The Young Man And The Sea (After Words) (2006) - Plot & Excerpts
There's a quote in the interview given by author Rodman Philbrick at the end of this book that I think must really give a lot of buoyancy to the aspirations of struggling new writers. Here it is: Q: "You've said that Freak the Mighty is about a writer learning to find his voice, and that theme recurs in your novel The Last Book in the Universe. How did you find your voice?" A (from Rodman Philbrick): "Over many years and over many thousands of pages. Learning to write a readable, compelling story was hard work for me." If an author with the incredible skill that Rodman Philbrick consistently demonstrates as he reels off story after story that vibrate off the page or burn like hot coals into readers' minds (depending on the particular book) found becoming a great writer to be hard work, then maybe those of us who feel that we don't measure up to him in his mind-blowing finished form can take solace in knowing that writing doesn't have to feel like second nature in order for a person to excel at it. Any kind of hard work that produces a raconteur like Rodman Philbrick is work that's worth doing, believe me. Taking its roots in the masterpiece literature of the renowned Ernest Hemingway, The Young Man and the Sea hits the ground running hard, as do all of Rodman Philbrick's novels. Skiff Beaman, son of a legendary fisherman from Maine, has had better days in his past. His mother is dead, and the proud man who was his once highly esteemed father can't seem to get on with his life. He drinks and he sits around the house and he sleeps, but the gnawing emptiness of losing Skiff's mother won't relinquish its grip for even a few of hours. Skiff longs to somehow set things back to the way they used to be, to relight the spark in his father that was snuffed out when his mother died, but their family situation only gets worse when Skiff's father's boat, the Mary Rose, sinks in the harbor. Now the boat will require several thousand dollars in repairs just to get it back into running condition, and with Skiff's father unemployed and languishing around the house with no prospects for a future job, thousands of dollars in usable capital are not in Skiff's future. That is, unless he can earn the cash himself... When in prime shape the Mary Rose may have been the most seaworthy of Skiff's father's sailing vessels, but it's not his only boat. Skiff is determined to gain the money necessary to repair the Mary Rose by pouring all of his own resources into lobster trapping. The income is a fairly modest one, and the going is slow, but with an entire summer of intense work Skiff calculates that he may have enough time to earn the funds for the Mary Rose before autumn begins. The lobstering program that Skiff has outlined doesn't go according to plan, though, and soon Skiff realizes that in order to make enough money to meet the projected expenditures for the Mary Rose, he's going to have to go after much bigger game. He senses that restoring the luster to his father's boat is the only thing that can return his father to the way he used to be, and Skiff is willing to risk anything for his father. Perhaps he'll even end up risking his own life... Much like Jerry Spinelli's Loser, what The Young Man and the Sea does best, in my opinion, is to give voice to a long series of totally voiceless moments as the narrative reaches its fever-pitch crisis, and then perfectly deliver the mute climax of the story as the tension and pressure build and we have no way of knowing how the scales are going to tip from one moment to the next. The conclusion is thrilling and meaningful and the writing is marvelous, as I've come to expect from Rodman Philbrick over the course of his career. The Young Man and the Sea is a very solid story that has all the earmarks of a superb writer, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a fast-paced adventure tale that rings true with the simple sounds of everyday life by the sea.
Young man in the seaRodman Philbrick 3 stars out 5The Young Man in the Sea is about a boy named Skiff Beaman. Skiff’s mom had died recently and now he is just with his dad who is to depressed to get up off the couch and go to work. So Skiff has to take care of himself. But his dads boat sinks and Skiff realizes that it will cost thousands of dollars to repair the engine. The only way that Skiff can save the boat is if he can catch a bluefin tuna. So throughout the book Skiff is on a mission to be prepared to fight against the big bluefin tuna to catch it. a quote that Skiffs mom said was "Think smart, Speak true, and Never give up."tThis book was pretty good. It wasn’t the best because some parts in this book just didn’t seem real at all. But the story behind it where a 12 year old boy that had a mom that just died and he has to take care of himself and his dad. For the most part I found this book very nice to read, I was pretty stuck to it because it was very suspenseful, not suspenseful in the way where like I am afraid of something big happening but that I did not know if he would be able to fix his boat or catch the tuna. I gave this book a 3 out of 5 stars because, like I said, It was a very good book but its that there were some parts that were very unbelievable. And another reason I didn’t rate it any higher is because the book just took place in two areas the whole time, at the dock and at his house. I would’ve liked to see him go to different places.
What do You think about The Young Man And The Sea (After Words) (2006)?
Silly me. As a mom I was envisioning it would be me encouraging the kids to open their reading lists to new titles. Instead it has been them encouraging me. My 9 year old, who is fascinated by fish and fishing, checked this book out and raved about it. "You *have* to read this! I'm to the part in this book where the boy is in the water and the giant fish is circling him! It's so exciting!", she said. However, as an adult reader there is so much more to this book. Ultimately it is about a young boy who has to become the "adult" in the family after his mother dies because his father retreats into alcoholism. His father gives up working and just sits at home. Their fishing boat sinks and the boy sets out to raise and repair it on his own with guidance from the local retired ship builders and fisherman. He works during the summer to raise enough money for repairs while also having to deal with another kid bent on making sure he fails. However, he never gives up no matter the obstacle. I feel it also deals honestly with the emotions this young boy deals with in regards to his father's apathy as well as what a child's thought process as they try to "fix" a situation. It is a book well worth reading regardless of what age you are.
—Dawn Allbee
The main plot of the story is that skiff wants to restore life to his dad and he wants to fix the boat named Rose. Even though skiff has to go through tough times to fix the boat he still never gives up and eventually he achieves his goal. Skiff learned many valuable lessons and skills throughout the book and that contributed to him becoming a very round type of character. I gave the book a four star rating because it has one of the best themes out of all the book I have read. The theme of the story is to not give up no matter what the circumstances. I think this a great book read in your free time because it has lots of meaning to it.
—Cameron Staley
A coming of age story set in present day, Rhode Island. Skif has several obstacles to overcome. First his father can't cope with the death of his wife(Skif's mother). Secondly, Skif has to find a way to get 5,000 thousand dollars to pay for needed repairs on the family boat. If that isn't bad enough, his enemy is a wealthy brat who is constantly harassing him. A comparison can be made with Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea", since Skif spends a fair amount of time out in the sea trying to catch that special fish. Philbrick is a strong young adult writer who connects well with his audience.
—Yasmina Walker
