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I’m advocating a book, “Spartina” by John Casey. If you are from Rhode Island, you may have heard of it. It takes place, believe it or not, right in Matunick. There are mentionings of Wakefield, East Greenwich, Providence, and even the more obscure literary whispers of Jerusalem. It kills me, every time I read this book, how sweet this little town looks on paper, and how ugly too.
The main character is a fisherman. I don’t want to go into the details, but the book has the nice raw edge of a man telling a story that he can’t recognise is worth telling; it’s the story of a poor man building his own boat. The book is full of salt and grit and it’s all the more beautiful for it.
At the very least, if you know the term “swamp yankee” then you have to read it. And it won the national book award. I’m reaffirming myself. (It is very, very good).
