Product Description

On two remote islands off the coast of Maine, the local lobstermen have fought savagely for generations over the fishing rights to the ocean waters between them. Young Ruth Thomas is born into this feud, the daughter of one of the greediest lobstermen in Maine. Eighteen years old, as smart as a whip, and irredeemably unromantic, Ruth returns home from boarding school determined to throw her education overboard and join the 'stern-men'. As the feud escalates, she helps work the lobster boats, brushes up on her profanity, and eventually falls for a handsome young lobsterman. A funny, sparkling novel of unlikely friendships and family ties, Stern Men captures a feisty American spirit through this unforgettable heroine who is destined for greatness despite herself. Stern Men was a New York Times Notable Book.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #72265 in Books
• Published on: 2009-03-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Ruth Thomas's life is enriched by the eccentric islanders she lives with in Elizabeth Gilbert's rewarding debut novel Stern Men. The author describes the trials and tribulations in the lives of lobstermen on a remote island off the coast of Maine as seen through the eyes of Ruth, the young daughter of a "stern man". Daily life is tough and grinding; some sink while others swim. The hothouse atmosphere creates an environment of seeming contradictions in the struggle for survival: jealousy and compassion; love and hate; life and death.

Lobstermen fight over every cubic yard of the sea. Every lobster one man catches is a lobster another man has lost. It is a mean business, and it makes for mean men. As humans, after all, we become that which we seek.

Life is also suffocatingly dull and limited, especially for someone as feisty and intelligent as Ruth. But an oddball assortment of friends and neighbours help Ruth to reconcile her mixed feelings about island life and to decide her future (and, in turn, her decisions have a rippling impact on everyone). There is the troop of loveable but not-very-bright Pommeroy brothers who live next door; the water-fearing Senator Simon Addams who spends his summers organising searches for an elephant's tusks in the mudflats; and the handsome but uncommunicative Owmey Wishell who begins to capture her heart.

"Stern Men" is almost parable-like in its plotting and the writing is solid and so evocative that the sea air blows out from the pages. It is suffused throughout with believable dialogue and gentle humour and contains a wealth of historical and practical information--including timely observations on the behaviour of the lobsters themselves. "Stern Men" is a memorable and unusual novel. --Christina McLoughlin

Review
'A wonderful first novel about life, love and lobster fishing Stern Men is high entertainment' USA Today 'Howlingly funny' San Francisco Chronicle 'An impressive achievement' Observer 'A mix of Annie Proulx and John Irving memorable and enjoyable' The Times

About the Author
Elizabeth Gilbert is the author of a short story collection, Pilgrims (a finalist for the Pen/Hemmingway Award) and a book of non fiction, The Last American Man (nominated for the National Book Award and a New York Times Notable Book for 2002). She is a writer-at-large for American GQ where she has received two National Magazine Award nominations for feature writing. Her most recent book, Eat, Pray, Love is an international bestseller. Elizabeth Gilbert lives in New Jersey.

Customer Reviews

A spot-on, Down East yarn.
Gilbert deftly captures Maine's wry, Down East humor and its flat, deadpan delivery in this seriocomic tale of lobstering and survival on twin islands, twenty miles off the Maine coast. Independent, cussed, and fiercely loyal to their own islands, the inhabitants are virtually a law unto themselves as they compete for the lobster market, the only commercial venue open to them.

In a deceptively simple style and the dry, straight talk of a native telling a tale which may or may not be a "tall one," Gilbert introduces Ruth Thomas, the feisty product of a rare interisland marriage. We come to know her relatives, the friends with whom she shares her challenging and sometimes monotonous life, and we watch her grow up and deal with the problems, conflicts, frustrations, and ultimate satisfactions of her isolation on the island. As the one person who really has access to the rival "players" on both islands, Ruth is also a reluctant beacon of hope for the future of the islands.

Gilbert's warm tale of this hard life perfectly captures the cadences and rhythms of the "down Maine" speaker. Her characters sound and act real--though not one of the says "ayuh" even once! Her story of the sternmen shows them to be stern, hard men, but the story has heart, and "it were a good'un." Mary Whipple

A delightful first novel about love, life, and... lobster fishing!
Don't be put off by the fact that this book is about lobster fishing. No, seriously, don't! This is a wonderful novel about love, work and growing up.

Yes, I did learn more about lobsters than I could ever have imagined - but as part of the most delightful romp of a plot. It's an unusual but very readable story about feuding Maine islanders, focusing on the story of a very engaging protagonist, eighteen-year old Ruth Thomas, a headstrong young woman who has just returned from boarding school on the mainland.

Ruth is independent, blunt, straight-spoken and often hilariously direct. For all her wit and sarcasm, she's a very appealing character with fiercely-felt emotions and an interesting family background to deal with - as well as a struggle to decide what she should do with her future and of course a love interest...

I thought this was such a delightful, beautifully written book - funny, moving and fascinating - I just couldn't put it down. I was very glad that I hadn't gone with my initial impulse ('ugh, a book about lobsters and fishing') and put it back on the shelf. Instead, I'm definitely going to be looking out for Elizabeth Gilbert's other novels. A brilliant read: well-written, funny and moving.