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Oil and Water: A Novel
What happens when the American dream collides head-on with a nation’s dependence on fossil fuels? Oil and Water , a novel by Mei Mei Evans, focuses on precisely this question. Starting with a star-crossed supertanker, a wayward fishing boat, and a well-known hazard in the Gulf of Alaska, the story presents a region plunged into an oil-slicked crisis. As thousands of miles of shoreline and sea are obliterated, the spill threatens the lives and livelihoods of the coastal community of Selby.
At the center of the disaster are Gregg, a down-on-his-luck skipper, and Lee, his lone deckhand. As they cross paths with the tanker and later the residents of Selby, they are faced with decisions that will have a lasting impact on the entire community. And when the residents are presented with a controversial deal—accept handouts in the form of work from the very company responsible for the disaster—they must learn just how important it is to find strength in the connections that bind humans to each other and the natural world.
Evans’s compelling story, influenced by her own experiences during the Exxon Valdez oil spill, is a provocative look at the choice that must be made between environmental safety and economic survival. A PEN/Bellwether Prize finalist, it will have readers reconsidering where they draw their own lines.
At the center of the disaster are Gregg, a down-on-his-luck skipper, and Lee, his lone deckhand. As they cross paths with the tanker and later the residents of Selby, they are faced with decisions that will have a lasting impact on the entire community. And when the residents are presented with a controversial deal—accept handouts in the form of work from the very company responsible for the disaster—they must learn just how important it is to find strength in the connections that bind humans to each other and the natural world.
Evans’s compelling story, influenced by her own experiences during the Exxon Valdez oil spill, is a provocative look at the choice that must be made between environmental safety and economic survival. A PEN/Bellwether Prize finalist, it will have readers reconsidering where they draw their own lines.
272 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2013
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159 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 13, 2013
The Exxon Valdez oil spill of March 1989 was one of the worst environmental disasters caused by mankind. Mei Mei Evans, author of Oil and Water, was a public information officer for Homer, Alaska during the devistating event. Using these events and her personal experience as influence for the novel, Evans has attempted to display the complexities of battling such a enormous environmental catastrophe.
Centering on Gregg, a "down-on-his-luck skipper;" Lee, his deckhand; Daniel, a part-time, local radio voice; and Tessa, Daniel's wife, the novel explores the how various local, government, and corporate decisions impact the community of Selby, Alaska and other, more rural, parts of the state. Evans asks the reader to confront the role of big corporations in our everyday existence and how we do and do not hold them accountable for their actions. The novel excels at communicating the many complicated facets of diaster response in a remote area and creating a strong sense of place. An example of this is when,
[Lee] impagines the spill washing ashore in Rugged Bay in a matter of days, fouling near-shore waters. A pod of glistening black-and-white orcas breaching in its toxic shadow. A pride of sea lions surging through the crude, their stiff whiskers blackened, faces filmed with grease. A siege of herring floating dead atop petroleum-laden seas.
Lee pictures the neon-green beach vegetation--the new shoots of goosetounge and sandwort and lovage that at this time of year, unfurling from winter dormancy, always seem lit from within. Obliterated by a single black tide. The dense, stinking ooze filling once-crystalline tidepools, suffocating delicately tendriled anemones and so many other forms of intracate sea life.
It is poetic descriptions like this where Evans shows her skill and knowledge of place and brings the reader deeply into the world of an event that every North American should read about. While the novel is doing a public service to raise awareness about some of the negative consequences of America's dependence on fossil fuels, it is a novel with a message as its prioirity over story as its prioirity. It is clear that Evans has a take on the disaster and its aftermath. Her characters question the "maleness and whiteness" of a panel arranged to talk to the community about the coporation's response to the spill. Instead of allowing the story to make the readers question how "sexism and racism might relate to the fact of the oil spill itself," or how "Big Business and government collude in jeopardizing the safety and sanctity of all the astonishing creatures who depend on the ocean for life," Evans is careful to make those statements outright, which is offputting to the reader who might rather see the events unfold and make those conclusions (or not) based on the depiction. It seems as though Evans set out to write a story about an event that negatively impacted a significant portion of America and wants her readers to come to a specific conclusion about those events and does not leave much room for other interpretations.
Oil and Water was a finalist for the PEN/Bellwether Prize, which is awarded to "the author of a previously unpublished novel of high literary caliber that promotes fiction that addresses issues of social justice and the impact of culture and politics on human relationships." This is what Evans' novel clearly does as the reader is left questioning how anyone might make a decision between "economic survival and environmental safety."
Centering on Gregg, a "down-on-his-luck skipper;" Lee, his deckhand; Daniel, a part-time, local radio voice; and Tessa, Daniel's wife, the novel explores the how various local, government, and corporate decisions impact the community of Selby, Alaska and other, more rural, parts of the state. Evans asks the reader to confront the role of big corporations in our everyday existence and how we do and do not hold them accountable for their actions. The novel excels at communicating the many complicated facets of diaster response in a remote area and creating a strong sense of place. An example of this is when,
[Lee] impagines the spill washing ashore in Rugged Bay in a matter of days, fouling near-shore waters. A pod of glistening black-and-white orcas breaching in its toxic shadow. A pride of sea lions surging through the crude, their stiff whiskers blackened, faces filmed with grease. A siege of herring floating dead atop petroleum-laden seas.
Lee pictures the neon-green beach vegetation--the new shoots of goosetounge and sandwort and lovage that at this time of year, unfurling from winter dormancy, always seem lit from within. Obliterated by a single black tide. The dense, stinking ooze filling once-crystalline tidepools, suffocating delicately tendriled anemones and so many other forms of intracate sea life.
It is poetic descriptions like this where Evans shows her skill and knowledge of place and brings the reader deeply into the world of an event that every North American should read about. While the novel is doing a public service to raise awareness about some of the negative consequences of America's dependence on fossil fuels, it is a novel with a message as its prioirity over story as its prioirity. It is clear that Evans has a take on the disaster and its aftermath. Her characters question the "maleness and whiteness" of a panel arranged to talk to the community about the coporation's response to the spill. Instead of allowing the story to make the readers question how "sexism and racism might relate to the fact of the oil spill itself," or how "Big Business and government collude in jeopardizing the safety and sanctity of all the astonishing creatures who depend on the ocean for life," Evans is careful to make those statements outright, which is offputting to the reader who might rather see the events unfold and make those conclusions (or not) based on the depiction. It seems as though Evans set out to write a story about an event that negatively impacted a significant portion of America and wants her readers to come to a specific conclusion about those events and does not leave much room for other interpretations.
Oil and Water was a finalist for the PEN/Bellwether Prize, which is awarded to "the author of a previously unpublished novel of high literary caliber that promotes fiction that addresses issues of social justice and the impact of culture and politics on human relationships." This is what Evans' novel clearly does as the reader is left questioning how anyone might make a decision between "economic survival and environmental safety."
October 11, 2017
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book which is loosely based on the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. I was living in Anchorage and wasn’t really aware of how devastating the spill was to all the seaside communities hardest hit.
The book opened my eyes to the negative impacts the oil spill caused to families, flora, fauna, relationships, livelihoods, fishermen, and the huge numbers of birds and animals killed by the oil.
I’m grateful to Mei Mei for shedding light and understanding on this tragedy.
The book opened my eyes to the negative impacts the oil spill caused to families, flora, fauna, relationships, livelihoods, fishermen, and the huge numbers of birds and animals killed by the oil.
I’m grateful to Mei Mei for shedding light and understanding on this tragedy.
July 13, 2013
What a beautiful, moving, powerful book! The subject was depressing, but it's so beautifully told (from first-hand knowledge) that you want to keep reading. The characters are very vivid, and the author did a masterful job putting the reader right there with them as they dealt with the terrible situation. A real tour de force. Highly recommended.
August 30, 2017
Extremely well written and an eye to how the oil spill affected everyone. It also gave those of us who lived through the disaster without really being affected by it physically and emotionally, unlike those who were at ground zero and all of the areas around the ocean. How horrible the reality of this spill was and how it changed so many lives especially in areas where the oil came ashore and devastated the fishing industry, killing hundred of thousands to birds, mammals, fish and the whole ecosystem for many years to come. It also showed how the oil company covered up the horrific damage done.
The oil company, state and federal government officials downplayed the event and corrupt officials made deals with the oil companies to keep their business in Alaska with out making them pay for the damage to the fisherman and all others who made a living off the ocean. The government allowed a deal to be made where the oil company made millions and manipulated the press to show how much they did to "clean up" the crude. The public received a white washed view of what was really being done, which was nothing. Families and friends had to choose between making money and going broke which in turn divided communities and caused so much strife around Alaska. To date I would so nothing has changed to prevent another disaster of this magnitude.
The oil company, state and federal government officials downplayed the event and corrupt officials made deals with the oil companies to keep their business in Alaska with out making them pay for the damage to the fisherman and all others who made a living off the ocean. The government allowed a deal to be made where the oil company made millions and manipulated the press to show how much they did to "clean up" the crude. The public received a white washed view of what was really being done, which was nothing. Families and friends had to choose between making money and going broke which in turn divided communities and caused so much strife around Alaska. To date I would so nothing has changed to prevent another disaster of this magnitude.
March 8, 2017
Great novel both eye-opening and interesting.
May 15, 2015
What a fantastic book. She not only described the environmental damage but the unexpected human consequences- relationships and friendships destroyed and families changed forever. Told as only someone who lived through that disaster could. Highly recommended!
June 21, 2013
informative read!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews