The Lord's Oysters

by Gilbert Byron

Librarian's Note: Alternate Edition:
isbn: 0801819598 isbn 13: 9780801819599


Nationally acclaimed when first published in 1957 by Atlantic/Little, Brown, The Lord's Oysters has never previously been available in a paperback edition. While presented as a novel, it captures with vivid fidelity the life of the Chesapeake watermen and their families in the early 20th century.

330 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1977

Reviews

[Mitch]

I'm actually not rating this one, because...

To begin with, it is a good book primarily for boys. The author tells an imaginatively augmented series of stories about his childhood growing up poor up near Chesapeake Bay, and I'd say he's captured the spirit of it well...with all the mischief a growing boy could get into in that time and place. The book has been likened somewhat to Huckleberry Finn, as it should be. However...

Early on he introduces a racist theme and denotes his confusion at it; as a small child he didn't understand why people should be treated differently because of their skin tone. As the book progresses, he adopts the local attitudes (consistently reinforced by his mother and father) and thereafter the racism is both blatant and offensive even if you are not of the race being treated so badly.

The book also has some seriously flawed morality issues that come up from time to time...and the Bible is used to justify stealing, etc.

I think it's probably good to keep a book like this as a record of how things were, but the racism in particular keeps it off my recommended reading list.

[Mark Zockoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nostalgia. Home. Time past.

[Eugenia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting memoir (presented as fiction, but everyone tells me that it is mostly memoir) about growing up in Chestertown in the teens. I read this book because my husband and all my in-laws really enjoyed it when they were younger--especially all of the boating and crabbing. The thing is, it is way too racist and prejudiced for reading aloud with a 9 and 11 year old. I edited A LOT as I read and I skipped one chapter entirely. I am not so naive as to not realize that this is part of the history of our country, but I am not ready to address it in this quantity with my kids yet. It took a lot of enjoyment away from reading it.

[Ted Savage · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did not want this book to end. It made me homesick.

[Michaila · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Lord's Oysters is a cultural, historical book of the author's "fantasized" memoirs of his childhood, from about 1906 to 1918. It trails the life of Noah (or really, Gilbert Byron) from his earliest memories to 12 years old.

This book is steeped in Chesapeake Bay culture. If you've ever wondered what the accent, knowledge, and daily lives were of the Chesapeake Bay watermen in the early 20th century, I would recommend this. It contains quirky, simple, and sometimes harsh glimpses into the lives of the people who made their living on the bay, all from the view of an elementary to middle-school boy. Being a local myself, I loved the cultural elements (which made up 90% of the book). The book is set in St. Micheal's, Maryland. It tells of Noah's adventures with his friends, family, and fishing.

It was exciting, funny, and interesting. Again, that might be because I can relate to local jokes.
If someone wanted their kids to learn more about local history, I would either read it to them, or maybe mark the chapters they could read. The racism is mostly only in two chapters. In one scene, Noah thinks he might have been pushed into deep water-while fishing-by a black boy from up North. when he gets home and tells his parents, they not only encourage him to go push the other boy in, but his Dad takes him to do it. After he pushes him, Noah helps him back out. In the other scene, Noah and his friends bully/scare a young black girl. After she runs away, a couple of the boys feel remorse and Noah remembers his maid who he loved as a baby. In the beginning of the book (when Noah is a toddler) Noah's mother stops him from kissing the same maid. He goes on to say that if he couldn't kiss her, he wouldn't kiss anyone.

I wouldn't recommend this to anyone under 14. I realize that children grew up a lot faster then, but nowadays a middle school boy can't even read what a 10-year-old experienced 100+ years ago. There was some extreme racists themes (even though I honestly feel like the only racism Noah showed was directly from his parents and friends, and that his own personal views were more just) and excessive use of the "D" and "N" words...mostly from children. Also, two boys went to see a "hootchie koochie" show at a fair (it turns into a joke) and there's a rhyme that Noah hears from his friends (he doesn't understand it, so it is never explained) that is inappropriate.
Everyone is either drinking whiskey or taking chewing tobacco...so, yes, there is just about a little of everything in here.

Besides the inappropriate content, "the Lord's Oysters" is a real example of the early 20th century. The author lived in these times as a boy, and, even if it isn't appropriate for a 12-year-old, I'm still grateful we have a piece of the past left to experience.

[Hancock · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well written collection of tales about growing up in the first half of the twentieth century. Beware: there is language that may offend the modern reader. Primarily there is racially inflammatory text. In the early chapters, the protagonist, a child, shows an awareness that the ‘inflammatory text’ is demeaning and wrong. There is one chapter (chapter 25) where the protagonist seems to have lost his ‘moral compass’ by participating in racially motivated high-jinx. His mother learns of this behavior and corrects him.

Similarly, chapter 13 deals with anti-Semitism. In this chapter the protagonist is clearly offended by the anti-Semitism.

[Jennifer Wadman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written in 1950s and set 20-30 years before, this factionalized memoir provides insights into what life on the Eastern shore of Maryland during both eras was like for watermen and their families. Poverty, creativity, racial conflict, aging parents, unruly children, and marital strife are all touched on with an innocence that childhood memories offer. Instead of judging this book by current standards, it might be most helpful to use this text as a lens for understanding how previous generations thought and acted, and influenced our own culture. Springboard for researching about various aspects of life in the early 20th century that are unfamiliar to the reader.

[Kayla Hobbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book! Having grown up near the Chesapeake, it was a very nostalgic book for me. It reminds me of the stories I've been told by old-timers, as well as a few episodes in my own childhood.

It isn't a clean book. There's smoking, drinking, racism, "dancing girls", law-breaking, and plenty of rascally behavior. The book doesn't necessarily endorse these things, but it's not preachy about morality either. I believe there's a place for this kind of book, but it might not be for young children.

[Karen Oconnor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book very much of its time, so it is not sensitive to many things we value today. That said, it is a snapshot of a place and a time that is part of our history, and the places described resonate to me as a "come here". Some of the issues brought forth in these tiny tales are still relevant, and thankfully, some have changed for the better.

[Dominic Liberatore · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has some great imagery to start. But the potent racism certainly ruins it. It’s a sad reminder of the eastern shore’s backwards views during this time period.

[Shawn Seidel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A step back into history. Enjoyable stories of growing up on the water along the Chesapeake Bay. Great reading for anyone familiar with the Chesapeake Bay and Chestertown.

[Gayle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gilbert Byron is a celebrated local author, now mostly forgotten except for his writer's cabin preserved on the grounds of the local Audubon society reserve. I found this fictionalized autobiography enchanting, taking me back to the life of the son of a waterman on the Delmarva peninsula 100 years ago. Each chapter is an episode in his early life, with acute observations of nature, race relations, education, family life, and more. An expert storyteller, he never hits the reader over the head with the moral of the story, but you can find it if you look. This single slim volume could be the focus of a really amazing Maryland history class.

[Charles Comer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the Chesapeake Bay, and this book was just what I needed to quench my nostalgic thirst. This book and its sequel, Done Crabbin', written decades after The Lord's Oysters, follow the young Noah Marlin, based loosely on Byron. Noah engages in his world directly and sincerely, and we are there right along with him. This is due not only to Byron's colorful descriptions, but also Byron's prose, which at first may seem stilted if artless and naive. But Byron brings us into a world of watermen who are onry and sincere, a few old biddies, and many other interesting characters. But there is no character as prominent as the Bay itself, and Byron never lets us forget that.

This and Done Crabbin' are simply charming and were a joy to read. They edify as much as entertain, but how they edify is very subtle, much like talking to a genuine local at a pub.

[Kevin Parks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure how to feel about this book. As a snapshot of the life of a young boy growing up on Maryland's Eastern Shore, it is interesting and entertaining in many ways. The books does a good job showing what life of watermen and their families was like in the early 1900s.

However, much of the content gave me pause. Sexism and racism are rampant throughout the vignettes, and our protagonist/narrator, Noah, either (a) doesn't see a problem (he has no moral opinion when the only Jewish family in town are the victims of arson and forced to leave) or (b) buys into the bigotry (Noah pushes a black man off a pier because Noah has a right to the better fishing spot as a white person).

For a book published in 1967, it seems at the best peculiar (and at the worst irresponsible) that it presents these dark truths about this time in America's history as simply the status quo.