From Publishers Weekly
Greenlaw (
The Hungry Ocean), known to readers of
The Perfect Storm as the captain of the sister ship to the ill-fated Andrea Gail, gave up swordfishing to return to her parents' home on Isle Au Haut off the coast of Maine and fish for lobster. Her plainspoken essays paint a picture of a grueling life as she details maintaining her boat and her equipment, setting and hauling hundreds of traps with a crew of one (her father, a retired steel company executive), contending with the weather and surviving seasons when the lobsters don't bother to come around. She intersperses her narrative with plenty of eccentrics who live on her tiny island (there are 47 full-time residents, half of whom she's somehow related to). Among them are Rita, the inveterate borrower who's such a nuisance that Greenlaw's parents hide behind the couch when they see her coming; George and Tommy of Island Boy Repairs, who make a horrendous mess of every job they undertake; and Victor, the cigar-eating womanizer who imports a red-headed flasher from Alabama. One of Greenlaw's themes is her desire to find a husband but, according to her friend Alden, she intimidates men: she's tough talking, feisty and very self-assured, which is no doubt why the other lobstermen on the island readily accept her as one of them. Self-speculation and uncertainties such as these nicely balance her delightfully cocky essays of island life.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Library Journal
Greenlaw's first book, The Hungry Ocean, was a best seller because it was written by a female sword boat captain; her vessel was a sister ship to the Andrea Gail (the subject of Sebastian Junger's The Perfect Storm); and it was a darn good story. The author has an impressive command of language, combining her own salty remarks with wry and witty characterizations. It also doesn't hurt that she has an eccentric and eclectic group of people to describe in her latest memoir. Greenlaw left swordfishing to return to Isle au Haut, seven miles off the coast of Maine, where her parents live. Confronted with only one general store, no Starbucks, no video store, no mall, and lacking nearly any amenity that most people expect these days, she would be the first to admit she's returned to a simpler way of life. With her retired father as her crew of one, she maintains her boat, the Mattie Belle, and the equipment; sets and hauls hundreds of lobster traps; and wrestles with the weather, elusive lobsters, her mother's battle with breast cancer, and her own biological clock. She returned to this island in order to be closer to her parents, find a husband, build a house, and have children. Despite the isolation and lack of services on Isle au Haut, most listeners will somewhat envy the simpler life and sense of community and family that Greenlaw celebrates. Highly recommended for all public library collections.
Gloria Maxwell, Penn Valley Community Coll., Kansas City, MOCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Audio Cassette
edition.
