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eric_roling's review against another edition
5.0
This was a delightful surprise. An engrossing tale about a lobster fishing family on the fictional Loosewood Island, located between Maine and St. Johns. The Kings family has been leading the lobster fishing tradition on Loosewood Island and trace their heritage back to an ancestor who painted a number of famous and prophetic paintings of the island. The father feels the weight of the crown as struggles over fishing rights and drugs rise up. But the center of the story is his daughter Cordelia Kings, who runs her own boat and as a woman must struggle to earn the respect of the island as the next Kings. I found her to be strong, independent, but still vulnerable and realistic. There was a lot to enjoy and digest in this story.
nomadreader's review
4.0
(originally published at http://nomadreader.blogspot.com)
The basics: The Lobster Kings is the story of the Kings family, who have lived and fished off of Loosewood Island, Maine for generations, beginning with Brumfitt King, a famous artist. The current generation of Kings, and the focus of most of the novel, are patriarch Woody and his three daughters, but mostly Cordelia, who loves the sea as much as her father.
My thoughts: There's an ethereal quality to the writing and setting of this novel that captured me from the novel's first pages. Zentner's writing has a calm fluidity that perfectly matches the maritime setting and the novel's pace. Big moments happen in short, unassuming sentences, which I quite enjoyed, but it sets a specific tone for this novel.
Despite the presence of many tragic and depressing events, the novel itself isn't marred by those emotions. Zentner's writing matches the demeanor of the Kings: there's an acceptance of how life is, which might be tragic by many standards, but is the norm for generations of Kings.
The verdict: The Lobster Kings is a gripping and absorbing family saga. The characters haunted me as I read, and they made this novel impossible for me to put down. As I read, I felt like I was living with the Kings on Loosewood Island, and this novel showcases Zentner's gift for writing about places with a strong setting.
The basics: The Lobster Kings is the story of the Kings family, who have lived and fished off of Loosewood Island, Maine for generations, beginning with Brumfitt King, a famous artist. The current generation of Kings, and the focus of most of the novel, are patriarch Woody and his three daughters, but mostly Cordelia, who loves the sea as much as her father.
My thoughts: There's an ethereal quality to the writing and setting of this novel that captured me from the novel's first pages. Zentner's writing has a calm fluidity that perfectly matches the maritime setting and the novel's pace. Big moments happen in short, unassuming sentences, which I quite enjoyed, but it sets a specific tone for this novel.
Despite the presence of many tragic and depressing events, the novel itself isn't marred by those emotions. Zentner's writing matches the demeanor of the Kings: there's an acceptance of how life is, which might be tragic by many standards, but is the norm for generations of Kings.
The verdict: The Lobster Kings is a gripping and absorbing family saga. The characters haunted me as I read, and they made this novel impossible for me to put down. As I read, I felt like I was living with the Kings on Loosewood Island, and this novel showcases Zentner's gift for writing about places with a strong setting.
melwyk's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty good read: lots of issues to discuss in a later review. (see full review here)
There were many things I didn't like about it though, the jumble of magical realism with an attempt at tough manly elements -- I just feel I've read books like this before that were done much better. If this was not published as "literary" it would fall in with all the many, many similar gothic suspense tales I've read by women which are not sold as "literary" even though they deliver the tropes of this kind of book better.
There were many things I didn't like about it though, the jumble of magical realism with an attempt at tough manly elements -- I just feel I've read books like this before that were done much better. If this was not published as "literary" it would fall in with all the many, many similar gothic suspense tales I've read by women which are not sold as "literary" even though they deliver the tropes of this kind of book better.
zoemig's review against another edition
The Lobster Kings is the second novel by Alexi Zentner, whose debut was nominated for the Governor General’s Literary Award. It is set on the fictional Loosewood Island, a sort of no-man’s-land on the east coast border of the US and Canada, where for 300 years the Kings family has lived, both blessed and cursed by the ocean. Cordelia is the oldest child, and she is set to inherit it all, but along the way there are meth dealers, sibling rivalry, and her own heart to combat.
Zentner's writing is powerful and evocative as he brings a mythic struggle to life in The Lobster Kings. It was really interesting to be immersed in the lives of fishermen, and the female perspective was a unique twist. There is a touch of the surreal in the book, and I really preferred the aspects of the story that centre on the family, rather than the meth dealing. Ultimately, The Lobster Kings was a riveting story filled with powerful characters, with the most powerful being the ocean itself.
Zentner's writing is powerful and evocative as he brings a mythic struggle to life in The Lobster Kings. It was really interesting to be immersed in the lives of fishermen, and the female perspective was a unique twist. There is a touch of the surreal in the book, and I really preferred the aspects of the story that centre on the family, rather than the meth dealing. Ultimately, The Lobster Kings was a riveting story filled with powerful characters, with the most powerful being the ocean itself.
exurbanis's review against another edition
4.0
From Amazon: “The Kings family has lived on Loosewood Island, Nova Scotia for three hundred years, blessed with the bounty of the sea. But for the Kings, this blessing comes with a curse: the loss of every first-born son. Now, Woody Kings, the leader of the island’s lobster fishing community and the family patriarch, teeters on the throne, and Cordelia, the oldest of Woody’s three daughters, stands to inherit the crown. To do so, however, she must defend her island against meth dealers from the mainland, while navigating sibling rivalry and the vulnerable nature of her own heart when she falls in love with her sternman. Inspired by Shakespeare’s King Lear, The Lobster Kings is the story of Cordelia’s struggle to maintain her island’s way of life in the face of danger from offshore, and the rich, looming, mythical legacy of her family’s namesake.”
This was excellent Atlantic Canadian literary fiction until it gave way into thriller mode at its climax.
4 stars
This was excellent Atlantic Canadian literary fiction until it gave way into thriller mode at its climax.
4 stars
patsaintsfan's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved this book! It possessed everything I love in a novel: great writing, family and friends, personal character flaws and growth... And I would be remiss if I didn't mention how much I loved the author's skill in describing the environment. Beautiful and lyrical. A Superb atmospheric experience. Plus, the book had a mythical component (which I really don't seek out in stories) that I found fascinating. I must track down another book by Mr. Zentner soon. I will miss these characters, and will think of this book often!
rainbowbookworm's review against another edition
3.0
Retelling of King Lear set in an island off the coast of Maine. It features an artist who was among the first to live in Loosewood Island and his descendants down the Kings line. The artist's wife came to him from the sea, and his family carried a curse that features prominently in the beginning of the book. This family saga packs quite a punch and offers a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of lobster men and women.
theartolater's review
3.0
Closer to a 3.5.
I enjoyed this author's more recent work under a pen name enough, I suppose, but hearing he did a more serious book, I opted to check it out. It's basically a multigenerational Maine lobster town story under the spectre of the current meth/opoid epidemic, and that's all well and good even though the full result is a book that i just kind of there. Even the familiarity of the setting in many ways didn't do enough to really push the story anywhere that I was super excited to go.
Not saying to avoid this, but it's just good, and not great.
I enjoyed this author's more recent work under a pen name enough, I suppose, but hearing he did a more serious book, I opted to check it out. It's basically a multigenerational Maine lobster town story under the spectre of the current meth/opoid epidemic, and that's all well and good even though the full result is a book that i just kind of there. Even the familiarity of the setting in many ways didn't do enough to really push the story anywhere that I was super excited to go.
Not saying to avoid this, but it's just good, and not great.
aseleener's review against another edition
2.0
(Audio) This was just ok for me. The plot was pretty blah, in my opinion. People fighting over lobsters? Zzzzzzzzzz The characters were interesting enough; the story just never grabbed me like it should have.