Spartina
by John Casey
published
1998
by Vintage
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binding
Paperback, 384 pages
literary awards
National Book Award 1989; 1989 National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist
isbn
0375702687
(isbn13: 9780375702686)
description
Dick Pierce, fisherman and boat-builder, lives on the Rhode Island shore in a backwater world of salt marshes, alcoholic fishermen, crab boats and old...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 191)
Read in December, 1995
recommended to Alex by:
no one, luckily for themrecommends it for: no one, except what not to read or write
Over the past 15 years or so, I've managed to sprinkle into my reading diet 45 of the 65 National Book Award winners in Fiction. To date, Spartina is at the very bottom of my list of the ones I've read. The back cover blurbs comparing it to Moby Dick and The Old Man and the Sea are patently offensive to anyone with an eye and mind for Literature (next to those masterworks this is just a guy and his dream of a boat fluff). To think Casey's novel, which stays on the soap opera level when it's no...more
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If you've never read anything by John Casey, please do. It is a sad thing that his name is such an obscurity in the literary world, because his writing is absolutely outstanding. His books have such a classic feel to them, and his characters are developed to such an extent that they appear frighteningly real. I was lucky enough to have Mr. Casey as a professor in a writing class at UVa, and he is probably the most interesting, intelligent person I have ever encountered. If you are a fan of good,...more
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Read in July, 2008
John Casey has the voice of his irascible protagonist down, and spools it out with as much confidence as that character plies the waters off the coast of his beloved Rhode Island. This simple story details the conflicts encountered by those who have constructed their lives around steady, understandable truths only to have "progress" threaten to take it all away forever. I am not a sailor, but both the writer and the protagonist are and are clearly proud to be. The language reflects tha...more
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Read in November, 2003
Spartina was one of those books that made me almost want to stay in the hotel room and read instead of see Milan. Almost, I said.
I can't really explain why Casey's books enthrall me so much. This one, in particular, was full of descriptions of boating that I know nothing about. So many words I had never before seen, and yet it was all still very real to me. Then again, my imagination is pretty good at filling in the blanks.
I didn't really like the ending that much. But despite that, th...more
I can't really explain why Casey's books enthrall me so much. This one, in particular, was full of descriptions of boating that I know nothing about. So many words I had never before seen, and yet it was all still very real to me. Then again, my imagination is pretty good at filling in the blanks.
I didn't really like the ending that much. But despite that, th...more
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Read in August, 2007
I was excited to discover this author on a bookshelf at my in-laws' beach house. I'll admit that the cover pulled me in. I got lost in the world of fishing and boating and sheer desperation that he paints. Why not four stars? Because it was a great read--but it wasn't *amazing*.
Three stars, as far as I'm concerned, is what great books get. Four stars is reserved for AMAZING books. Books that I feel, as soon as I am finished with them, that I should read again.
Three stars, as far as I'm concerned, is what great books get. Four stars is reserved for AMAZING books. Books that I feel, as soon as I am finished with them, that I should read again.
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Read in October, 2007
I know, I know. I'm hopeless! But it's another book Sean gave me that I just didn't like and couldn't bring myself to finish. It won the 1989 National Book Award, so I guess the characters enthralled some people out there. Sadly, I am not one of them.
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Read in January, 2007
A fantastic book. I'm not really crazy about books with manly, silent men as main characters, but John Casey showed me I should never assume that books about men and their boats are not for me (I guess I should finally read Moby Dick).
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Read in January, 2000
A fisherman attempts to build a ship in hopes of bettering his family situation. A man alone, facing midlife, and contemplating what all men face. What could be better? Like A Thousand Acres: for so little action, much takes place.
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Read in June, 2008
A Rhode Island fisherman trying to get his own boat in the water tried to justify taking money from the rich people he believes are ruining his home. The accurate, poetic descriptions evoke the marshy smell of the place.
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Read in September, 2001
Another book I read for AP lit; I remember not getting this book at all. I should try rereading it now that I have more experiences with sailing and the salty life. (Bubblegum fic; 300 pages)
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Loved this book. Everyone I recommended it to felt the same. And I can't imagine liking a book about boat building and fishing and fighting the sea, but it's pretty dang perfect.
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Read in October, 1991
More white, middle-aged philandering without real consequence for the protagonist. Casey's writing is better than the sum of the plot.
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Read in January, 1997
I'm a sucker for books with a strong sense of place, especially when they present depth of perception into the landscape.
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Read in November, 2007
I met Todd's grad school professor John Casey when I visted Todd at UVA, I can honestly say, I enjoyed his book
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Read in February, 2008
Ahab vs. the elite class. Good read, v technical. A wee misogynistic but hey those were the days.
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Read in January, 1990
Classic story set in the small fishing industry of Long Island Sound.
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Read in January, 2003
lots of local scenery...takes place in New England
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national book award winner
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