What do you think?
Rate this book
Monterey Bay
A beautiful debut set around the creation of the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium—and the last days of John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row
In 1940, fifteen year-old Margot Fiske arrives on the shores of Monterey Bay with her eccentric entrepreneur father. Margot has been her father’s apprentice all over the world, until an accident in Monterey’s tide pools drives them apart and plunges her head-first into the mayhem of John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row.
Steinbeck is hiding out from his burgeoning fame at the raucous lab of Ed Ricketts, the biologist known as Doc in Cannery Row. Ricketts, a charismatic bohemian, quickly becomes the object of Margot’s fascination. Despite Steinbeck’s protests and her father’s misgivings, she wrangles a job as Ricketts’s sketch artist and begins drawing the strange and wonderful sea creatures he pulls from the waters of the bay. Unbeknownst to Margot, her father is also working with Ricketts. He is soliciting the biologist’s advice on his most ambitious and controversial project to date: the transformation of the Row’s largest cannery into an aquarium. When Margot begins an affair with Ricketts, she sets in motion a chain of events that will affect not just the two of them, but the future of Monterey as well.
In 1940, fifteen year-old Margot Fiske arrives on the shores of Monterey Bay with her eccentric entrepreneur father. Margot has been her father’s apprentice all over the world, until an accident in Monterey’s tide pools drives them apart and plunges her head-first into the mayhem of John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row.
Steinbeck is hiding out from his burgeoning fame at the raucous lab of Ed Ricketts, the biologist known as Doc in Cannery Row. Ricketts, a charismatic bohemian, quickly becomes the object of Margot’s fascination. Despite Steinbeck’s protests and her father’s misgivings, she wrangles a job as Ricketts’s sketch artist and begins drawing the strange and wonderful sea creatures he pulls from the waters of the bay. Unbeknownst to Margot, her father is also working with Ricketts. He is soliciting the biologist’s advice on his most ambitious and controversial project to date: the transformation of the Row’s largest cannery into an aquarium. When Margot begins an affair with Ricketts, she sets in motion a chain of events that will affect not just the two of them, but the future of Monterey as well.
310 pages, Hardcover
First published July 19, 2016
48 people are currently reading
1957 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 166 reviews
March 24, 2016
I can't think of a book I was looking forward to reading more than "Monterey Bay".
My hopes were high.... Possibly a little too over-zealous! I'm in Monterey or Carmel often on weekends....hiking, at the beach, or at our friends.
I have more photos stored on my iPhone of Monterey and Carmel than of any other place in California.
Our family had a membership at the Bay Aquarium for about 15 years - starting with the opening weekend --Oct. 20, 1984. ( our daughter just turned 3 years old--Oct. 1st).
THIS BOOK:
From the start: I loved the name! I think the cover is gorgeous & seductive...(although, the more I think about the cover--I'm not sure it's the image that best represents "the creation of the world famous Monterey Bay Aquarium".)
TWO other authors whose books I passionately love- gave high praise for this book:
Bret Anthony Johnston, and Celeste Ng... so I was SURE I would be in reading heaven.
But .... I wasn't! I wanted to be.
It's hard to find fault with an author writing about a topic she loves. ( and I love).
Hatton grew up in Monterey - spent formative growing years working behind the scenes at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. She is qualified ( an MFA in creative writing at NYU), and has a passion for Monterey and its history. So... I give the author a big PLUS --- for writing about a subject she loves - ( I happen to agree with her on this!!!)... I still want to congratulate the author on her first book. Definitely writing talents for this author!! .. ( but this book wasn't what 'I' was hoping it would be).
Mostly ... I see now.. I wished for a different direction in the storytelling.
.....The structure of the book jumps back and forth - too fast for me- from 1998 to 1940. I felt dizzy. The flow of the story was irritating. I kept blaming myself -- for struggling to enjoy this story more. I was mad at myself ...( not the author). -
......I just had a very hard time finding a focus - any real emotional connections which mattered much one way or another. I was bored. I thought - at times- the writing was lovely ...( as in sentences)... but I didn't feel anything. Towards the end I did a little.
....I wanted to enjoy the tide pools, the frogs, and other boneless brainless creatures with less of 15 year old Margot Fiske' s dreary disposition. She was 'dreary' as the fog....to me. Just not very interesting - as a character.. dull instead of colorful.
Margot is the storytelling - the narrator - but from the start she had a negative slant on Monterey.
"It wasn't just the fact that after, years of working at her father's side, she had been exiled. It was a bone-deep certainty that Monterey was out to destroy her in the same manner it had already destroyed itself". ( just a sample of more negative ways of seeing her life).
......I was hoping to read more about the real history, relationship, and memories between John Steinbeck and Ed 'Doc' Ricketts.
....I was hoping to get a deeper feeling for how the Aquarium was built at the site...
incorporating one of the largest canneries from the past days. I wanted to feel less father/daughter struggle -- less inappropriate concerns about a sexual connection -
and simply more glory for one of the most complete Aquariums you can ever visit.
I wanted to marvel at the exhibits ... ( not feel wrong for touching the glass as a tourist). I didn't get a warm feeling from Margot, a biologist assistant, ( a girl who sketched sea creatures),..... she didn't seem to have a heart-understanding for the many supporters of The Bay Aquarium.
When my friends visit - from out of state - from out of country -- I hope they see Monterey as one of the most beautiful places in the world! ( and feel welcomed) I hope they enjoy the feelings of the history of old days and enjoy the present modern days as well.
... From the Aquarium, the bike trails, in-line skaters, the beaches, the whale watching, the shops, restaurants on Cannery Row, photos of the old sardine factories, Laguna Secas, fresh sea air... lovely people strolling around the Bay!
3 stars... Good... but not Wow!
Thank You Penguin Press, Netgalley, and Lindsay Hatton
My hopes were high.... Possibly a little too over-zealous! I'm in Monterey or Carmel often on weekends....hiking, at the beach, or at our friends.
I have more photos stored on my iPhone of Monterey and Carmel than of any other place in California.
Our family had a membership at the Bay Aquarium for about 15 years - starting with the opening weekend --Oct. 20, 1984. ( our daughter just turned 3 years old--Oct. 1st).
THIS BOOK:
From the start: I loved the name! I think the cover is gorgeous & seductive...(although, the more I think about the cover--I'm not sure it's the image that best represents "the creation of the world famous Monterey Bay Aquarium".)
TWO other authors whose books I passionately love- gave high praise for this book:
Bret Anthony Johnston, and Celeste Ng... so I was SURE I would be in reading heaven.
But .... I wasn't! I wanted to be.
It's hard to find fault with an author writing about a topic she loves. ( and I love).
Hatton grew up in Monterey - spent formative growing years working behind the scenes at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. She is qualified ( an MFA in creative writing at NYU), and has a passion for Monterey and its history. So... I give the author a big PLUS --- for writing about a subject she loves - ( I happen to agree with her on this!!!)... I still want to congratulate the author on her first book. Definitely writing talents for this author!! .. ( but this book wasn't what 'I' was hoping it would be).
Mostly ... I see now.. I wished for a different direction in the storytelling.
.....The structure of the book jumps back and forth - too fast for me- from 1998 to 1940. I felt dizzy. The flow of the story was irritating. I kept blaming myself -- for struggling to enjoy this story more. I was mad at myself ...( not the author). -
......I just had a very hard time finding a focus - any real emotional connections which mattered much one way or another. I was bored. I thought - at times- the writing was lovely ...( as in sentences)... but I didn't feel anything. Towards the end I did a little.
....I wanted to enjoy the tide pools, the frogs, and other boneless brainless creatures with less of 15 year old Margot Fiske' s dreary disposition. She was 'dreary' as the fog....to me. Just not very interesting - as a character.. dull instead of colorful.
Margot is the storytelling - the narrator - but from the start she had a negative slant on Monterey.
"It wasn't just the fact that after, years of working at her father's side, she had been exiled. It was a bone-deep certainty that Monterey was out to destroy her in the same manner it had already destroyed itself". ( just a sample of more negative ways of seeing her life).
......I was hoping to read more about the real history, relationship, and memories between John Steinbeck and Ed 'Doc' Ricketts.
....I was hoping to get a deeper feeling for how the Aquarium was built at the site...
incorporating one of the largest canneries from the past days. I wanted to feel less father/daughter struggle -- less inappropriate concerns about a sexual connection -
and simply more glory for one of the most complete Aquariums you can ever visit.
I wanted to marvel at the exhibits ... ( not feel wrong for touching the glass as a tourist). I didn't get a warm feeling from Margot, a biologist assistant, ( a girl who sketched sea creatures),..... she didn't seem to have a heart-understanding for the many supporters of The Bay Aquarium.
When my friends visit - from out of state - from out of country -- I hope they see Monterey as one of the most beautiful places in the world! ( and feel welcomed) I hope they enjoy the feelings of the history of old days and enjoy the present modern days as well.
... From the Aquarium, the bike trails, in-line skaters, the beaches, the whale watching, the shops, restaurants on Cannery Row, photos of the old sardine factories, Laguna Secas, fresh sea air... lovely people strolling around the Bay!
3 stars... Good... but not Wow!
Thank You Penguin Press, Netgalley, and Lindsay Hatton
January 4, 2017
I read this book for a few reasons - it is on the Tournament of Books longlist for 2017, and I always scan through that looking for interesting titles; the location is not far from where I was born, and I love all things ocean; the connection to Steinbeck, albeit a Steinbeck I've not yet read. He has been making a resurgence in my reading life in the last few months that does not appear to be waning anytime soon.
This story uses characters from Cannery Row, focusing on Margot Fiske, the daughter of the man who buys the cannery. Most of the novel is set in 1940, but there are brief chapters set in 1998. Some of those were the most confusing - the writing was surreal, fantastical, I thought the narrator of those was an insane person or maybe a seabeast - but in the end that did not go where I expected and felt unnecessary.
To quote a review I read on NPR, because it sums up my feelings on this book, "The best thing about Monterey Bay, perhaps, is that it sent me back to Steinbeck's magnificent Cannery Row." And indeed, my copy of Cannery Row should arrive sometime tomorrow.
(Also for those of you doing the Book Riot Read Harder 2017 challenge, I counted this for debut novel.)
This story uses characters from Cannery Row, focusing on Margot Fiske, the daughter of the man who buys the cannery. Most of the novel is set in 1940, but there are brief chapters set in 1998. Some of those were the most confusing - the writing was surreal, fantastical, I thought the narrator of those was an insane person or maybe a seabeast - but in the end that did not go where I expected and felt unnecessary.
To quote a review I read on NPR, because it sums up my feelings on this book, "The best thing about Monterey Bay, perhaps, is that it sent me back to Steinbeck's magnificent Cannery Row." And indeed, my copy of Cannery Row should arrive sometime tomorrow.
(Also for those of you doing the Book Riot Read Harder 2017 challenge, I counted this for debut novel.)
February 3, 2017
This is a book I most likely would not have picked up if it hadn't been on the Tournament of Books longlist. In addition to be on the list there is also a strong connection to Steinbeck's Cannery Row.
The book alternates in time between the 1940's and the 1990's. In the beginning the 1940's part is a very straightforward, easy to follow plot, the 1990's, not so much. It took me almost 200 pages of this to really figure out what was going on in the 1990's part. I don't mind confusion when I'm reading but I do like it to have a point and didn't feel like this did. It was like the author started off down a road that she then decided she didn't want to go.
I have to agree with the NPR review that the best thing about the book is that it leads you back to Steinbeck. I'll be reading Cannery Row in the near future.
The book alternates in time between the 1940's and the 1990's. In the beginning the 1940's part is a very straightforward, easy to follow plot, the 1990's, not so much. It took me almost 200 pages of this to really figure out what was going on in the 1990's part. I don't mind confusion when I'm reading but I do like it to have a point and didn't feel like this did. It was like the author started off down a road that she then decided she didn't want to go.
I have to agree with the NPR review that the best thing about the book is that it leads you back to Steinbeck. I'll be reading Cannery Row in the near future.
June 29, 2016
Margot Fiske has travelled the world with her wealthy father as his fortunes have waxed and waned with unique uses of agricultural and industrial properties. Now fifteen, Margot is used to an independent lifestyle, her father being too busy to do much more than acknowledge her existence by cooking a hurried, stand up dinner on some days. Having left their most recent home in The Philippines and arrived by boat in Monterey Bay, Margot is weary and her mood depressed as her father begins a new venture and she is left to learn specimen collection with a local, self-professed marine biologist. Margot doesn't waste time asserting her independence, and the result is a story of a young woman's desire for an older, unattainable man, and the further unraveling of the relationship with her father.
This biologist for whom Margot works is Ed Ricketts, the real life inspiration for Steinbeck's "Doc" in Cannery Row. Steinbeck is a character as well, hiding out in Rickett's Cannery Row lab as his fame, fueled by sales of The Grapes of Wrath, grows more rapidly than he could have anticipated.
These interesting people set in a place well known in American literary tradition would seem to make for a can't miss reading experience. Unfortunately, these details served to raise the bar too high and the result was a novel with moments of satisfaction but that felt ultimately unremarkable.
Oddly, I felt in some ways that I'd already read the novel having recently finished Emma Cline's The Girls. No, there are no Manson-like cultists here, but it is essentially an uncomfortable coming of age tale in which a very young girl puts herself in the sights of an all too willing older man, realizing her own value too late. And of course there is the frustration of a clueless father seeming powerless to stop it.
The novel is well written and by an author who must no doubt be passionate about Monterey Bay. However because the tale is told through a brooding, calculating and single minded character, that passion didn't translate to me, the reader. In fact, when the narrative jumps to the future, the now elderly Margot doesn't seem to have grown much or changed her focus in any significant way. Ed has been dead for 50 years and he still seems her sole purpose. Ultimately I just couldn't relate.
ARC received free from publisher via NetGalley
This biologist for whom Margot works is Ed Ricketts, the real life inspiration for Steinbeck's "Doc" in Cannery Row. Steinbeck is a character as well, hiding out in Rickett's Cannery Row lab as his fame, fueled by sales of The Grapes of Wrath, grows more rapidly than he could have anticipated.
These interesting people set in a place well known in American literary tradition would seem to make for a can't miss reading experience. Unfortunately, these details served to raise the bar too high and the result was a novel with moments of satisfaction but that felt ultimately unremarkable.
Oddly, I felt in some ways that I'd already read the novel having recently finished Emma Cline's The Girls. No, there are no Manson-like cultists here, but it is essentially an uncomfortable coming of age tale in which a very young girl puts herself in the sights of an all too willing older man, realizing her own value too late. And of course there is the frustration of a clueless father seeming powerless to stop it.
The novel is well written and by an author who must no doubt be passionate about Monterey Bay. However because the tale is told through a brooding, calculating and single minded character, that passion didn't translate to me, the reader. In fact, when the narrative jumps to the future, the now elderly Margot doesn't seem to have grown much or changed her focus in any significant way. Ed has been dead for 50 years and he still seems her sole purpose. Ultimately I just couldn't relate.
ARC received free from publisher via NetGalley
July 8, 2016
You'd think that a book about Monterey Bay with the title Monterey Bay would have a little more enthusiasm for the place....
My biggest problem with the book is the narrator. She's 15 and has everything figured out. She's a snot-nosed brat who looks down her nose at everyone and judges everyone and everything far too harshly. She doesn't seem to grow or expand as a person from 1940 to 1998, and her single-mindedness was just too single-minded. I do not care what she had a lady-boner for Ricketts unless it leads somewhere. Instead, it leads to her quietly obsessing over every single thing he does and literally basing her entire life on this man. I mean come on, this dude is double her age and a known womanizer, and for these reasons (and others unfathomable to me) she is completely irrevocably in love with him?
It was too hard to grasp and too hard to connect to her as a narrator. I would've liked if the romance was gotten rid of entirely and the story of the aquarium and Ricketts' friendship with John Steinbeck told from a different point of view, like Arthur's. It's obvious the author did her research about the sealife and about Monterey Bay itself, but that enthusiasm and love doesn't show through stupid Margot's eyes. She was annoying and dumb.
My biggest problem with the book is the narrator. She's 15 and has everything figured out. She's a snot-nosed brat who looks down her nose at everyone and judges everyone and everything far too harshly. She doesn't seem to grow or expand as a person from 1940 to 1998, and her single-mindedness was just too single-minded. I do not care what she had a lady-boner for Ricketts unless it leads somewhere. Instead, it leads to her quietly obsessing over every single thing he does and literally basing her entire life on this man. I mean come on, this dude is double her age and a known womanizer, and for these reasons (and others unfathomable to me) she is completely irrevocably in love with him?
It was too hard to grasp and too hard to connect to her as a narrator. I would've liked if the romance was gotten rid of entirely and the story of the aquarium and Ricketts' friendship with John Steinbeck told from a different point of view, like Arthur's. It's obvious the author did her research about the sealife and about Monterey Bay itself, but that enthusiasm and love doesn't show through stupid Margot's eyes. She was annoying and dumb.
June 11, 2016
The writing and descriptions in this book are absolutely stunning. But for some reason I just didn't connect with the story. I found myself not caring if I finished it or not. I finally just sat down this morning and made myself finish it off. The author can write - there is no doubt about that. So I'm looking forward to what she puts out in the future - hopefully it will be something that I can connect with a bit more.
July 12, 2017
This fictionalized story of the beginnings of the Monterey Bay Aquarium is exquisite. The majority of the story is the backstory, as it were, to the Aquarium, the rhyme and reason for its existence. We delve into the life of young (and in a dual 1998 timeline, elderly) Margot Fiske in 1940, a complex woman whose brief affair with Ed "Doc" Ricketts, leaves a lasting impression. Her path crosses with John Steinbeck as well, although this is solidly a novel about a complicated young woman coming into her own. The Aquarium itself is a sliver of this novel, and the brief chapters that take place in 1998 provide a fitting framework to Ricketts and Fiske's work in the 1940s. The writing in this novel is luscious; the descriptions are gorgeous and even make cephalopods (something that normally doesn't interest me) intriguing and seductive. The ending of this book was beautiful, and the last line still haunts me.
Read
July 21, 2016Fifteen-year-old Margot Fiske arrives in Monterey Bay, California, right at the height of John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row, the novel that made the area famous. Steinbeck himself is there, hiding out at the home of Ed Ricketts, the biologist Steinbeck made famous. Margot manages to get a job with Ricketts, over the protests of the author and her father, helping Ricketts out by making drawings of sea creatures. But her relationship with him turns personal and puts the future of the Monterey Bay aquarium – and her relationship with her father – at risk. A beautiful, passionate debut.
Backlist bump: Cannery Row by John Steinbeck (In my top five all-time favorite books.)
Tune in to our weekly podcast dedicated to all things new books, All The Books: http://bookriot.com/listen/shows/allt...
Backlist bump: Cannery Row by John Steinbeck (In my top five all-time favorite books.)
Tune in to our weekly podcast dedicated to all things new books, All The Books: http://bookriot.com/listen/shows/allt...
October 5, 2017
Heartbreakingly beautiful, Monterey Bay is an engrossing tale of love – and what happens to the people, places and things we try so desperately to preserve.
The scope of this book is staggering. In 320 pages you meet John Steinbeck, his muse Ed Ricketts, and Margot Fiske, a driven, intelligent young woman who is unwavering in her attempts to make her place in the world; you’ll travel from Canary Row-era Monterey California, to post-World War Two Manila, and back to Monterey in 1998; you’ll see the raucous parties in Rickett’s lab, learn about aquariums, sea life, and the early days of marine ecology, and you’ll meet members of the immigrant populations that built Monterey. There are fires, horse fights, flying steaks, bags of cats, and through it all, the unquestionable magnificence of one of the most incredible places on earth.
While some reviewers have pointed out that Margot is a challenging protagonist, I disagree. Though she makes some questionable decisions, she owns them, she moves on, and she’s never willing to be seen as a victim. Imagine if Edna Pontellier didn’t drown herself at the end of Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, but instead swam on (and then built an aquarium) – that’s Margot.
Hatton tells it all with stunning writing that is worthy of place and people who inhabit this book. This is a book that will stay with you for a long time.
The scope of this book is staggering. In 320 pages you meet John Steinbeck, his muse Ed Ricketts, and Margot Fiske, a driven, intelligent young woman who is unwavering in her attempts to make her place in the world; you’ll travel from Canary Row-era Monterey California, to post-World War Two Manila, and back to Monterey in 1998; you’ll see the raucous parties in Rickett’s lab, learn about aquariums, sea life, and the early days of marine ecology, and you’ll meet members of the immigrant populations that built Monterey. There are fires, horse fights, flying steaks, bags of cats, and through it all, the unquestionable magnificence of one of the most incredible places on earth.
While some reviewers have pointed out that Margot is a challenging protagonist, I disagree. Though she makes some questionable decisions, she owns them, she moves on, and she’s never willing to be seen as a victim. Imagine if Edna Pontellier didn’t drown herself at the end of Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, but instead swam on (and then built an aquarium) – that’s Margot.
Hatton tells it all with stunning writing that is worthy of place and people who inhabit this book. This is a book that will stay with you for a long time.
October 29, 2017
This book bills itself as a "creation myth" for the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The creation of the Aquarium is fascinating in itself; it did not need to be turned into a story of hero-worship and unrequited love, a young woman trying to live up to and deserve a man more than twice her age and not particularly laudatory as written. It was also uncomfortable to read about Ricketts this way.
The parts of this book I enjoyed were the quiet background noise: The talk about the tanks, the discussion of the mola mola, the sea otter pups, reading about familiar places. But they were far overshadowed by the unnecessary drama and angst of the plot, not to mention the writing that strove for enigmatic poetic and just came off as stilted and nonsensical.
The parts of this book I enjoyed were the quiet background noise: The talk about the tanks, the discussion of the mola mola, the sea otter pups, reading about familiar places. But they were far overshadowed by the unnecessary drama and angst of the plot, not to mention the writing that strove for enigmatic poetic and just came off as stilted and nonsensical.
June 21, 2016
Hmm..
This book was grotesque at its best. The affairs the main character has at such a young age (with older men), the self - harm she occasionally partakes in with her pen knife, the porn photographs and drawings, the killing of many different marine specimens and alot more. It was very, very uncomfortable to read. I, obviously, loved the writing and that's what made me kept reading the book to the end. I loved the changing of time and point of view. Definitely a solid three star rating but unfortunately, not a book that was my cup of tea. Still, it was worth the read.
This book was grotesque at its best. The affairs the main character has at such a young age (with older men), the self - harm she occasionally partakes in with her pen knife, the porn photographs and drawings, the killing of many different marine specimens and alot more. It was very, very uncomfortable to read. I, obviously, loved the writing and that's what made me kept reading the book to the end. I loved the changing of time and point of view. Definitely a solid three star rating but unfortunately, not a book that was my cup of tea. Still, it was worth the read.
February 13, 2017
Welllll, I was pretty excited that it was about the Monterey area including the aquarium. Half-way into the book I was concerned that the story would taint my love and nostalgia for the area. Upon some excellent advice (well just don't let it taint anything for you), I finished it. I never connected much with any of the characters, the story seemed a bit disjointed and flat. Vague descriptions of the area were disappointing.............the one upside - now I'm interested in reading more about Ed Ricketts!!
May 24, 2016
When I read the description about this book I was very excited. I've been to Monterey, I've seen the aquarium and Cannery Row. I was all excited about the history of the place because it is beautiful there. However, apparently I had set my hopes in a different direction than where the author was wanting to take me.
The book was well written. However, I just had problems with the main character. She was the narrator and lacked any personality at all. And as I am not a oceanographer or whatever they call them, I really didn't get into half of the creatures that they went on and on about. So that kind of took a lot of fun from the book away for me. I especially did not like the closeness of Margot and Mr. Ricketts. I don't care what era it was.
Aside from those issues, the book was okay. I think that someone who is more into marine life rather than just Monterey would enjoy it a lot more.
I received an ARC from Shelf Awareness by participating in one of their giveaways and this is my honest review.
The book was well written. However, I just had problems with the main character. She was the narrator and lacked any personality at all. And as I am not a oceanographer or whatever they call them, I really didn't get into half of the creatures that they went on and on about. So that kind of took a lot of fun from the book away for me. I especially did not like the closeness of Margot and Mr. Ricketts. I don't care what era it was.
Aside from those issues, the book was okay. I think that someone who is more into marine life rather than just Monterey would enjoy it a lot more.
I received an ARC from Shelf Awareness by participating in one of their giveaways and this is my honest review.
May 20, 2016
Margot has traveled around the world with her eccentric father and now they have landed in Monterey Bay California where her father is investing in a cannery. It is the 1940's and the heyday of Cannery Row and this is where she meets Ed Ricketts, a biologist who will capture her heart and his band of supporters none more than the outspoken and disapproving John Steinbeck. Margot has an affair with Ricketts that creates a wedge between Margot and her dad but frees the rebel spirit in Margot. Margot works for Ricketts as a specimen artist and soon begins to love the bay and its inhabitants as much as he does and will work to see something lasting built in the form of the aquarium. As sure as the tides changing she will fight to win the love and respect of these two men all the while trying to matter in the rough and tumble world of Cannery Row. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.
Read
November 5, 2019Having grown up on the Monterey Peninsula, I was immediately intrigued when I ran across this book. What I found was a book that hit all the right notes for me. It seems that Hatton and I were haunted by some of the same ghosts growing up in that area; she perfectly captured the feeling of the land and ocean and city as I knew them when I was young. "Haunted" turns out to be a good description of the story, as it is in many ways about how the events of our past stay with us throughout our lives, and the desire to be redeemed. The book is by turns lyrically beautiful and urgently energetic, and at times sharply funny. I'm happy to give it my highest recommendation.
June 30, 2017
Nope. Don't bother.
It's a terrible 'history' of Monterey Bay and the aquarium. Doc feels like a completely different character from Cannery Row. The writing style is awful, full of unnecessary metaphors that make it take forever to get to the point. A simple early example: instead of slipping in to unconsciousness or slipping off after a head wound, Margo 'lets the universe knock her down'. Now imagine terrible lines like that for an entire book. I get that Hatton wanted to challenge Steinbeck's portrayal of women, but the writing style and having Doc appear completely different really drags the book down.
It's a terrible 'history' of Monterey Bay and the aquarium. Doc feels like a completely different character from Cannery Row. The writing style is awful, full of unnecessary metaphors that make it take forever to get to the point. A simple early example: instead of slipping in to unconsciousness or slipping off after a head wound, Margo 'lets the universe knock her down'. Now imagine terrible lines like that for an entire book. I get that Hatton wanted to challenge Steinbeck's portrayal of women, but the writing style and having Doc appear completely different really drags the book down.
September 11, 2016
I was looking forward to more details about how the Aquarium came into existence. This is a book where there are very few characters that are likable. One gets a good sense of Monterey when the canneries and fisheries worked together but not too much about when the aquarium launched. The main character is left to her own devices as a teenager and runs into some serious trouble. She was the only character that was described in detail in the book. I wanted more character development and more historical details.
October 4, 2016
I've spent a lot of time studying Steinbeck, and his friendship with Doc Ricketts always fascinated me. This book brought that relationship, atmosphere and history to life. I thoroughly enjoyed the novel. It is poetic, creative and a little rough - which captures Steinbeck's Cannery Row well. It takes many liberties with the characters but overall is a solid depiction of the time and place and kept me enthralled throughout.
August 14, 2016
I really had a hard time identifying with the characters of this book and their motivations. It all seemed rather pointless and sad in a way that is both dry and unimportant to you. Other than the eventual creation of the Monterey Bay Aquarium-which we all know happens- at the end of the book, the read was rather unsatisfying and melodramatic.
March 16, 2016
I got my hands on an arc, but am not officially reviewing it. I really enjoyed it and will review if I get an official arc or when it comes out.
July 4, 2017
an imagined time and place spent with steinbeck and doc and the gang down on the water in old factory town , the young protaganist is a young woman taking her first steps of independence and sexual freedom and power. she trips
May 25, 2018
This is a book for all of us that advocate for the Sanctuary of our Monterey Bay. Its is a wealth of historical information that is interesting and fun about the Monterey Bay Aquarium creation and how we practice conservation on our Monterey Bay.
May 25, 2019
I did not enjoy this book. I the characters were one dimensional in my opinion, i did not like one single character in this book margot is a poiled brat seducing grown men at 15 years old, Rickett knows she a child and still sleeps with her and her father knows and does nothing. I wasnt even sure what part Wormy played in the story until nearly the end. I had a hard time following the 1990's story line. Way too many metaphores which made the story drag on. I didnt know these characters well enough to care what was happening to them, character development was weak i thought. The writer could write a knowledgable factual essay on sea creatures and do very well, but this was a struggle to read. I saw several places where this story could have gone in a differrent direction and been a great read, lots of missed opportunities to hook me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 24, 2016
Interesting book. Being born & raised near there. & spending a lot of time there I was expecting a nostalgic story that would be comfortable to read. Instead it was a lyrical poetic intense story, beautifully written. Wasn't really about Monterey, Ricketts or the Aquarium. They were a nice background but it was more about Margot's thoughts, feelings, and place in her unusual world.
November 17, 2017
I really loved how the author wove the fictional/real life characters together. I loved the setting, Monterey is one of my all time favorite places. I enjoyed the imagined beginning of the Monterey Bay Aquarium with its creative roots with Ricketts/Steinbeck. I knew a little about Ed Ricketts and this just make me want to know more and to re-read Steinbeck.
July 10, 2017
What a gorgeous specimen of a novel! Seriously, the haunting writing and uneasy imagery pulled me in from the first pages, and my concern for Margot (so intelligent, so muddled, so deeply in trouble?) kept me flipping to discover where she'd land.
April 7, 2018
Enjoyable read
April 12, 2020
I don't often go into books blindly, but I am very glad I did with this one, as I seem to differ from a lot of other readers. I quite enjoyed this book, esp for the feelings it gave me.
I lived in Monterey for almost 2 years while my husband attended DLI, so while I'm not extremely familiar with the Bay, especially not it's history, it holds a special, often romanticized place in my heart. I think that in part led to the feeling that this book gave me. I read it over 2 days wondering why I was so enraptured by it, it wasn't action packed, some parts (ok every chapter taking place in 1998) were convoluted, and it was just very melancholy.
My one gripe, which I think is a common one considering it was addressed in the Q&A at the end, is the age of our protagonist, Margot. The author may claim she was 15, but she did not write a 15 year old girl. Not even a 15 year old girl who was raised by a wealthy single father, traveling the world in the 1930s. I just couldn't stop picturing her as 19, so I'm just going to stick with that. And I don't feel that way to make her relationship with Ed Rickett more appropriate , she was extremely naive in her interactions with Rickett. But it's her interactions, esp on the business front, with her father that have me arguing her age.
I also could have done without the 1998 chapters. They did nothing to build or wrap up the story. I hate the trend in historical fiction that necessitates some modern portion of the story, esp in this case there was no mystery trying to be resolved. And the 1940 events were resolved with a time jump to 1948.
I lived in Monterey for almost 2 years while my husband attended DLI, so while I'm not extremely familiar with the Bay, especially not it's history, it holds a special, often romanticized place in my heart. I think that in part led to the feeling that this book gave me. I read it over 2 days wondering why I was so enraptured by it, it wasn't action packed, some parts (ok every chapter taking place in 1998) were convoluted, and it was just very melancholy.
My one gripe, which I think is a common one considering it was addressed in the Q&A at the end, is the age of our protagonist, Margot. The author may claim she was 15, but she did not write a 15 year old girl. Not even a 15 year old girl who was raised by a wealthy single father, traveling the world in the 1930s. I just couldn't stop picturing her as 19, so I'm just going to stick with that. And I don't feel that way to make her relationship with Ed Rickett more appropriate , she was extremely naive in her interactions with Rickett. But it's her interactions, esp on the business front, with her father that have me arguing her age.
I also could have done without the 1998 chapters. They did nothing to build or wrap up the story. I hate the trend in historical fiction that necessitates some modern portion of the story, esp in this case there was no mystery trying to be resolved. And the 1940 events were resolved with a time jump to 1948.
July 12, 2018
I bought this book in Monterey as a gift for my mom on our annual family vacation. She read it that week and gave it back so I could read it. Two years later, I finally read it on this year's Monterey vacation.
I rarely read a book twice because there are so many great books to read. But this book... Hatton's subtle prose is so rich and nuanced I imagined going immediately back to page one after reading the last word.
Almost two decades of vacationing in this one place and Hatton tied together all the loose ends, the past and present, locations and landmarks, and characters real and created.
I held off on starting over immediately--the anticipation of a good read builds enjoyment, after all--and decided to save it for next year's trip. I'll also read Cannery Row (have I read it? If so, it's been too long), and I expect the two books and the location will all have something to say to one another and to me.
I rarely read a book twice because there are so many great books to read. But this book... Hatton's subtle prose is so rich and nuanced I imagined going immediately back to page one after reading the last word.
Almost two decades of vacationing in this one place and Hatton tied together all the loose ends, the past and present, locations and landmarks, and characters real and created.
I held off on starting over immediately--the anticipation of a good read builds enjoyment, after all--and decided to save it for next year's trip. I'll also read Cannery Row (have I read it? If so, it's been too long), and I expect the two books and the location will all have something to say to one another and to me.
July 2, 2018
Lindsay calls this story a "creation myth" as it is a fictional account of the creation of the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It is also a story of thwarted love that unfolds across the decades. The story is told from the point of view of the main character, Margot and alternates in time from the 1940's when Margot, a teenager, first comes to Monterey, and the 1990's when Margot is an older woman and the Aquarium is completed. The story not only revolves around Margot & her father but includes non-fictional characters, Eddie "Doc" Ricketts and John Steinbeck, as well as characters from Steinbeck's novel "Cannery Row". I very much enjoyed the way Lindsay melded all these elements together, with wonderful poetic imagery and sensuous precise descriptions of marine life. It carried me back to that section of coastal California that I love so much,
Displaying 1 - 30 of 166 reviews