James Pfeiffer will do almost anything to have his own boat, even if it means dropping out of college, disappointing his family, and exposing himself to the hard, dangerous, and often cruel world on board a scallop trawler.
But James is beguiled by the sea in much the same perilous way of his grandfather, and in the bittersweet, stoical way of his father, who made a living for his family fishing off the New England coast.
In his 20th year James is also at a crossroads: displaced at school, displaced at home, he feels most at ease with himself at sea, where the immeasurable hours take on a doleful, hypnotic quality, and the crew wavers between a numbing fear of failing or of simply not surviving.
Preserving life and limb and earning money to save for his own lobster boat are simple things compared to his father's wrath. Relentlessly ambitious and paradoxically disdainful of a fisherman's life, his father is a difficult and imposing obstacle.
Pfeiffer is willing to pay the price for his dream--in blood, sweat, and cold cash--but it may cost him the respect of the one person he needs most.
About the Author :
Sam Eastland lives in the United States and the United Kingdom. He is the grandson of a London police detective who served in Scotland Yard's famous "Ghost Squad" during the 1940s.
Richard Poe, a professional actor for more than thirty years, has appeared in numerous Broadway shows, including 1776 and M. Butterfly. On television he has had recurring roles on Star Trek and Frasier. His films include Born on the Fourth of July and Presumed Innocent. Poe is a well-known and prolific audiobook performer and the winner of numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards.
Review :
""The raw elegance of human experience itself...Dazzlingly rendered...Watkins is an author whose work should be read with great respect."
-- "Los Angeles Times"
"Paul Watkins has a fine ear...The scenes of shipboard life and the hardships suffered there are especially vivid, and the writing is lyrical without being strained."
-- "Wall Street Journal"
"Readers will savor the realistic evocations of life at sea and the portrayal of a particular maritime subculture."
-- "Publishers Weekly"
