Spartina

Rhode Islander Dick Pierce suffers from a throat-strangling envy of the rich people who flock to his touristy seaside town of Narragansett every summer. His mistress calls it "class-rage." Money, or the lack of it, makes Dick an ornery man. Most of the time he is able to control his disdain for the wealthy nonsense, but every once in awhile his temper will flare. It is difficult for him, as a year-rounder, to make a back-breaking living as a commercial fisherman while watching his neighbors folic in the house his family used to own. With a wife and two sons to support Dick knows he needs to captain his own vessel to bring in a better profit. He can't make ends meet crewing for someone else. His saving grace is a 50-foot boat he calls show more Spartina he has been slowly building in the back yard. Now all he needs is an engine. Desperation to put Spartina in the water leads Dick down a dangerous path of foolish choices and regrettable actions. Drugs, adultery, theft. Nothing is off limits when a man is driven.
Confessional: I couldn't decide if I liked the main character. show less

Dick Pierce has issues. As the gruff, mostly unpleasant central character in John Casey’s well-crafted novel, Pierce scrapes out a marginal living in a working class Rhode Island fishing community. His dream of leaving behind his piecemeal existence rests on finishing the fishing boat he has been spent years building in his backyard. However, his single-minded focus on that goal has threatened to estrange him from his wife and family. That obsession also leads him to make some questionable decisions involving wildlife poaching, drug running, an extramarital affair, and navigating into the storm of the century.

I enjoyed Spartina, more for the quality of the writing than for the story itself. In fact, I found the plot to be a little show more thin and ultimately a bit melodramatic; at times, the relationship between Dick and Elsie seemed more suited for a made-for-TV movie than for a first-rate piece of fiction. Nevertheless, Casey is a wonderful story-teller who draws a thoughtful and unflinching portrait of his protagonist. Although the author is somewhat less successful in developing some of the supporting characters (e.g., Dick’s wife May, his best friend Eddie), this book still provides a compelling view of a deeply conflicted man going through a mid-life crisis. It is a memorable tale that feels true to the mark from beginning to end. show less

This is a quick enagaging read about a man in crisis-mode--not the crises of a major disaster, but of the problems that come from living. He'll infuriate you at times, but in the end, you'll enjoy the story and the writing here. If you like reading books that take place around and employ the scenery of the Chesapeake Bay, or if you'd simply like an easy read that provides an entertaining escape, I'd recommend this book highly.

This was a winner of the National Book Award, and a very well-written book. The writing is better than the plot, but not by much. The plot features a main character, Dick, who is building his magnum opus, a 50+ foot handmade wooden commercial fishing boat. The boat, named Spartina, is perhaps to outsiders the main event in Dick's life, however throughout the book Dick is involved with a small group of colleagues and his family which provide plenty of drama. The book includes thriller-type action at times: drug-deals, extra-marital affairs, and a storm-of-the-century hurricane.

Although the writing is strong, the book turns into a Diane Lane/Richard Gere type movie full of feelings, emotions, dialogue, almost love/life story. This bogs show more down a bit and the author barely saves it--this happens in the middle of the book and I almost gave up on it. But the author brings it around in the end. show less

A classic tale of a man, a boat, and a storm, Spartina is the lyrical and compassionate
story of Dick Pierce, a commercial fisherman along the shores of Rhode Island's
Narragansett Bay. A kind, sensitive, family man, he is also prone to irascible outbursts
against the people he must work for, now that he can no longer make his living from the
sea

Dick Pierce is a fisherman in New England. His family owned land on a picturesque spot overlooking the water but his father had to sell it to pay bills.

Now, that land is being developed and Dick is having a hard time with the fishing business and catching enough fish to make a living and complete building a boat that is is labor of love.

The story discusses the difficulties of being a self-employed fisherman in New England and the temptation that someone might have who has a boat and there are illegal substances that might be transported.

The story is also a good study of a person's life, their dreams and disappointments.

Spartina by John Casey
I 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 he
can'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 building in the back yard, in show more 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... show less