Customer Reviews

Spartina

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I've read 'Spartina' a couple of times now and thought about it as a book I might want to suggest to my book club. While doing a bit of investigation on the price of used copies members might want to purchase, I came across some of the negative reviews here at Amazon. Although I'd never written a review previously, I felt compelled to try and add my voice to those who are surprised - in my case, astonished - with these reviews.

When reading literature, it seems to me that whether we like the characters or not is irrelevant. There are plenty of examples in great literature where the characters aren't people we 'like', but there is no argument as to whether or not the books themselves are worth reading. The same is true with 'Spartina.'

Personally, I did 'like' the characters in this book. Casey's writing gives us characters we feel we know by the end of the novel and, much like knowing the flaws of our friends and family members, we know the flaws of these characters and we know the reasons behind the flaws. We understand and we sympathize at the same time we're shaking our heads at their reckless decision-making. I never stopped 'liking' them even though they made their mistakes and I doubt most readers would.

Read this book. Enjoy it for what it is: a great novel with characters beautifully crafted - warts and all - by a wonderful author.

It has been quite a while since I've read Spartina but I was compelled to post a short review in light of Spartina's 3.5 star average rating. The "Feminist Alert" review took me aback as I consider Spartina to be as good as contemporary fiction gets. I am a female and found this novel to be beautifully and thoughtfully written in the style of "A Thousand Acres." I will say no more as the other positive reviewers have already captured the worth of this story.

This is a really great story, wonderfully well-written. The character is fully developed, both his good as well as his questionable sides...and he is very real. I think a lot of men his age will find a good character-connection with this story, and the struggles faced by the main character. I did. Casey has a great talent with words and story. This novel deserved it's National Book Award.

This National Book Award winner for fiction should attract
two audiences. First, people who love boats, water, the
shore, and men at work will appreciate the clam's neck view
of one man trying to scratch a living out (literally) from
off the beach. Second, the protaganist weathers a stormy
personal life, as difficult for him as his dangerous
work afloat. The description of trying to survive a
hurricane in a wooden boat built by the protaganist's
own hands is worth the price of admission.

I have unpleasant memories of the Old Man and the Sea from Junior High English class, so I purchased Spartina with some misgivings, as the premise of both books seemed similar. But, this is one of the most well-crafted books I have read in a long, long time. Unlike most popular novels, the book did not revolve solely around the plot. Unlike most literary novels, the book did not revolve solely around character development. Rather, both plot and character were woven together to create a splendid story that was hard to put down, even at 2 a.m. on a work night. The writing was intelligent without being self-consciously clever, and I kept thinking about the book long after I had finished it. Bravo!

Spartina is the way fiction was always meant to be written - dense, full of plots and sub-plots, and full of characters whose flaws and general dispositions make them both likeable and detestable at the same time. Dick Pierce, a grouchy and mean fisherman who has been trying to funnel all of his money towards a boat he has been building in his backyard, Spartina. Casey provides a thoroughly detailed and engaging account of what life is like in the fishing communities of Rhode Island.

As an aside, this book is the perfect reason why the people who write the summaries or teasers on the back of a book or on the dust jacket should be shot. The person who provided the blurb in this instance makes a storm, which does come at one of the most important junctures of the novel, the central event. What makes Casey's work so wonderful is not the storm scene, where Pierce tries to ensure his boat is not destroyed in the harbor before his insurance policy kicks in, but all of the other little things that go on in the text. Casey is adept at providing the most minimal details necessary to understand the scope of a relationship between two people. I loved the scenes between Dick and his wife and children, as they provided a perfect snapshot of what it's like to be a father who wants to raise his children as best as he can, while at the same time, being as selfish as a person can be in terms of the way he lives his life.

The book reminds me of Hemmingway, not just because of the subject matter, but because of the simplicity of the prose. I can honestly say that this is the first National Book Award Winner that I think has warranted the prize and I hope that the next ones I read as solid as this one.

Having read a lot of third-rate fiction this summer, I decided to return to some of the literary novels I've loved in the past. I first read John Casey's SPARTINA when it came out in 1989. Re-reading it this weekend, I was reminded of all the reasons I've always considered it one of the best books I've ever read: deep characterizations, beautiful descriptions, realistic dialogue, heartfelt emotions. It's about a middle-aged man who lives with his wife and two sons on the shore of Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay. He is struggling to keep afloat financially while finishing years worth of work on a boat that will enable him to make a living as a commercial fisherman. But life is tough, the money to finish the project is hard to come by, and he is beset by his own weaknesses, including his anger and resentment toward those around him who have an easier life.

Give yourself the gift of time with this book. It's intelligent, poetic, and deeply satisfying.

I loved this book, with its deep insight and gorgeous prose that lies somewhere between that of Hemingway and Wolfe, yet stands on its own. It's the tale of a tough, sensitive man fighting to find his place in an increasingly alienating, bewildering world. I sympathize with him. Casey tells it in a highly engaging, understanding manner, in a way that plumbs the often inscrutable and sullen depths of middle-aged masculinity. I would highly recommend this great book; on the strength of this one book I'm seeking out another by Casey!

John Casey, author of "American Romance" as well as this National Book Award winner, has here crafted a masterpiece. His characters are true, in the way of great fiction, and his story is as well. Notable for the accuracy of how he catches the tiny, verifying details as well as the generally more memorable "big" scenes, such as the harrowing encounter of his protagonist, Dick, with a hurricane, this is a book that belongs on the shelf of every great reader, student of fiction, and writer, aspiring or lauded. The committee giving out the National Book Award has often led me to wonder about the sanity of any committee deciding on the best literature, but here is an example of how their selection process can, on occasion, find real gold. If you've never read "Spartina", read it now. If you have but find it's been a while, repeat the task. You'll be better off for the doing

I'm a liitle taken aback by some of the reviews about this book. I think any book that elicts this much commentary on so many themes has merit. This isn't a book just ABOUT the sea or romance or unlikeable characters or whatever other tangents readers get hung up on. It's a book about life and the things we do to help and hinder ourself along the way. It's about ordinary people trying to live their lives.

Maybe people expected something out of this book that they didn't get. For me I think I got what the author intended which is to make us think about what we are doing in our lives. Or maybe that wasn't his intention at all. But isn't that what good writing is all about? Well written and an interesting perspective. Thank you John Casey.