West of Spencer (English Edition) [Kindle-editie] beoordelingen het boek quotes

Bo, an Alaska salmon fisherman, suffers from an incurable attraction to women that sets him up for heartbreak. That’s how we meet him: dismasted by the abrupt end of an intense affair, and looking for solace by drinking himself to obliteration through a long, dark Alaska winter. Spring comes along, and working on his boat to prepare for the approaching salmon season revives him somewhat. New liaisons offer distraction, but it’s only when he’s out on the water, wholly involved in the work he loves, that he’s able to forget the past. The Gulf of Alaska plays a major role in this tale, told as only an author with long experience in the salmon fishery could. In the wind-driven spray and the blood on the deck; from a rough wrenching ride in a near-gale to the eerie calm of quiet anchorages, we get a true picture of life aboard a commercial fishing boat. On the docks, over the boat radios, and in the cafes and bars, we follow Bo and his friends through drinking and brawling, lust and love, and the close friendships that arise from shared struggle. Most fishermen know someone who was lost either because of a fatal mistake, or simply due to the ocean’s capacity for violence. With death never very far away, life becomes vivid; living in the moment is an easy and natural response. But at the same time there’s a need for some deeper understanding, of how to make sense of it all, and this quest is West of Spencer’s recurring theme---not always entirely coherent, but ever hopeful.