name correctly (neurotic outbursts of "LAND! LAND! newf'nLAND!" are rarer and rarer).

But if you're Canadian and you've ever wondered about the old codger, what his life was like before he was adopted into your family, where he came from, why he is the way he is and why that way is not like your way, and how did he come to live with you all the same anyway . . . there are a couple of books you must read.

1.) The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston.

2.) Random Passage by Bernice Morgan.

Go! Read them now, Canada! You will learn something about Old Man Newfoundland, and you'll enjoy it while you're at it, because the fella has been around the block a few times and he surely know how to spin a good yarn.