Customer Reviews

The Hungry Ocean (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

5 star:		(130)
4 star:		(54)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

In the words of the only woman Swordboat captain plying the Grand Banks fishing fields, you get a glimpse into the life of a modernday Ahab. It takes a special kind of person to sign up for a month of crowded quarters & hardy hygiene; mind-boggling hours of either endless maintenance or baiting & trolling. With a poet's eye for the beauty of her surroundings & her vessel & a fine sense of humor when it comes to her mischievous crew, Linda Greenlaw's memories, aspirations & impeccable courage & skill make this book a grand read. By the way, this is the life & times of the captain of the sister ship "Andrea Gail" about which Sebastian Junger wrote in "The Perfect Storm", soon to be released as a motion picture.

I cannot believe I didn't review this book some time ago when I read it in hardcover soon after it was published. In scrolling through the reviews that are here, it is interesting to see the different perspectives people have. Some view the book as an informational book about sword fishing; others see it as an extension of the story told in The Perfect Storm (Linda Greenlaw was the Captain of the Andrea Gail's sister fishing boat, the Hanna Bowden); some see it as a metaphor about life as a woman in what is essentially a man's business; and some see it as proof that those who go to sea to fish are most responsible for the problems we have with fisheries and the ocean environment. Linda's oldest sister sees the book as a "book length personals ad" (Linda would like to get married). I bought the book thinking that I would be reading more about aspects of The Perfect Storm and instead found a compelling story from a woman who all her life wanted to be doing what she was doing and did it against great odds. Sebastian Junger referred to her as the best swordfish captain in the North Atlantic, or words to that effect, which is high praise for anyone and the zenith of such for a woman. In the book she tells you what it is like to put to sea to go swordfishing and she does it without any cleaning up of the life. She also shares her inner thoughts and makes the story very much a human tale. In the end, you will care about her very much. At least I did. She is brave, vulnerable, stubborn, funny and caring and she communicates those attributes quite well.

There are some people who seem to have a level of talent that is apparent in everything they do; there is nothing that resembles a veneer about them. Captain Greenlaw is an educated woman, when she is on her boat she is a leader and the best fisherman plying her trade. So when she sits down to tell her story, it is no surprise that she can write well. I would not wager this is the last book we will have from her. I certainly hope there are more.

I found her writing to emulate the way she runs her boat, organized, meticulous, and without unnecessary baggage. And when she related childhood memories, or shared dialogue, she related it as well or better than Authors with many books to their name. Individuals who are excellent at what they do are often said to appear to do their task effortlessly. The book certainly was not an easy task for her, but there is a vast difference between being simplistic and relating a portion of a life. Embellishment is best left for ghostwritten memoirs and autobiographies. There is nothing done to complicate her life's work, why should her story diverge from that path?

The closest I have come to a swordfish is with a fork, and it had long since been reduced from the massive creatures these can be, to a sliver of these fish she hunts. She and her crew define risk taking. They don't occasionally face lethal risk or even frequently risk their lives they constantly make this wager. And they do so not knowing whether they will make a dime for a month at sea in conditions that most could tolerate for about an hour presuming the water was calm, and seconds presuming 70 knot winds and the seas that follow them.

The Captain and her crew are all remarkable people, their carousing when on land for the 48 hours they have, to me, is not only mild, but tame when you consider they lived through one more trip, and are to take one more. Getting drunk for 1 or 2 days out of 30, and being dry for the balance does not make any of these crew "booze soaked" as some have suggested. If this were so Captain Greenlaw would not put her life in their hands, or they in each other's.

This book, and the movie for those who have seen it, dramatically change perceptions about many things we take for granted. The next time you sit down to a dinner of fish, how can it not be an event knowing that the capture of your dinner required the risking of life. Captain don't misunderstand, I'll eat more to drive the price up, not less!

Thanks for sharing your amazing story.

Perhaps the first and only book to get it right. Fishers of the world unite.

Greenlaw gets the tedium, danger, misery and ecstasy of fishing on the North Atlantic. As a deck hand on a crab boat for the past several summers I am constantly asked what its like. I really can't explain to `landsmen', but now I point to greenlaw's book.

I'm gonna write my own book!

I was very eager to read Linda Greenlaw's book "The Hungry Ocean" after reading "The Perfect Storm". After reading it I have to say I was impressed with Capt Greenlaw's description of a 30 day sword fishing trip to the Grand Banks. Some may find her descriptions tedious and drawn out but I believe they aptly describes 30 days at sea.Capt Greenlaw attempts to give the reader a basic understanding of the fishing industry. This is sometimes drawn out a tad to in depth but this is a minor complaint. If you are looking for heart stopping action read Junger's "Perfect Storm", but if you want to know what 30 days at sea setting and pulling back fishing nets is like, read "The Hungry Ocean".

Possibly the only female swordfisherman in the world, Linda Greenlaw recounts a typical, 30-day fishing trip in the Grand Banks off off Newfoundland. Greenlaw knew the men of the Andrea Gail, another sword boat whose tale is told in A Perfect Storm, by Sebastian Junger, but doesn't tread on the details of that story. This is a simple slice-of-life tale detailing a typical month in the life of a sword captain, her boat and her crew. There are no harrowing tales of life and death struggle, but a simple telling of the exhaustion, boredom and potential benefit of a swordfishing trip. This makes it an excellent companion to A Perfect Storm. After reading about the struggle and death of the crew of the Andrea Gail, it is enlightening to read about the realities of their lives.

Greenlaw writes in a simple, conversational way. Here story is engaging by its very nature so I found myself unconcerned with her writing style since the story was so compelling. That said, I found her writing straightforward, concise and enjoyable . I completed the book in just under 3 days, another tribute to the quality of the book. I found it difficult to put the book down as I wanted to find out about this woman and her her crew and how they made (or didn't make) their living.

Highly Recommended.

I decided to check into this book after having read Sebastian Junger's The Perfect Storm and see for myself what everyone was talking about. I was not disappointed. Linda Greenlaw has written a compulsively readable story that is immediately entertaining and informative. You immediately empathize with the individuals of this story as they deal with excrutiatingly long days at sea, personality conflicts and the difficulties of living in a confined space. Greenlaw is able to capture the unique mindset of a crew employed in a dangerous and lonely occupation. On one hand they want nothing more than to bring home a boatload of fish, but on the other, they want desperately to go home. Unlike The Perfect Storm, it places less emphasis on the technical aspects of fishing preferring instead to be a narrative of an extraordinary trip and a wonderfully diverse crew as they struggle through the daily highs and lows of making a living at sea.

This book was great! Linda Greenlaw can "spin a yarn" with the best. I could almost feel the spray of the sea and the pain in my back. I hope she writes more, a month was not enough.

I loved this book! I read it in less than a day. However, as a woman, I would have liked more insight into Linda's personal life. She is one interesting lady! Also, some pictures of the gear used for catching the swordfish would have been helpful. I got the general idea that you don't just go out and put a pole in the water and catch the fish. To see a longline would have been helpful. Maybe in another book?

Linda Greenlaw achieved some measure of fame as a supporting character in the nonfiction book "The Perfect Storm" (and the more fictional movie that followed). Now, Greenlaw tells her own story in "The Hungry Ocean," a less thrilling but equally fascinating tale of a four-week swordfishing run over the Grand Banks.

Writing with the casual, conversational style of a story told over coffee and breakfast, Greenlaw describes the details of preparing for and executing a swordfishing expedition. She describes at length the supplies needed and the work that must be done to prepare for the water. She explains the crew dynamics, worries about the persistent illness of one crewman and wrangles over the racist attitudes of another. She frets over the readings as she steams northeast in the ocean and fills in the logistics on temperatures, currents and competing boats. She admits to occasional untruths regarding fishing conditions in her wake.

She also recalls yarns from her earlier days, before she captained her own ship and sailed with others. She conveys the feeling of complete, utter exhaustion that is par for the course on a cruise of this nature. By the end of this book, you'll know how to clean a fish, whether you want to or not.

by Tom Knapp, Rambles.NET editor