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When Captain Flint Was Still a Good Man
A riveting, atmospheric debut novel about the bad deeds good people can be driven to.
Every fall, the men of Loyalty Island sail from the Olympic Peninsula up to the Bering Sea, to spend the winter catching king crab. Their dangerous occupation keeps food on the table but constantly threatens to leave empty seats around it.
To Cal, Alaska remains as mythical and mysterious as Treasure Island, and the stories his father returns with are as mesmerizing as those he once invented about Captain Flint before he turned pirate. But while Cal is too young to accompany his father, he is old enough to know that everything depends on the fate of those few boats thousands of miles north. He is also old enough to feel the tension between his parents over whether he will follow in his father's footsteps, and to wonder about his mother's relationship with John Gaunt, owner of the fleet.
Then Gaunt dies suddenly, leaving the business in the hands of his son, who seems intent on selling away the fishermen's livelihood. Soon Cal stumbles on evidence that his father may have taken extreme measures to salvage their way of life. As winter comes on, his suspicions deepening and his moral compass shattered, he is forced to make a terrible choice.
Every fall, the men of Loyalty Island sail from the Olympic Peninsula up to the Bering Sea, to spend the winter catching king crab. Their dangerous occupation keeps food on the table but constantly threatens to leave empty seats around it.
To Cal, Alaska remains as mythical and mysterious as Treasure Island, and the stories his father returns with are as mesmerizing as those he once invented about Captain Flint before he turned pirate. But while Cal is too young to accompany his father, he is old enough to know that everything depends on the fate of those few boats thousands of miles north. He is also old enough to feel the tension between his parents over whether he will follow in his father's footsteps, and to wonder about his mother's relationship with John Gaunt, owner of the fleet.
Then Gaunt dies suddenly, leaving the business in the hands of his son, who seems intent on selling away the fishermen's livelihood. Soon Cal stumbles on evidence that his father may have taken extreme measures to salvage their way of life. As winter comes on, his suspicions deepening and his moral compass shattered, he is forced to make a terrible choice.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2012
26 people are currently reading
837 people want to read
About the author
Nick Dybek
8 books109 followersNick Dybek is a recipient of a Granta New Voices selection, a Michener-Copernicus Society of America Award, and a Maytag Fellowship. He received a BA from the University of Michigan and an MFA from The Iowa Writers’ Workshop. He teaches at Oregon State University. He is the author of When Captain Flint Was Still a Good Man and The Verdun Affair.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 143 reviews
March 30, 2012
While first-time novelist Nick Dybek made it quite obvious that his book was meant to be a modern take on TREASURE ISLAND, for this reader it simply didn't work. Too long by at least a hundred pages, WHEN CAPTAIN FLINT WAS STILL A GOOD MAN is fatally flawed by a surplus of simply awful metaphors and similes - hands "as thick as strip steaks"; cellar walls that "smelled of sweet grease"; a radio "staticky, low, buzzing like a table saw"; a dashboard "lit in stereo-tube orange"; "each punch is a private explosion"; hair "matted and messy as an angry sea" and on and on. Contrived expressions such as these do not constitute art; rather they seem to signify pretentious writers' workshop excesses, which should have been summarily excised by a good editor. Moreover, the pretentiousness is further exacerbated by a continuous stream of trivial and snobbish name-dropping details about music and film which add little to keeping the plot moving forward. In the end, Dybek's attempt at retelling a classic story of adventure and pirates fails miserably. While there are flashes of decent writing here and there, the book seems to sink in a meandering mire of meaningless 'stuff', making it a tedious slog of a read. Even the ending was anticlimactic. I do wonder if this book was intended for a much younger reading audience, the YA crowd perhaps. Because the world-weary attitude of protagonist/narrator Cal, looking back from the advanced and wise old age of 28, seemed forced and silly. Nope. The writing here is, to me, just plain lazy and undisciplined. Not recommended. Two and a half stars, tops.
August 22, 2012
Very literate and well-written, with some really great lines and very well-drawn setting, characterization, and plot. It's also very much an intense read...sort of like a thriller but with very different elements from your average thriller. I read it as often and for as long at a time as I could. Also, this is the first book in...possibly ever? that has actually caused me to gasp and cover my mouth with my hand, involuntarily. I can't tell you when that happens, it would spoil things...but wow, it happened, and it was intense.
It asks difficult questions and answers them in uncomfortable ways. It's kind of stunning, the whole thing. I keep writing notes about books right after I read them, when they are fresh but also when they are raw, and so I am not sure what else I want to say about this book except that I thought it was really great.
It asks difficult questions and answers them in uncomfortable ways. It's kind of stunning, the whole thing. I keep writing notes about books right after I read them, when they are fresh but also when they are raw, and so I am not sure what else I want to say about this book except that I thought it was really great.
May 10, 2020
Ich habe das Buch geschenkt bekommen (danke nochmal lieber Wichtel) und da ich noch nie davon gehört hatte, hatte ich auch keine Erwartungen an die Geschichte.
Greene Habor ist ein Fischerort, wie man ihn sich klischeehaft vorstellt, die Männer das halbe Jahr auf See, der Ort abhängig von ihrer Ausbeute und alles irgendwie trist. Die Leute sind rauh und verschwiegen. Doch dann passiert etwas das alles durcheinander bringt.
Im Mittelpunkt der Geschichte steht der junge Cal, der mit einem körperlich abwesenden Vater und einer geistig abwesenden Mutter aufwächst und zwischen Tradition und Selbstbestimmung hin und her gerissen ist.
Die Geschichte ist ok, ich fand sie gut geschrieben und vor allem wurden die Charaktere gut ausgebaut, auch wenn sie oft sehr klischeehaft sind. Das Ende fand ich etwas schwach, es wirkt als ob der Mut zum großen Drama fehlt. Trotzdem habe ich das Buch ganz gern gelesen.
Greene Habor ist ein Fischerort, wie man ihn sich klischeehaft vorstellt, die Männer das halbe Jahr auf See, der Ort abhängig von ihrer Ausbeute und alles irgendwie trist. Die Leute sind rauh und verschwiegen. Doch dann passiert etwas das alles durcheinander bringt.
Im Mittelpunkt der Geschichte steht der junge Cal, der mit einem körperlich abwesenden Vater und einer geistig abwesenden Mutter aufwächst und zwischen Tradition und Selbstbestimmung hin und her gerissen ist.
Die Geschichte ist ok, ich fand sie gut geschrieben und vor allem wurden die Charaktere gut ausgebaut, auch wenn sie oft sehr klischeehaft sind. Das Ende fand ich etwas schwach, es wirkt als ob der Mut zum großen Drama fehlt. Trotzdem habe ich das Buch ganz gern gelesen.
May 11, 2012
Loyalty Island in Washington State is ruled by the sea. Every fall, boats captained and crewed by Loyalty Islanders sail from the Olympic Peninsula up to the Bering Sea to spend the winter catching king crab. This is the industry that keeps the town and its businesses running, even as the threat of death at sea hangs over everyone. For Cal, whose father captains one of the boats, the sea and Alaska seem almost as mythical as the pirate stories his father used to tell him—but he also knows how the sea strains his parents' marriage, both when it keeps his father away, and when it brings him home.
The Gaunt family has owned the shipping fleet for several generations, but when John Gaunt suddenly dies, leaving the business in his estranged son Richard's hands, the future of Loyalty Island lies in the balance. Richard seems all-too-determined to sell the fleet, which would have major effects on the livelihood of not just those who work the boats, but those who run the town businesses as well. And when Cal discovers that his father may have taken a drastic step to save their way of life, he is forced to make a difficult choice—and determining which is the right choice is harder than anything he has ever had to do.
Nick Dybek's fantastic first novel, Captain Flint Was Still a Good Man, is a powerful story about relationships, about loyalty between fathers and sons, and about how the things that get left unsaid sometimes hurt more than things that are said. Dybek does a terrific job depicting characters who are forced to make choices we might not approve of, but we do understand their motivation to do so. While some of the details of the story Dybek leaves a little too vague for me, I found myself marveling over his use of language and the poetry of some of his sentences. This is a great read, and I hope this is the start of a long literary career for Nick Dybek.
The Gaunt family has owned the shipping fleet for several generations, but when John Gaunt suddenly dies, leaving the business in his estranged son Richard's hands, the future of Loyalty Island lies in the balance. Richard seems all-too-determined to sell the fleet, which would have major effects on the livelihood of not just those who work the boats, but those who run the town businesses as well. And when Cal discovers that his father may have taken a drastic step to save their way of life, he is forced to make a difficult choice—and determining which is the right choice is harder than anything he has ever had to do.
Nick Dybek's fantastic first novel, Captain Flint Was Still a Good Man, is a powerful story about relationships, about loyalty between fathers and sons, and about how the things that get left unsaid sometimes hurt more than things that are said. Dybek does a terrific job depicting characters who are forced to make choices we might not approve of, but we do understand their motivation to do so. While some of the details of the story Dybek leaves a little too vague for me, I found myself marveling over his use of language and the poetry of some of his sentences. This is a great read, and I hope this is the start of a long literary career for Nick Dybek.
July 8, 2012
The title of this book, and the setting on the pacific northwest were what drew me in.
Unfortunately, they were also what kept me reading and the bulk of my thoughts since completing the book has been of those two things, and, primarily the former. If not for those two, there is a good chance I would have strayed.
Now, dont get me wrong, it is a great title, and delivers on exactly what a title should - the essence of a novel in a single moment (think about "Delicacy" "Shroud" "We, the drowned" for reference). The central question of the novel is what causes good people to do bad things and who is there to recognize when the line gets crossed. For such a story, the title, a reference to the evil captain of Treasure Island, the story is perfect.
The story centers around Cal, a young boy who wants desperately to go out on the seasonal fishing ships with his father, an opportunity that may never arise when the locale shipping magnate dies and all his possessions go to his son. The death further reveals cracks in the surface of his parents marriage, and the goodness in his father has he tries to salvage the life he has built. But the measures that Cal's father will take, and those that he wont, ripple through to his son and brings both of them to lines they may not be able to cross.
The makings of a good story and I wish the writer had been able to keep up with the ideas - of both plot and theme - that clearly he'd been ruminating over some time. However, the book didnt seem particularly tightly crafted, or well edited, and it was the succinct title, and the moments of describing fish guts in washington, that stuck.
Unfortunately, they were also what kept me reading and the bulk of my thoughts since completing the book has been of those two things, and, primarily the former. If not for those two, there is a good chance I would have strayed.
Now, dont get me wrong, it is a great title, and delivers on exactly what a title should - the essence of a novel in a single moment (think about "Delicacy" "Shroud" "We, the drowned" for reference). The central question of the novel is what causes good people to do bad things and who is there to recognize when the line gets crossed. For such a story, the title, a reference to the evil captain of Treasure Island, the story is perfect.
The story centers around Cal, a young boy who wants desperately to go out on the seasonal fishing ships with his father, an opportunity that may never arise when the locale shipping magnate dies and all his possessions go to his son. The death further reveals cracks in the surface of his parents marriage, and the goodness in his father has he tries to salvage the life he has built. But the measures that Cal's father will take, and those that he wont, ripple through to his son and brings both of them to lines they may not be able to cross.
The makings of a good story and I wish the writer had been able to keep up with the ideas - of both plot and theme - that clearly he'd been ruminating over some time. However, the book didnt seem particularly tightly crafted, or well edited, and it was the succinct title, and the moments of describing fish guts in washington, that stuck.
August 30, 2012
A boy and the sea. A moral dilemma involving fathers and sons. A fishing town in economic peril. If you believe that everything that can be written about these topics has already assumed a place in literature, you haven't read Nick Dybek's When Captain Flint Was Still a Good Man.
With 14-yr.-old Cal as the pivot point in a swirling tale of both personal and mythic tention, Dybek plunges the reader into the depths for which only a tiny town set on a peninsula jutting into the Pacific Ocean could possibly provide the literal and metaphorical setting. Writing with Hemingway-like precision, clarity, and beauty, Dybek grabs us by the heart with both character and plot and simply never lets go. Definitely one of the best books I've read this year.
With 14-yr.-old Cal as the pivot point in a swirling tale of both personal and mythic tention, Dybek plunges the reader into the depths for which only a tiny town set on a peninsula jutting into the Pacific Ocean could possibly provide the literal and metaphorical setting. Writing with Hemingway-like precision, clarity, and beauty, Dybek grabs us by the heart with both character and plot and simply never lets go. Definitely one of the best books I've read this year.
May 23, 2012
This starts out as one of those rather dull, moody Iowa Writers' Workshop products with a lot of ridiculous poetic description. (Like, "she dyed her hair the color of hot iron." What? What is that? Fuck you.) Then almost precisely at the halfway point, the plot and the meditations on good and evil really kick in. I can't recommend it, but it really turned itself around and became worthwhile.
July 13, 2012
This was just stunning. At the end I actually let out a deep sign of appreciation. The dialogue between jamie and cal was so teenage boy authentic. Richard was multidimensional, crazy one second, wise the next, pitiable always. I can't wait for my mom to read this so I can talk about it with someone.
November 17, 2017
Loyalty Island ist, anders als der Name vermuten lässt, keine Insel, sondern eine kleine Stadt an der Nordwestküste der USA. Doch genau wie auf einer Insel hängt dort alles Leben und Auskommen vom Meer ab. Die meisten Berufstätigen sind entweder Fischer oder in der fischverarbeitenden Industrie angestellt. Auch Cals Vater Henry fährt alljährlich mit der Fangflotte, die John Gaunt gehört, für mehrere Monate nach Alaska, um dort in den ertragreichen Gewässern unter winterlichen Witterungsverhältnissen Krebse und Krabben zu fischen.
Als Gaunt plötzlich stirbt, steht für viele Männer und ihre Familien alles auf dem Spiel. Gaunts einziger Sohn Richard hat seiner Heimatstadt schon vor Jahren den Rücken gekehrt und scheint sich die Flotte, die seit Generationen seiner Familie gehört hat, möglichst rasch vom Hals schaffen zu wollen, indem er sie an ein asiatisches Unternehmen verkauft.
Für Cals Vater und ein paar seiner Kollegen ist klar, dass dieser Mann gefährlich für sie, für die Fangflotte und für Loyalty Island ist, und sie nehmen kurz entschlossen ihr Schicksal selbst in die Hand. Cal wird zufällig Zeuge ihrer Planungen und später zum Mitwisser dessen, was niemand erfahren soll, eine schwere Bürde für einen vierzehnjährigen Jungen.
Cal, der Erzähler, ist nicht zu beneiden. Nicht nur, dass sein Vater monatelang abwesend ist und man nie weiß, ob er aus dem eisigen Meer in Alaska zurückkehren wird - seine Mutter, die aus dem sonnigen Süden stammt, hat sich in Loyalty Island nie wohlgefühlt und leidet unter depressionsartigen Symptomen, die sich noch verschlimmern, als sie schwanger wird. Und dann auch noch John Gaunts Tod, Richards Auftauchen und die Pläne der verärgerten Fischer, die Cal an der moralischen Integrität seines eigenen Vaters zweifeln lassen.
Nick Dybek malt in ausgefallenen, aber treffenden Metaphern gleichermaßen ein Bild des öden Fischerdörfchens, des beinharten Lebens der Hochseefischer und des überforderten Jungen, dessen Welt völlig ins Wanken gerät, als die Lebensgrundlage seiner Familie zu verschwinden droht und auch die Ehe seiner Eltern auf einen Abgrund zusteuert.
Dies entbehrt nicht einer gewissen Spannung, vor allem dann, als Cal immer stärker in die "Sache mit Richard", wie ich es einmal nennen möchte, involviert wird, doch wirklich nahe kommen die Protagonisten dem Leser nicht, und die Handlung kann bis zum Ende einen konstruierten Touch nicht gänzlich abschütteln. Vor allem zu Beginn bleiben die Zeitebenen und die Beziehungen der Figuren zueinander diffus, was das "Hineinkommen" ins Buch erschwert. Etwas störend sind auch Verschiebungen der Erzählperspektive in einem Buch, das eigentlich als Ich-Erzählung angelegt ist.
Eine tolle Grundidee, deren Ausarbeitung leider nicht durchgängig überzeugen kann.
Als Gaunt plötzlich stirbt, steht für viele Männer und ihre Familien alles auf dem Spiel. Gaunts einziger Sohn Richard hat seiner Heimatstadt schon vor Jahren den Rücken gekehrt und scheint sich die Flotte, die seit Generationen seiner Familie gehört hat, möglichst rasch vom Hals schaffen zu wollen, indem er sie an ein asiatisches Unternehmen verkauft.
Für Cals Vater und ein paar seiner Kollegen ist klar, dass dieser Mann gefährlich für sie, für die Fangflotte und für Loyalty Island ist, und sie nehmen kurz entschlossen ihr Schicksal selbst in die Hand. Cal wird zufällig Zeuge ihrer Planungen und später zum Mitwisser dessen, was niemand erfahren soll, eine schwere Bürde für einen vierzehnjährigen Jungen.
Cal, der Erzähler, ist nicht zu beneiden. Nicht nur, dass sein Vater monatelang abwesend ist und man nie weiß, ob er aus dem eisigen Meer in Alaska zurückkehren wird - seine Mutter, die aus dem sonnigen Süden stammt, hat sich in Loyalty Island nie wohlgefühlt und leidet unter depressionsartigen Symptomen, die sich noch verschlimmern, als sie schwanger wird. Und dann auch noch John Gaunts Tod, Richards Auftauchen und die Pläne der verärgerten Fischer, die Cal an der moralischen Integrität seines eigenen Vaters zweifeln lassen.
Nick Dybek malt in ausgefallenen, aber treffenden Metaphern gleichermaßen ein Bild des öden Fischerdörfchens, des beinharten Lebens der Hochseefischer und des überforderten Jungen, dessen Welt völlig ins Wanken gerät, als die Lebensgrundlage seiner Familie zu verschwinden droht und auch die Ehe seiner Eltern auf einen Abgrund zusteuert.
Dies entbehrt nicht einer gewissen Spannung, vor allem dann, als Cal immer stärker in die "Sache mit Richard", wie ich es einmal nennen möchte, involviert wird, doch wirklich nahe kommen die Protagonisten dem Leser nicht, und die Handlung kann bis zum Ende einen konstruierten Touch nicht gänzlich abschütteln. Vor allem zu Beginn bleiben die Zeitebenen und die Beziehungen der Figuren zueinander diffus, was das "Hineinkommen" ins Buch erschwert. Etwas störend sind auch Verschiebungen der Erzählperspektive in einem Buch, das eigentlich als Ich-Erzählung angelegt ist.
Eine tolle Grundidee, deren Ausarbeitung leider nicht durchgängig überzeugen kann.
April 2, 2013
This quietly compelling debut novel portrays a young man living in a small fishing community, a painful decision he must make, and his coming of age to very fine effect.
The men of Loyalty Island sailed north every winter, to spend the winter fishing. It was dangerous, but it was how the community had survived and thrived for generations. One man had founded that community, had seen the possibilities, and the fishing fleet had passed down through that family ever since. I’ve lived in a fishing community, I’ve worked in a harbourmaster’s office, and I recognised so much, every detail of the life, the characters, and the community rang true.
Cal's father was a fisherman. He captained his ship and he worked closely with the owner of the fleet, John Gaunt. He had the respect of his peers, and of his son. But when Cal was fourteen years old things changed. John Gaunt died and his heir had little interest in the fishing fleet, or his family’s heritage. Ways of life that hadn’t changed for generations were under threat. One man held everything in his hands.
The fleet sailed and Cal made a discovery. He was forced to question his father’s actions for the first time, to learn that good men can do bad things, that life was much less certain than he had thought, and that he would have to make difficult decisions for himself. A huge decision faced him: a decision where the right thing to do would be the wrong thing for his family and his community. A perfectly balanced moral dilemma.
Cal tells his story some years later. His recollections are vivid, and he presents the characters, the relationship, his community, wonderfully well. The style is simple, clear, and it suits the subject matter perfectly.
I turned the pages quickly, and the story held me from the first page to the last.
The men of Loyalty Island sailed north every winter, to spend the winter fishing. It was dangerous, but it was how the community had survived and thrived for generations. One man had founded that community, had seen the possibilities, and the fishing fleet had passed down through that family ever since. I’ve lived in a fishing community, I’ve worked in a harbourmaster’s office, and I recognised so much, every detail of the life, the characters, and the community rang true.
Cal's father was a fisherman. He captained his ship and he worked closely with the owner of the fleet, John Gaunt. He had the respect of his peers, and of his son. But when Cal was fourteen years old things changed. John Gaunt died and his heir had little interest in the fishing fleet, or his family’s heritage. Ways of life that hadn’t changed for generations were under threat. One man held everything in his hands.
The fleet sailed and Cal made a discovery. He was forced to question his father’s actions for the first time, to learn that good men can do bad things, that life was much less certain than he had thought, and that he would have to make difficult decisions for himself. A huge decision faced him: a decision where the right thing to do would be the wrong thing for his family and his community. A perfectly balanced moral dilemma.
Cal tells his story some years later. His recollections are vivid, and he presents the characters, the relationship, his community, wonderfully well. The style is simple, clear, and it suits the subject matter perfectly.
I turned the pages quickly, and the story held me from the first page to the last.
October 26, 2014
The book is narrated by 14 year old Cal who lives with his parents in Loyalty Island in Washington. His dad as a fisherman spends half the year in the Bearingsea. When the owner of the ships dies, his son wants to sell everyhing to asian investors. How far will Cals dad and the other people in the village go to safe their lives as they know it? The book is also about relationships between fathers and sons.
Honestly I didn't like this book that much but I didn't want it to give it only one star since overall it was smoothly written. So what did I not like about it? First of all I expected a whole different story, I expected more crab fishing, more life on a ship, the ocean in itself what I didn't expect was the fact that most of the story played inside the house.
I couldn't really warm up to Cal, I didn't always understand his thought process for example when he would get all mad at Jamie.
I didn't really understand all the hatred towards Richard. This is not about a good or a bad ending but the ending in this book was just confusing. I still don't really get it. It leaves the reader with unanswered questions which is always frustrating.
Overall this reminded me about the type of story that we would read and analyse back in my school days and this was just not my cup of tea at all.
Honestly I didn't like this book that much but I didn't want it to give it only one star since overall it was smoothly written. So what did I not like about it? First of all I expected a whole different story, I expected more crab fishing, more life on a ship, the ocean in itself what I didn't expect was the fact that most of the story played inside the house.
I couldn't really warm up to Cal, I didn't always understand his thought process for example when he would get all mad at Jamie.
I didn't really understand all the hatred towards Richard. This is not about a good or a bad ending but the ending in this book was just confusing. I still don't really get it. It leaves the reader with unanswered questions which is always frustrating.
Overall this reminded me about the type of story that we would read and analyse back in my school days and this was just not my cup of tea at all.
July 11, 2012
This book was a jaw dropper. I could hardly put it down. It's set in Washington State, in a town practically owned by one man. But this man dies and his heir is anything but welcome in the community. It asks the hard questions. How far would you go to preserve your way of life? What would you do if you discovered something that you weren't supposed to discover? I loved it, one of the better books of 2012.
January 25, 2016
3-l/2 stars
October 25, 2019
Insgesamt ist es ein interessantes, melancholisches Buch, welches seine schönen Seiten und Zeiten hat, aber die Geschichte der kleinen Familien- und Ortschaftstragödie hat mich nicht endgültig überzeugt.
Zum einen mag es originalsprachlich mehr Reiz haben, doch die Lobpreisung dessen, dass Dybek ein Maler mit seinen Worten sei, hat bei mir vielleicht zu hohe Erwartungen geweckt. Ich kann allerdings nicht mit Gewissheit sagen, ob das an Dybek oder der Übersetzung liegt.
Mir war die Bildsprache allerdings für das Thema etwas zu platt.
Die Geschichte selbst und die Turns in ihr sind handwerklich gut gesetzt, aber meines Erachtens nicht gut genug erzählt, um wirklich überzeugend zu sein.
Ich habe allerdings mit der Erzählperspektive gerungen. Im Grundgedanken ist sie Dybek herausragend gelungen, denn das Buch beginnt interessanterweise damit, wie das Leben auf Loyalty Island durch die Geschichten seiner Bewohner geprägt ist und immer dadurch lebendig bleibt; und durch die Erinnerungsperspektive des Erzählers trägt es dem Rechnung. Das Buch gibt genug her, dass der Erzähler ausreichend unzuverlässig wirkt, um alternative Schlüsse und Ideen zuzulassen. Nur kämpft Dybek am Ende doch zu sehr mit der Verengung seiner Perspektive und den Grenzen dieser Perspektive, sodass er sie teils, aber nicht ausreichend gut, durchbricht.
Mir war sein Protagonist/Erzähler auch nicht hintergründig oder zumindest sympathisch genug, um ein wirkliches Interesse an dessen Empfinden zu entwickeln. Aber das hat sicher mehr mit meinem Empfinden als mit dem Autorenhandwerk zu tun; dennoch blieb mir das eigentliche Seelenleben des Erzählers zu sehr verborgen.
Letztlich ist dennoch ein gut lesbares, leicht schwermütiges und in Teilen vielleicht sogar mutiges Werk.
Zum einen mag es originalsprachlich mehr Reiz haben, doch die Lobpreisung dessen, dass Dybek ein Maler mit seinen Worten sei, hat bei mir vielleicht zu hohe Erwartungen geweckt. Ich kann allerdings nicht mit Gewissheit sagen, ob das an Dybek oder der Übersetzung liegt.
Mir war die Bildsprache allerdings für das Thema etwas zu platt.
Die Geschichte selbst und die Turns in ihr sind handwerklich gut gesetzt, aber meines Erachtens nicht gut genug erzählt, um wirklich überzeugend zu sein.
Ich habe allerdings mit der Erzählperspektive gerungen. Im Grundgedanken ist sie Dybek herausragend gelungen, denn das Buch beginnt interessanterweise damit, wie das Leben auf Loyalty Island durch die Geschichten seiner Bewohner geprägt ist und immer dadurch lebendig bleibt; und durch die Erinnerungsperspektive des Erzählers trägt es dem Rechnung. Das Buch gibt genug her, dass der Erzähler ausreichend unzuverlässig wirkt, um alternative Schlüsse und Ideen zuzulassen. Nur kämpft Dybek am Ende doch zu sehr mit der Verengung seiner Perspektive und den Grenzen dieser Perspektive, sodass er sie teils, aber nicht ausreichend gut, durchbricht.
Mir war sein Protagonist/Erzähler auch nicht hintergründig oder zumindest sympathisch genug, um ein wirkliches Interesse an dessen Empfinden zu entwickeln. Aber das hat sicher mehr mit meinem Empfinden als mit dem Autorenhandwerk zu tun; dennoch blieb mir das eigentliche Seelenleben des Erzählers zu sehr verborgen.
Letztlich ist dennoch ein gut lesbares, leicht schwermütiges und in Teilen vielleicht sogar mutiges Werk.
August 24, 2021
It's only natural to think that the place you were born is unlike any other, but there were towns like ours across the entire peninsula, across the entire coast. Our libraries were stocked with books that were always checked in and movies that were always checked out. Our children played baseball in overgrown fields. Our high schoolers played hooky in greasy spoons and tried their parents' curse words on tongues scalded by sweet coffee. Our adults bought cars and washing machines on credit. We cried and consoled one another when faced with tragedy, of which we had more than our share.
Tradition, we know, is history's muscle.
For one who didn't know him well, me for example, it was easy to take his gentleness for weakness. I only realized later that it was what made him so dangerous.
So, the problem wasn't that she hadn't chosen; the problem was that she'd had no idea what she was choosing. The problem was that choice was a cruel illusion.
I don't want to romanticize their work because I've never done it. But they romanticized it because they suffered for it.
Returning home after a week or more away, I'd always noticed the smell first. Is this the way my life smells, I'd think, or is this the smell of my life's absence?
The number remained as a reminder that gone didn't mean gone, it just meant somewhere else.
I read somewhere that the only reason to hate your home is because you hate yourself.
"And he said that he understood why I'd hated him all this time, for the one true reason to hate anybody."
"There's only one?"
"Because you want to love him and he won't let you."
Even then I knew who I wanted to be, and I knew who I was. What I didn't yet know was that those two people would never meet.
Tradition, we know, is history's muscle.
For one who didn't know him well, me for example, it was easy to take his gentleness for weakness. I only realized later that it was what made him so dangerous.
So, the problem wasn't that she hadn't chosen; the problem was that she'd had no idea what she was choosing. The problem was that choice was a cruel illusion.
I don't want to romanticize their work because I've never done it. But they romanticized it because they suffered for it.
Returning home after a week or more away, I'd always noticed the smell first. Is this the way my life smells, I'd think, or is this the smell of my life's absence?
The number remained as a reminder that gone didn't mean gone, it just meant somewhere else.
I read somewhere that the only reason to hate your home is because you hate yourself.
"And he said that he understood why I'd hated him all this time, for the one true reason to hate anybody."
"There's only one?"
"Because you want to love him and he won't let you."
Even then I knew who I wanted to be, and I knew who I was. What I didn't yet know was that those two people would never meet.
February 25, 2021
Proof copy originally reviewed for Lovereading. The novel is written in the in the first person, by a young boy, Cal, set in the summer of 1986. The setting in the 1980’s evoked fond memories of my very different childhood in the same era.
Cal lives in a remote fishing village in Alaska. The story centres round the uncertainty that arises when the owner of the fishing fleet and much of the village, dies. Cal’s mother has always struggled with living in the village particularly when his father is away fishing for most of the year. She makes a decision to leave and Cal wakes up one day to find he is to live with another family till his father returns.
During this difficult and confusing time something occurs that means Cal has to keep a secret for the rest of his life in order to shield those he loves, but also to protect himself from his own actions.
Through Cal’s eyes the villagers and his family remain fairly distant and mysterious. Many come across as unlikable. I felt empathetic towards Cal and didn’t warm to any of the other characters. In this way despite choices he makes that I may not agree with, I warmed to his character and felt compelled to read on.
“When Captain Flint was Still a Good Man” is very well written with vivid descriptions and clever characterisations. I found the subject matter a little distasteful. For me, it was not a particularly enjoyable read but a compelling one. The honest style of writing entices me and if Cal’s life was chronicled further, I would still consider reading on.
Cal lives in a remote fishing village in Alaska. The story centres round the uncertainty that arises when the owner of the fishing fleet and much of the village, dies. Cal’s mother has always struggled with living in the village particularly when his father is away fishing for most of the year. She makes a decision to leave and Cal wakes up one day to find he is to live with another family till his father returns.
During this difficult and confusing time something occurs that means Cal has to keep a secret for the rest of his life in order to shield those he loves, but also to protect himself from his own actions.
Through Cal’s eyes the villagers and his family remain fairly distant and mysterious. Many come across as unlikable. I felt empathetic towards Cal and didn’t warm to any of the other characters. In this way despite choices he makes that I may not agree with, I warmed to his character and felt compelled to read on.
“When Captain Flint was Still a Good Man” is very well written with vivid descriptions and clever characterisations. I found the subject matter a little distasteful. For me, it was not a particularly enjoyable read but a compelling one. The honest style of writing entices me and if Cal’s life was chronicled further, I would still consider reading on.
June 22, 2017
I've watched 'Deadliest Catch' for years, so I was excited to read this book. It was not what I thought-and when it was all over, there were too many loose ends that never got tied up.
"Every fall, the men of Loyalty Island sail from the Olympic Peninsula up to the Bering Sea, to spend the winter catching king crab. Their dangerous occupation keeps food on the table but constantly threatens to leave empty seats around it. To Cal, Alaska remains as mythical and mysterious as Treasure Island, and the stories his father returns with are as mesmerizing as those he once invented about Captain Flint before he turned pirate. But while Cal is too young to accompany his father, he is old enough to know that everything depends on the fate of those few boats thousands of miles north. He is also old enough to feel the tension between his parents over whether he will follow in his father's footsteps, and to wonder about his mother's relationship with John Gaunt, owner of the fleet. Then Gaunt dies suddenly, leaving the business in the hands of his son, who seems intent on selling away the fishermen's livelihood. Soon Cal stumbles on evidence that his father may have taken extreme measures to salvage their way of life. As winter comes on, his suspicions deepening and his moral compass shattered, he is forced to make a terrible choice."
"Every fall, the men of Loyalty Island sail from the Olympic Peninsula up to the Bering Sea, to spend the winter catching king crab. Their dangerous occupation keeps food on the table but constantly threatens to leave empty seats around it. To Cal, Alaska remains as mythical and mysterious as Treasure Island, and the stories his father returns with are as mesmerizing as those he once invented about Captain Flint before he turned pirate. But while Cal is too young to accompany his father, he is old enough to know that everything depends on the fate of those few boats thousands of miles north. He is also old enough to feel the tension between his parents over whether he will follow in his father's footsteps, and to wonder about his mother's relationship with John Gaunt, owner of the fleet. Then Gaunt dies suddenly, leaving the business in the hands of his son, who seems intent on selling away the fishermen's livelihood. Soon Cal stumbles on evidence that his father may have taken extreme measures to salvage their way of life. As winter comes on, his suspicions deepening and his moral compass shattered, he is forced to make a terrible choice."
July 13, 2018
I read this book while on Cape Cod, biking to the beach everyday and eating a meal of seafood and local beer (almost) every night. So maybe my own setting is to blame, but I loved this book so much. It hits that perfect combo of a compelling, dare I say "beach" read and beautifully written novel. It's the type of book that I wish I read with a pencil behind my ear because there were so many parts I wanted to remember. Dybeck paints such a captivating picture of this small fishing town, I wanted to live there - despite all of the grief and grey.
I'm not going to summarize the plot because I want you to read it. Read it!
I'm not going to summarize the plot because I want you to read it. Read it!
January 11, 2021
This was written in the first person. A grown up is recalling an incident from his pre-teens. He weaves what he knows along with what he imagines could have happened.
It has been a while since I have enjoyed a book written by a man. Dybek makes his characters real. I like the fact we don't really know what happen, so it gives something to discuss or think about. He also ties things up quickly after the story is done.
I gave it only four stars because I can't think of someone I would recommend this book to.
It has been a while since I have enjoyed a book written by a man. Dybek makes his characters real. I like the fact we don't really know what happen, so it gives something to discuss or think about. He also ties things up quickly after the story is done.
I gave it only four stars because I can't think of someone I would recommend this book to.
April 10, 2023
I genuinely loved this book. Picked it up just on a whim at the library because it had caught my partner’s eye and he recommended it. Ironically, I enjoyed it so much that I will now be forcing him to read it now that I’ve finished it. This is one of those plots I wanted to speed-read through just to see how the ending would pan out for everyone, and it was nowhere close to what I predicted for the ending (in a good way).
April 1, 2025
This book hit a little close to home, which is probably why I still think about it. As the child of parents who don’t quite love each other anymore, I can relate with the main character as he watches his parents marriage unfold.
Then the story sets in as well, and while I can’t say what I would do in this situation, I can’t agree with the main character’s decisions.
I’ll reread this book at some point in the future. I would be interested to see if my opinions change.
Then the story sets in as well, and while I can’t say what I would do in this situation, I can’t agree with the main character’s decisions.
I’ll reread this book at some point in the future. I would be interested to see if my opinions change.
September 17, 2025
I’m upset this book doesn’t have higher review cause what the fuck it’s so good! I was at work about to start crying near the ending. A book that can make someone have that crying feeling is one hell of a good book. Very unique and now I want to pursue an MFA program where Nick Dybek is teaching. Really impressive book, tbh didint know where it was going at first but once it picked up I enjoyed every page (or minute of audio I guess)!
July 10, 2025
Picked this one up due to the intriguing cover. I'm so very glad I did. The characters, setting, and plot are drawn so beautifully and realistically. This book asked a lot of hard questions about loyalty, honor, and familial responsibility, and the answers were vague at best.
That's what I loved about it.
That's what I loved about it.
December 31, 2020
A child conflicted between a father who is away half the year and a mother who is not quite there at any time. The hard life of Alaskan crab fishermen and a moral dilemma when it comes down to keeping their livelihood.
April 13, 2022
It’s been a very long time since I’ve finished a book and been immediately overcome by such a strong feeling of sorrow. I was skeptical of other reviews calling this story a tragedy but here we are I suppose. The ending was brutal but I just know I’ll end up rereading this book again.
July 30, 2024
I had never heard of the author or the book.
I literally spotted it at the library, brought it home, and kind of devoured it.
It's an engrossing coming-of-age story with a rather grim dilemma involved.
I literally spotted it at the library, brought it home, and kind of devoured it.
It's an engrossing coming-of-age story with a rather grim dilemma involved.
September 14, 2025
I loved this! It was unique, dark, had interesting characters and had a twisty ending I did not see coming. It is extremely rare that I give a book five stars. This has been on my To Read list for over 10 years and I'm sorry I didn't get to it sooner.
June 24, 2019
Good writing. Good story. Haunting. Really felt torn about how it ended.
August 16, 2019
Recommended by Vlada. Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore...
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