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sglatario's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
3.5
I loved reading about life on an oyster farm and all the hard work that goes into growing them. My one complaint is that the voice of the author became very annoying at times. She gave pick me energy, needing outside validation and clearly extremely out of touch with the labor behind our daily food. Enjoyed the book but not her unfortunately
becky_k's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
3.0
idreamoflibraries's review
5.0
Is this the best book I’ve read this year?? I rarely read nonfiction and often don’t finish nonfiction when I do start. Shucked held none of the qualities I fear in the genre: it’s characters had character and did not become lost in a sea of undeveloped names; the timeline moved at the perfect pace, stopping to describe experiences and illustrate scenes without belaboring every detail; and the writing was clean and friendly to the average reader. I loved the way Erin describes her culinary adventures, the beauty and pain of working outdoors, and her honesty in each experience. I’m sad to be at the end of this one!
mkmatheson's review
2.0
If you’re a seafood fan, this is a good read. Murray’s fish out of water (or “oyster-out-of-bay”) memoir about her year working at a Duxbury oyster farm is a unique premise, though it struggles in its execution. The details of day to day operations are where this book thrives, however the disadvantage of this is that Murray’s writing can feel a tad self-congratulatory… like “look at what a survivor I am for leaving my comfy job to do hard labor for a year!” Overall, I like this book but feel it would’ve been stronger if Murray hadn’t made herself the main character.
dkremraf's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
3.0
I love oysters and know a lot about them, so was interested in reading about an “on farm” experience. I thought the book was okay but grew frustrated with the narrator.
madipf's review
3.0
Loved the topic, disliked how the narrator dismissed many of the growers/farmers knowledge and education
jess_mango's review
4.0
This falls somewhere around the 4 to 4.5 star range for me. I love oysters and have eaten plenty of Island Creek Oysters in the past few years. It was fascinating to read the author's account of giving up her everyday life in Boston as a food & lifestyle writer for DailyCandy to work for a year at Island Creek Oysters in Duxbury.
rebekahvldz's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
This book had so much potential. I was fascinated by the sea-to-table lens this book promised about oyster farming and a look at making a living with your hands. It kept my attention until about halfway there, when I got really frustrated with the author's writing style and poor decision making. Hearing about every physical touch these twenty-something guys gave her or how attractive her boss was when her marriage was detoriating was really off-putting. For one thing, I'm not sure why so much of this book was spent devolving Murray's crumbling marriage or deciding if she wanted kids or not. It's one thing to write about a close-knit community in an endearing manner and another to openly share your jealousy and defensiveness when other women join the crew. While informative, I came at this book with absolutely no knowledge of oyster farming and still don't really know what a grower is, how oysters grow their shells or a the ins-and-outs of the farm-to-table industry. I would have been interested to read some history of the bay and more in-depth analysis of this work. It almost felt like she didn't even try to explain oyster farming terminology or methods if you didn't already know. I'm also not sure what qualifies a food writer to assist with marketing, direct a food festival and act as a liaison from the farm to the restaraunt. Finally, my biggest disappointment was s
qkjgrubb's review against another edition
3.0
Makes me want to try oysters
I picked this book randomly and because I do like nonfiction about experiences I know nothing about. I think I prefer my nonfiction to read more like a story than just an account like this. And at times, I felt like the name-dropping & publicity was a little heavy handed. I'm glad I read it and I certainly learned more about oysters.
I picked this book randomly and because I do like nonfiction about experiences I know nothing about. I think I prefer my nonfiction to read more like a story than just an account like this. And at times, I felt like the name-dropping & publicity was a little heavy handed. I'm glad I read it and I certainly learned more about oysters.