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The Ghost Trap
by
K. Stephens (Goodreads Author)
“Stephens gives the reader an unvarnished view of the subculture of lobster fishermen in small-town coastal Maine.”—James Acheson, author of The Lobster Gangs of Maine
“Stephens has a wonderful clear eye for people, especially Maine people, and The Ghost Trap is populated with dozens from all walks of Maine life.”—Bill Roorbach, author of Temple Stream
“A salty, tangy read....more
“Stephens has a wonderful clear eye for people, especially Maine people, and The Ghost Trap is populated with dozens from all walks of Maine life.”—Bill Roorbach, author of Temple Stream
“A salty, tangy read....more
Paperback, 280 pages
Published
September 1st 2009
by Leapfrog Press
(first published 2009)
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"for whatever we lose (like a you or a me) / it's always ourselves we find in the sea" e.e. Cummings
This is a story about one lobsterman’s struggles and joys with his work and his life.
Jamie Eugely has lobstering in his blood. Living in Maine he was taught to lobster by both his father and his grandfather at a very young age. When he was a teen he thought to escape the small town Maine lifestyle, but ultimately came back to the family business.
Now he struggles as new lobsterman set their pots to...more
This is a story about one lobsterman’s struggles and joys with his work and his life.
Jamie Eugely has lobstering in his blood. Living in Maine he was taught to lobster by both his father and his grandfather at a very young age. When he was a teen he thought to escape the small town Maine lifestyle, but ultimately came back to the family business.
Now he struggles as new lobsterman set their pots to...more
from publisher
Every now and again, I find myself gravitating towards a book that I am not entirely certain I will be able to connect with. Something that is just a wee bit outside my typical reading-comfort level. Something I feel I would be taking a risk on. I enjoy stretching my thought-muscles and trying something new on for size, and this last novel certainly did just that.
I am quickly becoming a fan of Leapfrog Press as they impress me yet again - this time with their 2009 release The Ghost...more
Every now and again, I find myself gravitating towards a book that I am not entirely certain I will be able to connect with. Something that is just a wee bit outside my typical reading-comfort level. Something I feel I would be taking a risk on. I enjoy stretching my thought-muscles and trying something new on for size, and this last novel certainly did just that.
I am quickly becoming a fan of Leapfrog Press as they impress me yet again - this time with their 2009 release The Ghost...more
I really tore through this one. I'm from Downeast Maine so this pulled on some heartstrings. I am not, however, from the world that is described in the book, nor am I from the world vilified by the lobstermen, either: the Camden yachties with their stuck-up Marblehead sailing stories, etc, etc. I actually floated in between the two but had much more success with the latter. Stephens helped me gain a better understanding of what I must look and sound like to working-class people. This book made m...more
The Ghost Trap shows us a side of Maine rarely seen. This isn’t the picturesque vacationland, littered with multi-million dollar historic mansions, whose occupants reside there only a small portion of the year. No this is a much different scene. This is the heart and soul of Maine, flaws and all. It’s about a community of lobstermen who risk their lives and souls everyday on the formidable sea. It shows the struggle, fear, and stress of relying on the bounties of the sea for survival, but more...more
I didn't know what to expect when I started this book other than it had been reccomended to me. I found it to be raucous, tender, heartbreaking and beatifully written.
The story concerns Jamie Eugley, a young redneck lobster fisherman in a small coastal Maine fishing village who is different from his family and friends because he has an inner sense of compassion and a desire to change his existance. He is torn between loyalty to his heritage and friends and rising above his situation to find his...more
The story concerns Jamie Eugley, a young redneck lobster fisherman in a small coastal Maine fishing village who is different from his family and friends because he has an inner sense of compassion and a desire to change his existance. He is torn between loyalty to his heritage and friends and rising above his situation to find his...more
Stephens is a terrific writer. In this novel, she brings to life a group of Maine lobstermen, including Jamie Hugley, who, at 27, is the guardian of his former fiancee - a young woman named Anja who sustained a brain-injury after falling off of his boat. He is torn between his strong sense of responsibility and the possibility of starting over again with another woman, in another place. The characters are vibrant and complicated. Stephens managed to make me feel compassion for a bunch of beer-sw...more
This book sets the stage for lobster wars in Maine and how small towns function as a whole and the daily lives of it's people and how important it is to them all. These wars are insane and get never let things go but it makes for a great story. Of course I loved Anya and Jamie but I just wish there was more sensitivity on Jamie's part since Anya's head injury. I can totally understand why Jamie gets a little off the handle with her because it can be frustrating. It is hard to handle someone like...more
Title: The Ghost Trap
Author: K. Stephens
Publisher: LeapFrog Press
Rating: 4 Shots of Espresso (The Red Eye)
I would first like to thank both Lori of TNBBC and LeapFrog Press for allowing me the opportunity to read K. Stephens' The Ghost Trap. Lori posted via Twitter a giveaway for Stephens' book, and I thought I should try to win a copy. I was finishing my thesis and was in a crisis mode as to what I would do with my life after my MA in English Literature. I, then, started to put together a book...more
This book is FANTASTIC! I started it on a Sunday night, stayed up way too late reading then spent all day at work on Monday exhausted and distracted dying to get back to it! The author captures not only mid-coast Maine and the lobster industry perfectly but a series of complex relationships that are truly universal. This book is an absolute MUST READ for everyone - NOT just residents of the mid-coast region.
The author was able to convey a world that must be distant from her own in ways, and yet she did it with such grace and intensity. The use of simile, metaphor, and analogy was unlike anything I have experienced in print. They re-surfaced memories and sensations that were buried in the cobwebs of the past. I feel more alive at the completion of this book.
Fine writing, great characters, a tough and tender story that'll keep you turning the pages, and so authentic you'll smell the salt air and hear the gulls squabbling somewhere just out of sight.
Definitely not what you might think it would be from the title. A very different side of the Maine Lobstering community and trade.
Familiar, fun read. A movie waiting to happen.
The book, I find, is more about human nature and less about the technicalities of lobstering which I expected before reading the book. The narrative flowed very well and I can tell the book was well researched as the author was able to assemble the culture and daily experiences of the lobstering community in Maine with the complexities of human relationships to give a substantive insight into the psychology of the characters. Jamie and Anja's relationship was heartbreaking and memorable.
Wow. Didn't want it to end. amazing mix of beauty, humor, and the human stain of sadness. It's just one of those books that nails it.
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Interesting look into the lives of lobster fishermen and surprisingly well developed main characters. Enjoyed it!
Waist of time and money ..
This book was pretty gripping. And I'm not just saying that because the author and setting are local. The dialogue was excellent and often really hilarious. The protagonist managed to be both aggravating, dunderheaded and completely sympathetic. The only part I didn't like was the ending. Seemed kind of a cop out.
A young lobsterman deals with guilt and stress during trap wars. Set in Maine.
Apr 26, 2013
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K. Stephens is a Maine arts and entertainment writer who has written about schooners, food and wine, regional artists and the creative economy. Stephens credits her diverse experience as the background material for her novel. "Only until I came to Maine," she says, "and worked a bunch of crappy jobs, hung out with boat builders, fishermen, artists, sailors, freaks and geeks, did I find my perfect...more
More about K. Stephens...
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