Stern Men: A Novel by Elizabeth Gilbert (PDF)

Description

The “wonderful first novel about life, love, and lobster fishing” (USA Today) from the #1 bestselling author of Eat Pray Love, Big Magic and City of GirlsOff the coast of Maine, Ruth Thomas is born into a feud fought for generations by two groups of local lobstermen over fishing rights for the waters that lie between their respective islands. At eighteen, she has returned from boarding school-smart as a whip, feisty, and irredeemably unromantic-determined to throw over her education and join the “stern men”working the lobster boats. Gilbert utterly captures the American spirit through an unforgettable heroine who is destined for greatness-and love-despite herself in this the critically acclaimed debut.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐I recently read and reviewed Elizabeth Gilbert’s “The Signature of All Things,” just finished “Stern Men,” and have “the Last American Man” waiting for me. You could say that Elizabeth Gilbert has smote me.“Stern Men” is her first novel, published in 2000, and is very different from “Signature.” It’s an earthy, profane, and witty study of Maine lobstermen, a total contrast to her intense account of a brilliant woman botanist who is at odds with the normal world. This book is about an equally driven personality who is immersed in a world she wants to change. One can find similarities between the two novels, mainly in the intransigence of the two women.People with profoundly different attitudes who are constantly feuding inhabit two adjacent Maine islands. It’ a strange battle because the living conditions are eerily similar, most everyone is related to each other, and the struggle to make a living catching lobster is the principle way of life. But through the years a difference in the way of viewing and conducting life on each island has formed a rift that is deeply divisive, flaring into violence occasionally.The protagonist, Ruth Thomas, has been deeply disturbed about this conflict since childhood, and, although barely out of her teens, sets out to bring understanding and harmony to the two communities. She marries a handsome young lobsterman from a family across the war channel and together they create a commercial enterprise that both sides of the lobster war are forced to accept, an arrangement that eventually calms the troubled waters.That doesn’t sound like a momentous plot. But Elizabeth Gilbert can turn sour yogurt into ambrosia with her mastery of word and characterization. She does that here by presenting characters that resonate with the reader, accurate accounts of the lobster fishing business, glorious scenic settings, and witty, acidic dialogue.Count me as a Gilbert groupie. You owe it to yourself to read her books. Soon I will have read three of her works in a row. I haven’t done that since my younger days when I devoured the Tarzan series.Schuyler T WallaceAuthor of TIN LIZARD TALES

⭐This book is great. I haven’t finished it yet but I’m loving it!!

⭐I didn’t expect to enjoy this book so much but I did. It was about lobster fisherman on 2 tiny islands in Maine. I learned a lot of interesting things about both lobsters and the men who fish for them for a living. It had as a protagonist/ main character the young Ruth Thomas. I liked how she grew up and into her own role on the tiny island of Fort Niles. I also loved the character development of all the other main characters. Mr Lanford Ellis and Vera Ellis and Mary and Stan Thomas and Angus Adams and “the senator” and Kitty and the pastor and Owney Wishnell were all well developed and interesting characters. Mrs . Rhonda Pommeroy was by far my favorite along with all her sons and her late husband , Ira . I highly recommend this book.

⭐Found this a bit wide-ranging (all over the place) in the beginning but stuck with it & was glad by the end.

⭐Elizabeth Gilbert has written an unusual and readable book. She embellishes a simple tale of feuding Maine islanders with eccentric characters who, improbably but successfully, strive to get along (or not) in their peculiar social system.Ruth, the protagonist in the story, is a blunt-spoken,independent, sometimes foul-mouthed young woman who has no trouble speaking her mind to the various fogies and other adults who all seem to know what is best for her. Her fresh, sarcastic, and witty responses make her come alive to the reader and provide plenty of laughs.The novel does drag at about midpoint and delivers a fast and implausible ending that seems to have been thrown together without any preparation for the reader. Still, this is a refreshing story and a thoroughly enjoyable summer read. And the lobster facts at the beginning of each chapter are interesting as well as tied to the behavior of the book’s characters. This one is worth your time and $$$.

⭐Like many other readers of this book, I first encountered Elizabeth Gilbert’s work in Eat, Pray, Love. I thought she had a good voice and great storytelling ability, so decided to give one of her novels a try. Unfortunately this reads more like a writing workshop draft than a cohesive, engrossing novel.On the remote, “Down East” island of Fort Niles, Ruth Thomas is buffeted by small-town antics and small-minded individuals as if she were a piece of driftwood in the tide. She grows up, opens her mind a bit, and even finds love, but her rapid transformation from purposeless to all-powerful neither is believable nor makes for good reading. By omitting the details that could have made readers believe in Ruth’s growth, Gilbert skipped what could have been the best part of the book.Gilbert is a talented writer, but this book needed another draft or two before being published. The mechanics are there — a potentially interesting story, offbeat side characters, clever turns of phrase, and eye for detail — but the pacing and balance are way off. Gilbert spends way too much time explaining the history of the two islands and their inhabitants — the continued lobster war histories get especially tiresome — and not nearly enough time developing her story. As a result the heroine is bland (and honestly, unlikeable) even though you are clearly meant to root for her. The descriptions of authentic Maine (accents, etc.) do not ring particularly true — and some may find insulting! And after crawling along for most of the book, the plot goes into warp speed in the last couple of chapters, in directions that don’t make sense at all, and the epilogue is downright unbelievable.It may sound harsh to give a decent writer a two-star review, but the way I see it, good novels should be like fine cuisine. In this book, all the ingredients are there, but they are not prepared or presented exceptionally well.I really wanted to like this but ultimately felt completely let down.

⭐I bought this book because I so loved Eat Pray Love, also written by Elizabeth Gilbert. They are, of course, completely different genres, one being an autobiography, and the other being a work of fiction. But I thought Gilbert’s narrative voice in Eat Pray Love was so stunningly beautiful that I hoped it would be the same in Stern Men.I was not disappointed. This is a unique story of two rivalling islands in the battlefield that is lobster fishing. It is about the small communities and the strange personalities born out of the isolation, the hardship, the weather and, of course, the lobster.And in the midst of this is Ruth Thomas, the main character in the shape of an 18 year old girl. She virtually jumps off the page, caustic and cocky at the same time as being vulnerable and lost, which immediately endeared her to me. Her delightfully dirty language and her complete disregard for the norms of island society make her the perfect heroine – someone with gumption and edge and grit.As we follow her through her young adulthood we meet her family and friends. All are characters perfectly drawn with such subtlety and clarity that each is an absolute pleasure to get to know. The stern men of the title are the hardened island residents, like Ruth’s emotionally inadequate father, Stan Thomas, his hot-tempered friend Angus Addams, the lobstering demi-god Babe Wishnell, the out-of-town granite magnate Mr. Ellis, drunk and passionate Ira Pommeroy, creepy Cal Cooley. To complete the picture, all these men are surrounded by women, strong and beautiful in every way their men are not. And all the way through you can follow a red tread of delightfully outrageous inbreeding.We watch as Ruth tries to find herself as an adult, and as she battles against the sinister hold the Ellis family has over her own.This book is hilarious, charming, sweet and touching. It is thorough and slow, in all the good ways.

⭐I read The Signature of Things which I really enjoyed. It’s everything I love in a book; beautiful writing, highly informative (about science and explorers in 1800s) and a very interesting plot line.Sadly Stern Men has none of these attributes. I’ve managed to get through half of it but have just stopped as I just can’t justify wasting my time on trudging through it. It’s a big disappointment to be sure.

⭐Both my husband and I read this book. He really liked it. I was not so gripped. I had read The Signature of All Things which was a real 5 star read. I think If I had read Stern Men first I may not have read another Elizabeth Gilbert book. Yes it’s worth a read I enjoyed the Maine lobster – esquesness (!) but I found I did not really care what happened to the characters, especially the ‘heroine’.

⭐I was disappointed by this – was hoping for a better story, with more depth and less cliche. The setting is great – rugged coastlines, lobstermen and their families with stories to tell and secrets itching to be divulged. I was hopeful but ultimately underwhelmed. I found it very hard to care about Ruth or what she was so adamant about.

⭐great book. arrived promptly. a little damaged on a few pages, however other than that is was in great condition.the book itself is light and funny and all around a great read if you want something playful, intriguing. 😀

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