What do You think about Spartina (1998)?
Spartina by John CaseyI first was interested in the 2nd book of this series and was happy to learn that I could still buy the first book.It's about Dick and he is a fisherman and he also has worked in various jobs around the shipyard. He knows how to do a lot of things besides being a fisherman, onshore and offshore and how to deliver boats to other locations, design his own boat but hecan't get the banks to loan him the money he needs to complete his big boat that he can then go offshore with to get the crab and lobsters he needs that bring in the big bucks.He takes on a job where he has to provide the seafood for 30 people on the beach that will have a clamboil in exchange the man will look at the boat he's buildinng in the back yard, in hopes he will fund the rest of the building of his boat.He tries to negotiate with Jackster but he wants a co signer. He continues to work getting red crab and swordifsh that brings in a lot of money.Dick has started to hang around with the DEM agent for many reasons: he can't get the money to finish his boat, he's bored and the sex is good.I saw how a clamboil is done in the backyard of a cousin one year: the rocks, seaweed and specially wrapped fish and onions and all kinds of other things that make the clamboil on the beach the best meal you've ever eaten.Love the talk of how to sail the boat and all the nautical terms.Legend of Indian wampum and how others think it was used as coins.He takes his boat out to sea when the hurricane hits then makes his way home to deal with the aftermath...
—Julie Barrett
I'm not sure why this book won the National Book Award. There are lots of well-written books published every year. I think the thing that sets this one apart is its depiction of a vanishing way of life - that of a New England man trying to make a living from the sea. I know the southern coast of New England intimately and grew up around men very much like the hero of this book, Dick Pierce. Mr. Casey has gotten the stubborn, non-verbal self-reliance of his protagonist exactly right, especially as contrasted with the nouveau riche "players" who are taking over his home town. The other thing I really enjoyed was the description of the coastline with its marshes, salt ponds and spartina grass. It was a visceral experience for me. I was less enthusiastic about the two principal women in the book. Dick Pierce's wife is pretty much just sketched in - a place holder - and we find out almost nothing about her. The other female, Elsie, is more complex, but not really believable and not really likeable. Way too much of the book is spent on her relationship with Dick. I think the author would have been better served by eliminating her and concentrating on the man and his boat.
—Blaire
Winner of the 1989 National book Award. i was attracted to this book by a quote from the NYT Book Review - "Possibly the best American novel...since "The Old Man and the Sea," maybe even "Moby Dick." That says a lot to me. While a very good work, I am afraid the accolades are too intense.Nowhere as sparse as Hemingway, or as intense as Melville, This is nonetheless a good example of the philosophical introspection common in much of modern literature, with an interesting story thrown in. A man struggles to build his own fishing boat, has an extramarital affair, smuggles dope, saves his ship by outrunning a hurricane, and manages to find some level of balance and peace in his tumultuous life.Spartina was the name of his ship and also the name of a type of swamp or salt-marsh grass.
—Bookman8
