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Summers in Squid Tickle: A Newfoundland Odyssey
An acclaimed nature writer’s moving recollection of his two decades as a summer resident of a Newfoundland fishing village, originally known as Squid Tickle.
Robert Finch arrived in Newfoundland in the summer of 1995 heartsick, directionless, his old life on Cape Cod in tatters. Burnside, located in Newfoundland’s rugged northeast, seemed like a good place to heal. The coastal village was home to just fifty year-round residents, and accessible only by a hundred-mile ferry crossing. Finch was drawn in by the landscape of low ridges and archipelagos of rocky islands, but he returned to Burnside for its strong sense of community, and the possibility that it might provide a new pattern for his ow life.
Eventually Finch became a summer resident, buying a house, playing organ for the church, and fishing the area’s waters. Offering a portrait of the Newfoundland character and culture, Summers in Squid Tickle explores how three generations of the village have grappled with the changes of the past century—from the rise and collapse of commercial cod fishing, and the migration of young people away from the outport, to the distant hope for tourism and new industries to sustain a disappearing way of life. With characteristically elegant prose and deep sensitivity, Finch introduces us to Squid Tickle’s inhabitants—a collection of hardy fishermen, vigorous retirees, and close neighbors, as well as the woman who would become his wife.
Even as the fish in Squid Tickle’s waters vanish, Finch sketches the enduring relationship of a village with the sea—for food, work, leisure, and a rich community life—in the midst of an unforgiving but stunning landscape. Summers in Squid Tickle speaks to the desire we all have in our era to seek quiet, and to reevaluate our connection to each other and the natural world.
Robert Finch arrived in Newfoundland in the summer of 1995 heartsick, directionless, his old life on Cape Cod in tatters. Burnside, located in Newfoundland’s rugged northeast, seemed like a good place to heal. The coastal village was home to just fifty year-round residents, and accessible only by a hundred-mile ferry crossing. Finch was drawn in by the landscape of low ridges and archipelagos of rocky islands, but he returned to Burnside for its strong sense of community, and the possibility that it might provide a new pattern for his ow life.
Eventually Finch became a summer resident, buying a house, playing organ for the church, and fishing the area’s waters. Offering a portrait of the Newfoundland character and culture, Summers in Squid Tickle explores how three generations of the village have grappled with the changes of the past century—from the rise and collapse of commercial cod fishing, and the migration of young people away from the outport, to the distant hope for tourism and new industries to sustain a disappearing way of life. With characteristically elegant prose and deep sensitivity, Finch introduces us to Squid Tickle’s inhabitants—a collection of hardy fishermen, vigorous retirees, and close neighbors, as well as the woman who would become his wife.
Even as the fish in Squid Tickle’s waters vanish, Finch sketches the enduring relationship of a village with the sea—for food, work, leisure, and a rich community life—in the midst of an unforgiving but stunning landscape. Summers in Squid Tickle speaks to the desire we all have in our era to seek quiet, and to reevaluate our connection to each other and the natural world.
311 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 17, 2025
33 people are currently reading
242 people want to read
About the author
Robert Finch
76 books34 followersRobert Finch has lived on and written about Cape Cod for forty years. He is the author of six collections of essays and co-editor of The Norton Book of Nature Writing.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 1, 2025
I must be off to Newfoundland now, b’y. After reading this simple, honest, and elegant paean to the people of a small, remote fishing village, their stunningly beautiful surroundings, and their disappearing way of life, I don’t feel sad, but enriched to have shared in their experiences with the author, Robert Finch, in his last book. It was like reading about a heartwarming love affair with a people and a place and hoping it can last forever.
August 9, 2025
Soooooo many characters...but such thoroughly interesting people!!!
July 29, 2025
I spoke to this guy and then I did this and then i did that and then . . . .zzzzz
While the book breezes along, the story is lost in the details because it's all about details, mindless and unimportant details. There's no conflict to prime the engine that any good story needs. There are merely bits of everyday life, supplemented by the history of the land and the histories of the people. It's like reading someone's diary with explanatory footnotes added. It's initially interesting until it becomes repetitive and full of particulars that matter not one whit, eg (at random): "Wayne has a slow timetable for his house. Last year they got the sauna tubes poured. This summer they plan to get the deck on. At this rate, it may be done for Willis' centennial." Does any of this matter to or amount to anything? Nope.
Sure, we all talk idly at times with friends and family, about nothing at all. It passes the time. But imagine reading someone else's 300 pages of reportage about people you don't know and their idle talk. Way too painful. DNF.
While the book breezes along, the story is lost in the details because it's all about details, mindless and unimportant details. There's no conflict to prime the engine that any good story needs. There are merely bits of everyday life, supplemented by the history of the land and the histories of the people. It's like reading someone's diary with explanatory footnotes added. It's initially interesting until it becomes repetitive and full of particulars that matter not one whit, eg (at random): "Wayne has a slow timetable for his house. Last year they got the sauna tubes poured. This summer they plan to get the deck on. At this rate, it may be done for Willis' centennial." Does any of this matter to or amount to anything? Nope.
Sure, we all talk idly at times with friends and family, about nothing at all. It passes the time. But imagine reading someone else's 300 pages of reportage about people you don't know and their idle talk. Way too painful. DNF.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 25, 2025
What I appreciated about this book was learning about the community of Burnside, located in Newfoundland. It’s intriguing to read about the lives of those who make up that small community. This is essentially the author’s journal about his summers in Burnside, and it reads that way. I have to admit it got a little slow going at times, but I like the people, and it was almost like being there.
June 27, 2025
Love the stories of life and the tickle!
August 1, 2025
Started great but got boring quick.
December 7, 2025
Read December 2025
December 7, 2025
A bit disappointing. Nothing much happens. I can't tell the inhabitants apart. I don't really like the narration either.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews