Done Crabbin': Noah Leaves the River

by Gilbert Byron

In his nationally acclaimed The Lord's Oysters , Gilbert Byron told the story of a young boy growing up on Maryland's Eastern Shore in the early twentieth century. Noah Marlin is older now, as Byron takes up his tale of Chesapeake watermen and their families in this sequel to his beloved classic. In Done Crabbin' Noah's world has begun to change as life on the river becomes less important than life in the town. He's shocked to discover his fifth-grade teacher, the yellow-haired Miss Bertie, parked in a buggy on a back road with Doc Beller, but keeps his discovery secret when he remembers Doc's profession. ("I could imagine myself going to him for a small filling, and then he would strap me in his chair―it wasn't worth the chance.") He hears William Jennings Bryan speak beneath the leaking canopy of a Chatauqua tent during a raging thunderstorm, and remarks in passing that a young man on the tent crew would be killed a year later when his biplane crashed in France. In the end, they all leave the river. Captain Cable trades his illegal 200-pound duck gun for a carpenter's tools. "Grandpappy" abandons his houseboat, spending his last days in the Marlin family home. Noah's father finds a job in a Baltimore shipyard during the World War I shipbuilding boom and, at last, brings the family to the city to join him. And when Noah himself goes off to prep school, he knows that he and his father have left their old lives for good. They would never follow the water again. They are done crabbin'.

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to my thoughtful sister-in-law's gift I was able to take a step back in time by reading this charming book set in the early 1900s on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Gilbert Byron was a local author and poet who is still well regarded in the area where I happily now reside. This particular book captures the the magical qualities of the area as seen through the eyes of Noah, a young boy on the cusp of adulthood. The Chesapeake Bay physically separated the watermen and their families from big city life in Baltimore but a different philosophy and view of life was even broader. The title of the book reveals what the coming war, modern conveniences such as automobiles and a booming war time economy will mean to Noah and his family. To read the words of a local who lived the life captured in Noah's tale was a joy mixed with some sadness for what is now lost or changed. However, the Eastern Shore remains a magical area of unique tradition and Byron's tale enhanced my appreciation of its history.

[Hancock · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice book. It is well written but it is not exceptionally well written. It is an enjoyable series of tales about a boy growing up in rural Maryland in the first quarter of the last century.

[Ryan Hepler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book

[Charles Comer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Done Crabbin' is the sequel to The Lord's Oysters, written decades after. It continues the story of Noah Marlin, the sincere son of a Chester River waterman. In Done Crabbin', Noah grows up, coming of age, as his family goes through some major changes, ultimately moving from their beloved river to Baltimore City. While Noah ultimately returns to The Eastern Shore for college, he nevertheless finds that he as really left the river forever, is "done crabbin'". Like The Lord's Oysters, Done Crabbin' is charming and a joy to read. I loved Byron's caring descriptions of life on the Eastern Shore in the early 20th century. Unlike The Lord's Oysters, however, Done Crabbin' is slightly more melancholic and nostalgic. Nevertheless, there is still a lot of wonderful wit and charm.

[Eugenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book about growing up on the Eastern Shore of MD in the teens. It is a follow up to The Lord's Oysters which was better but also disturbing to me. I had a really hard time reading about the bigotry in TLO; but there that doesn't really come up in Done Crabbin'. Quick read, appropriate for all ages. Nostalgic and local.