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The Curve of Equal Time
Nora Tyler returns to Alaska after many years away and finds work on a salmon fishing boat, but the long, hard season brings both deep friendships and unexpected violence.
Over the course of the long, hard season, Nora reawakens to the beauty of fishing for salmon on the outer coast. Her four crewmates have their own troubled pasts, and she forms a different bond with each one. A rivalry develops with another boat, the Viking Hero. When a woman is lost overboard from the Hero, Nora tries to understand what happened and finds that the Hero was dealing drugs and her crewmate Danny was part of the action. Toby’s ex-girlfriend, Sara, takes the place of the missing woman and finds herself in a difficult situation with no easy way out. At the end of the season, Nora and her crewmates go duck hunting on the Stikine River flats. Two of the Hero’s crew appear, perhaps not by chance, and the confrontation turns violent.
Over the course of the long, hard season, Nora reawakens to the beauty of fishing for salmon on the outer coast. Her four crewmates have their own troubled pasts, and she forms a different bond with each one. A rivalry develops with another boat, the Viking Hero. When a woman is lost overboard from the Hero, Nora tries to understand what happened and finds that the Hero was dealing drugs and her crewmate Danny was part of the action. Toby’s ex-girlfriend, Sara, takes the place of the missing woman and finds herself in a difficult situation with no easy way out. At the end of the season, Nora and her crewmates go duck hunting on the Stikine River flats. Two of the Hero’s crew appear, perhaps not by chance, and the confrontation turns violent.
192 pages, Paperback
Published August 6, 2024
19 people want to read
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August 16, 2024
McGuire's debut novel, Steller's Orchid, explored the wide open, untouched spaces halfway out Alaska's Aleutian chain. His newest work throws us into a landscape that is, both thematically and geographically, its almost polar opposite. Through McGuire's eyes, we plunge into the ragtag landscape of salmon fishing in Southeast Alaska, precariously navigating crowded, churning waters through narrow passages and lifelong rivalries in a constant haze of diesel exhaust and just plain human exhaustion. On deck or below, even in town during the rare respites, it's a claustrophobic world, and one in which the strong survive as best as they can, and the weak? Well...
Into this waterlogged crucible, McGuire has set us a cast of souls just trying to make their way through to the end of the season. True to life, none are without fault, and none are beyond redemption. Bad things happen - after all, it's fishing in Alaska - and McGuire's deft understanding of human nature weaves their lives together into a compelling tale of choices made and their profound consequences. Who will turn to whom, and who will turn on whom?
McGuire's intimate knowledge of the geography of the land, water and minds of Alaska fishermen shines throughout. Fish guts and claustrophobia aside, this landlubber from the lower 48 marveled at being so vividly carried along through the choppy straits and beer-soaked bars that, in all likelihood, I will never see in person. This is truly a stunning book.
Into this waterlogged crucible, McGuire has set us a cast of souls just trying to make their way through to the end of the season. True to life, none are without fault, and none are beyond redemption. Bad things happen - after all, it's fishing in Alaska - and McGuire's deft understanding of human nature weaves their lives together into a compelling tale of choices made and their profound consequences. Who will turn to whom, and who will turn on whom?
McGuire's intimate knowledge of the geography of the land, water and minds of Alaska fishermen shines throughout. Fish guts and claustrophobia aside, this landlubber from the lower 48 marveled at being so vividly carried along through the choppy straits and beer-soaked bars that, in all likelihood, I will never see in person. This is truly a stunning book.
Displaying 1 of 1 review