Spartina
Ratings6
Average rating4.3
Winner of the 1989 National Book Award A classic tale of a man, a boat, and a storm, Spartina is the lyrical and compassionate story of Dick Pierce, a commercial fisherman along the shores of Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay. A kind, sensitive, family man, he is also prone to irascible outbursts against the people he must work for, now that he can no longer make his living from the sea. Pierce's one great passion, a fifty-foot fishing boat called Spartina, lies unfinished in his back yard. Determined to get the funds he needs to buy her engine, he finds himself taking a foolish, dangerous risk. But his real test comes when he must weather a storm at sea in order to keep his dream alive. Moving and poetic, Spartina is a masterly story of one man's ongoing struggle to find his place in the world.
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Spartina was surprisingly good. I took a chance on it because it won the National Book Award (in 1989 or something). The book, according to its description, is about a Rhode Island fisherman, and it compared it to Moby Dick and the Old Man and the Sea (since those took place at sea). I wasn't really looking forward to reading it, but I decided to anyway.
Well, it started out a little slow, but around the 75 page mark I realized I was starting to enjoy the book a lot more, and by the midway point, I really enjoyed it. I looked forward to reading it, and didn't want it to end, which after finish a book last week that it took me a couple months to get through, is a big positive.
Yes, the book takes place at sea in parts (only very small parts). It is more about a man who happens to be a fisherman, his town, and the other people in a small town. Are any of the characters people you care a lot about? Not really. But they are all interesting, believable, REAL characters.
Definitely recommended.
