Anyone who has been to a Maine island will recognize the different patterns and nuances of life offshore. Ms. Greenlaw brings out the colorful character of a very small and isolated community, and some of the many challenges and benefits it enjoys. An aging population, quirky citizens, unavailable healthcare, unlocked doors, lack of social life, beautiful vistas, abundant freedom, small town politics...the author provides a vivid illustration of life on Isle au Haut, Maine. Her passion for the island and its community comes with her bloodlines. She frequently returns to writing about her family members, and indeed, spends most of the summer running a lobster boat with her father as crew. With good humor, she parallels her failure to catch lobster with her inability, thus far, to catch a mate. Ms. Greenlaw writes gracefully and with great nobility about her family's encounter with devastating illness.
Warning: Unfailingly, lobster fans will need to devour a buttery tail or two after finishing this page turner. A terrific summer read!
My only regret is that the book stops quite abruptly, leaving several story lines incomplete, requiring a terse afterword to sketch in some missing pieces.
But any time spent with Greenlaw is quality time; her anecdotes manage to be both charming and sharp-eyed. She'll be getting lots of mail over the one jarring section in the book, her rant over dog ownership: Greenlaw derides anyone who stoops to the poop and scoop element. Interestingly, it is this passage which gives us the key to the real theme in this book, Greenlaw's longing for a home, husband and children. Enduring love, like lobster fishing and dog ownership, involves some nasty bits, like handling rancid bait, picking up dirty socks, or dog poop. She understands the connection between the hard, often punishing work of fishing and its rewards...but until she can see what inspires a person to clean up after their dog, she won't be ready for a human of her own.
But she'll make it there; this woman has a huge heart and wonderful stories. Buy her books, they are rare treats.
Unfortunately, Greenlaw faces that problem. While her writing style remains engaging and welcoming, there' s just not a lot of substance to this recounting of her time on Isle Au Haut, the "very small island" of the title. Its not really her fault, there are items of interest here, its just the whole thing doesn't prove to be very compelling. The book possibly should have been shorter and it might have worked better.
Unlike "The Hungry Ocean," which had the hook of her being the only known female swordfish boat captain, and offered the danger of sailing the ocean in sometimes dangerous waters, lobstering just seems a little, well, boring. To her credit, she may have realized this and, in reality, lobstering isn't the primary focus of the book. But still, despite more than a few interesting characters populating the island, there's just not a lot of interest going on here.
Having said that, I still recommend the book. As noted, she does have an engaging writing style and, as with her previous book, you finish wishing you could go somewhere and sit down for a drink with her.
Not really, I guess. Linda should have waited another year or two so that we could get more than a picturesque snapshot of Maine. Giving the author more time to "round out" some of the personal stories could have gone a long ways toward engaging the reader. The Lobster Chronicles offers a pleasant glimpse into small-island life but didn't really live up to its full story-telling potential.
