The Lord's Oysters (Maryland Paperback Bookshelf) [Paperback]

Gilbert Byron (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

This is literally a wonderful book. The wonder is that of a boy, Noah Marlin, growing up along the Chester River near the Chesapeake Bay. Inevitably there is something of Twain and Tarkington in his pranks, hooky-playing, and fishing. But other qualities distinctly Gilbert Byron's make the novel more than a nostalgic re-creation of an American childhood. This isn't childhood we're reading about, it's life.

(Saturday Review )

Crabs, perch, terrapin and frogs enter the episodes, but they are the only things fishy about this very happy sequence of a boy's growing.

(New York Times Book Review )

Product Details

• Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press (March 1, 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801819598
• ISBN-13: 978-0801819599
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #314,697 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A 'Must read' for all youngsters, April 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Lord's Oysters (Maryland Paperback Bookshelf) (Paperback)

This book was given to me for Christmas and I read it before New Years! It has been compared to Huck. Finn, And rightfully so. The story of a young Noah and his adventures on the Eastern Shore of Maryland is very realistic. It is also informative to older folks who may not realize that across the bay from Baltimore & DC there was a little piece of America still holding strong to God, Truth, Innosence, and ofcourse the mighty Blue Crab!---And you know what? there still is!!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Eastern Shore story, December 14, 1999

By 

"curmudge" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lord's Oysters (Maryland Paperback Bookshelf) (Paperback)

Eastern Shore, please, with a capital E and a capital S. Gilbert Byron grew up in Chestertown on the banks of the Chester River in Kent County on Maryland's Eastern Shore in the first decades of the 1900s. Now, that century is coming to a close. But, Gilbert Byron's books about this part of the world - insulated, isolated in another time -will live forever. This work is not just for children. Adults will enjoy it, too. My father was a friend of Gilbert's growing up. And I knew Gilbert Byron well as editor of the Kent County News. He kept writing to the end living in a cabin he built himself on San Domingo Creek near St. Michaels on the Eastern Shore. By the way, he also was instrumental in sending Harold Baines to the major leagues, thanks to Bill Veeck. But, that is another whole story. Enough. Read The Lord's Oysters. Read Chesapeake Duke and fall in love with Chesapeake Bay Retrievers. Read Mr. Byron's poetry, especially These Chesapeake Men. If you want to know the Chesapeake and The Shore read Gilbert Byron.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Loved this book when I was 12 (1967)., June 8, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Lord's Oysters (Maryland Paperback Bookshelf) (Paperback)

I read this book when I was 12 or so (1967) and really enjoyed it. I am anxious to read it as an adult and see if it is as good as I remember. Back then, I recall that it made me really want to go to the Maryland's Chesapeake Bay. Haven't made it yet, but still want to go.