Tuna

by Kenneth Cook

Jack Foster, a tough Australian fisherman struggling to earn his living from the sea, has one all-consuming dream - to own his own tuna boat.

The chance of a bargain boat unexpectedly comes his way and Jack plunges deeply into debt to buy it. With a sudden twist of fortune, he finds himself with a week to make a big catch or lose everything he owns to his creditors. Tensions reach breaking point as Jack battles desperately against time and the sea to save his dream.

Genres: Adventure

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 1972

About the author

Born 1929, died 1987. Kenneth Cook was a prolific Australian journalist, film director, screenwriter, TV personality and novelist. He is best known for his novel Wake in Fright, which became a modern classic and is still in print, and for his Killer Koala trilogy.

Reviews

[notgettingenough · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read Wake in Fright a while back, I noticed a copy of this on the shelves and it's definitely a small-handbag book, so in it went.

I read this immediately after a discussion on FB with my friend Linda which involved questions of what is 'Australian' and what is 'racist'. And here I was on page one of this, plumb in the middle of exactly that. The central character is a fisherman in a coastal town, a little Aussie battler, I think would be a fair characterisation, and dagoes are giving him grief. He and his mates despise the Italians. But that doesn't change how one acts when one has to. When an Italian on another boat goes overboard, he does everything he can to save him. Racism is more complex than a lot of people make out: perhaps they are still waters that run deep. Jack's off-sider in this is an Aborigine who sees himself as less than white people but definitely superior to the Italians, by the way.

The Italian's death opens up an opportunity for Jack to go for broke, buy a boat he can fish for tuna from, instead of the piddling small catches which are his lot to date. I can see why this is compared with The Old Man and the Sea. It feels like a sea adventure book written by somebody who knows his ground (so to speak). I couldn't put it down.

rest here: https://alittleteaalittlechat.wordpre...

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, tough Aussie novel, easily on par with Hemingway's Old Man and the Sea for its simplicity... except Foster isn't old, and he's at sea with a 'blackfella' named Bill, and he has a world of shit waiting for him back home. Novels don't get much more Ocker than this. Just wonderful.

[Marjolaine Pilote · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mais quel dénouement surprenant !
C'est probablement pour cette raison que je donne un 5 étoiles.

[Moushine Zahr · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 3rd book I've read from Australian author Kenneth Cook. Jack Foster, a fisherman in a small fishing port, rescues 2 Italians from drowning, then later buys their Thuna boats bigger than his. Readers follow this leading charcter who takes unreasonnable risks, both financial and physical, against all advices and odds, and risks all he's got, to buy on loan the boat and attempts to fish enough Thuna to payoff the loans taken.

The author describes through this story about life in a small port, living on fishing, and the gamble of the lifetime that must be taken to get out of its miserable financial status. While readers might connect with the leading character taking unnecessary risks to get out of his situation; however, nowadays they will not connect with life in fishing port and fishing industry unless they're part of it.