Green Hand

by Lillian Beckwith

A climbing holiday has brought David Jones to the West Coast of Scotland. Fate has introduced him to Donald. As the days grow into weeks, he finds that fishing for lobster and herring is unlike anything he has done before. As he progresses from being a Green Hand to a practised fisherman, David takes to his new life with relish. The days of his strict chapel-going home in Wales are far behind him. Fishing has become his one obsession. This is as amusing and sympathetic novel.

Genres: Fiction, Scotland

234 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1956

About the author

Lilian Comber wrote fiction and non-fiction for both adults and children under the pseudonym Lillian Beckwith. She is best known for her series of comic novels based on her time living on a croft in the Scottish Hebrides.

Beckwith was born in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, in 1916, where her father ran a grocery shop. The shop provided the background for her memoir About My Father's Business, a child’s eye view of a 1920s family. She moved to the Isle of Skye with her husband in 1942, and began writing fiction after moving to the Isle of Man with her family twenty years later. She also completed a cookery book, Secrets from a Crofter’s Kitchen (Arrow, 1976).

Since her death, Beckwith’s novel A Shine of Rainbows has been made into a film starring Aidan Quinn and Connie Nielsen, which in 2009 won ‘Best Feature’ awards at the Heartland and Chicago Children’s Film Festivals.

Reviews

[Lita · Rating 4 out of 5]

My reading year started with a simple but beautifully written story about finding one's passion in life. It's an expression of love for the sea and the simple life of a fisherman. As I'm partial to sea-going stories, I thoroughly enjoyed David's journey from a green hand to a seasoned fisherman dreaming of owning a boat.

[Joe Maggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute stunner of a book. Beckwith has composed such an optimistic and uplifting story of a young man who stands up to the opposition of his parents and the opportunity to have a normal, stable place in the family business and instead pursues to the very last his dream. The depiction of the camaraderie and superstitions of fishermen is beautiful and fulfilling to read but this is pointedly set off by the undertones of domestic violence, misogyny and a traumatic childhood. Ultimately it is a very real novel, clearly rooted in Beckwith’s own life after moving to Scotland from England.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The life of a fisherman is hard and simple. 'Mondays to Fridays he takes his boat to sea, Saturdays he takes his thirst to a pub, and Sundays he takes his wife to bed.'

"David Jones went to the west coast of Scotland on a climbing holiday and stayed. The days, which grew into weeks, that he spent fishing for lobster and herring were unlike anything he had known before. In this new world -- rugged, and sometimes hilarious -- David makes his progress from 'Green Hand' to skilled fisherman."
~~back cover

This book is very different than any of the author's previous books. It's a novel, rather than a collection of vignettes about crofting life on an Hebridean island. It's also not written as much in dialect as the first books are.

While telling the story of Dave Jones, who leaves his home in Wales under his parents' censure, and determines to be accepted as a fisherman on the boats that catch lobster or herring for commercial sale. As he's introduced to the life, the reader is given an in-depth description of life on or off a fishing boat, and of the life of the people in the small port towns and on outlying islands. There's a wee bit of romance woven in as well, which makes the reading all that much spicier.

[Alexander Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple yet surprisingly enjoyable story about a man who abandons a more comfortable urban life for the life of lobster- and herringfishing. Loving descriptions of the dramatic coast and landscape of west Scotland, and a celebration of a rougher life in battle with the sea and nature. Quite inspiring actually, despite it being fictional, in following your dreams however difficult they seem. As I said the story is simple, fairly everything goes main character David’s way which is okay but perhaps prohibits the book from having real depth.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

A light fictional account of a young man discovering his dream and then following it, by moving from a small Welsh coalmining town to becoming a fisherman off of the West Coast of Scotland. If you have seen Whisky Galore, then this is just how I hear the Scottish accents, as they come out of the book.

Its a light read, with well described characters and good descriptions. I enjoyed it!

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly enjoyable story of a young man pursuing his love for the sea and fishing.

Lots of good characters and adventure beautifully written.

[Mardi D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this just as much as the other books I've read from this author. It gives a glimpse into what the life a fisherman aboard a lobster or herring boat might have been like.

[Tracee · Rating 2 out of 5]

The ratings are high for this one but I found it fairly dull. Nothing really happened. At all.

[Tibby Schlegel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed Lillian Beckwith's Hebrides series immensely and knew nothing about this book. If you are looking for a story about finding your bliss and your tribe (even at the expense of your birth family), then this is the book for you.

[Kelv · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reasonable book about Scottish fishing - reminded me somewhat of Old Man and the Sea; in that there was nothing but fishing with some imagery and symbolism. Although I think the story was generally on the quiet side: no intensity, excitement etc.

[Christy Olesen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice escape into another world. Lillian Beckwith paints a beautiful picture of the life of a green hand. She portrays the hard life of the fishermen, but also their camaraderie, and appreciation for the sea. A great first novel.

[Angus Pratt]

This is alovely story of the life and the sea. I was completely drawn into the drama of the fishing life.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice cosy tale