This was a wonderful novel about a female swordboat captain and just one of her hundreds of fishing trips out to sea. Linda Greenlaw knows what she wants and she knows the ocean. She loves it, gives it the respect it demands, and demands the same. Her descriptions of the sea, at all hours of the day, in the different light and weather, made me so homesick at one point I had to stop reading. She's lyrical at some points, comparing a coming storm to a symphony.
This book was full of adventure and insight to one of the deadliest jobs in the world. It's also not for the faint of heart. Greenlaw leaves nothing to the imagination when describing what happens on a swordboat. They catch, hook, kill and clean fish, and it's not pretty. She's flat out honest about a "voodoo" ceremony involving a shark and trying to get back the good mojo on a previous trip. Some of her stories are hilarious. Her recall about the hazing of a green horn was rip roaring.
I grew up in the "Fishing Capital of the world", New Bedford, MA, and this is a way of life for so many of the famililes I grew up with. It never crossed my mind growing up that a woman could do this job, and be the best of the best. This is one tough lady, and she's earned her title.
This book was full of adventure and insight to one of the deadliest jobs in the world. It's also not for the faint of heart. Greenlaw leaves nothing to the imagination when describing what happens on a swordboat. They catch, hook, kill and clean fish, and it's not pretty. She's flat out honest about a "voodoo" ceremony involving a shark and trying to get back the good mojo on a previous trip. Some of her stories are hilarious. Her recall about the hazing of a green horn was rip roaring.
I grew up in the "Fishing Capital of the world", New Bedford, MA, and this is a way of life for so many of the famililes I grew up with. It never crossed my mind growing up that a woman could do this job, and be the best of the best. This is one tough lady, and she's earned her title.
Wonderful book...read it in 2 nights. Tells about her extraordinary life as captain of a swordfish boat.
