Next Meeting: 9th June at 6:30pm to discuss The Name of the Sister by Gail Jones.
Seascraper is a 2025 novel by Benjamin Wood. It was longlisted for the Booker 2025 prize.
Seascraper begins by introducing us to Thomas Flett, a young man in a Northern English coastal town in the 1960s who works in the seemingly already slightly anachronistic profession of a “shanker”, using a horse and cart to collect shrimp in often hazardous conditions from a beach littered with “sinkpits”. He lives with his mother, who had him as a teenager and has been shunned by the local community. She relies on him to earn money, which he does through his unsociable, repetitive and physically exhausting work.
As a character he also feels somewhat ageless, even old, until the fog lifts a little and we start to situate him as a young man in the 1960s, but one who could not be more adrift from the ‘swinging’ sixties of the popular imagination.
The arrival of Edgar Acheson at Thomas’ doorstep swings the book into a different gear. Suddenly, here is a glamorous and garrulous American with tales of Hollywood, bearing decadent gifts and a promise of a reward far in excess of that Thomas receives from his daily toil. Thomas is intrigued enough to take him up on his offer, and soon forms an intriguing kind of friendship with the visitor. Edgar’s enthusiastic tales of creative passion stir in him a sense of the world beyond his doorstep, and that his secretive passion for playing folk music in his bedroom on his battered guitar could be something more than just an idle pastime.
It is in many ways telling a story we have heard before – a kind of coming of age or awakening for a young working class character who suddenly has his creative potential unlocked by an external instigating force or character – but it’s the way in which it goes about telling that tale that makes Seascraper so magical and memorable. In its relatively few pages we see a kind of reverse aging in Thomas, as he first sinks as deep as it’s possible to go into his treacherous, inhospitable landscape and with that immersion gains a new understanding of his own history, before then emerging almost reborn, a new man with endless possibilities on the horizon.
The group was unanimous in their summing up of the book. “Beautiful coming of age” “gentle, quiet novel” “delightful and sensory” “atmospheric and lyrical” “claustrophobic and intense” “optimistic” and the author a very skilled storyteller to create so much emotion and completeness in only 162 pages. The dream sequence in the novel impressed some , with threads to his deceased father and the imagination in the way it was told was impressive.
The author compiled and sang his Seascraper song in the audio book and whilst some said it was sad, it was a joy to listen to.
Ratings: Veronica 5, Lesley 5, Lynda 4.5, Viv 4.5, Janet 4.5, Margie 4.5, Dianne 4, Kim 4, Hetta 4, Kali 4, Nicola 4
We look forward to seeing you again at our next meeting at 6.30pm, Tuesday 9th of June
to discuss The Name of the Sister by Gail Jones.
About Us
We are a group that gets together once a month to discuss good books. Each of us gets to choose a book on a rotational basis, preferably one outside our personal comfort zone – we try to keep the trash to ourselves. After the discussion, we comment on other books we read that month. Most of the time we remain friends after the meeting.
We normally meet at Room 2.1 of the Robina Community Centre’s Boadroom. This building is located opposite the Auditorium entrance of the Robina Library on the second Tuesday of every month from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
A small contribution is required towards the rent of the room, but not if you are a first timer. The amount depends on the number of people attending.
One book title is chosen each month and we all read that book. There is a ‘host’ who introduces and co-ordinates the discussion. The role of host is rotated around the group so that each member has the opportunity to nominate their book (it could also be an author, theme or genre). The host also acts as chairperson for that meeting.
Although we are not a social club (we are readers), we occasionally attend literary events, relevant movies or plays here at the Gold Coast, Brisbane or Byron Bay. We conform to basic meeting practices, and everyone has an equal opportunity to express their opinion. Everyone’s interpretation is valid, as long as it’s expressed respectfully.
We welcome any new members who share our aims and are happy to contribute to our group. Newcomers are not required to have read the book to attend the first meeting and no contribution is required from them at the first meeting attended.
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