The haunting story of Jamie Eugley, a young lobsterman struggling with the grinding responsibilities of a head-injured fiancé and mounting trap wars, The Ghost Trap is a modern tale with an old-fashioned hero who puts family and heritage before self. In the end it’s not just about lobstering, but about one man’s sorrow for not appreciating the love he had, however damages. Written with sensitivity and rich description, this is a piercingly accurate depiction of life in a small Maine lobstering community.
“In her impressive debut novel, Stephens offers a rugged and tender tale. Jamie Eugley, a ninth-generation lobsterman in the port village of Owls Head, has cared for his brain-injured girlfriend, Anja, for three long years…Jamie suffers deep guilt over her near-drowning accident while aboard his lobster boat and her subsequent debilitating coma. … Meanwhile, he deals with a dangerous and violent trap war among the lobstermen... The bawdy humor, snappy dialogue, colorful local sea myths and rich lobstering details add to the immense appeal of this textured narrative about a superstitious but independent lobsterman's inward and outward struggles.”
—Publishers Weekly
"Sorrowful tale set against backdrop of Maine lobstering community.
Compelling...Stephens’ characters are well drawn and the dialogue is sharp and often humorous. But ultimately the story is about Eugley, an old-fashioned hero who puts family and heritage before self."
—National Fisherman
"...A ghost trap, unseen, becomes lost and then forgotten. That image is a central motif in th enew novel of that name by Midcoast writer K. Stephens. Her knowledge of the area where the story takes place is evident. But Stephens' acumen is also demonstrated in other details, like describing a character's cognitive disabilities and, most outstandingly, with her superb limning of lobstering. Without sounding pedantic, exploitative, or condescending, she offers the reader a lot to think about, and provides a lot of information in an unobtrusive way. ... With the events of this past summer -- a lobsterman shot and seriously injured..., three lobster boats maliciously sunk -- Stephens' story is a timely one, offering insight into what's been described as an invisible war, part of the subculture of lobstering. In The Ghost Trap, it's a world that feels pretty bleak, full of hard choices and life's hard knocks. Stephens doesn't offer us any moralistic lessons from superhuman superheroes here. It seems her story is really about people who become ghost traps; how a person could feel cast off, disconnected, useless, forgotten. She offers a number of characters who might be understood as experiencing that kind of limbo. Could some of them be restored to a meaningful life, rehabilitated, given a second chance?"
—The Working Waterfront
"Stephens has a wonderful clear eye for people, especially Maine people, and she populates "The Ghost Trap" with dozens from all walks of Maine life, especially life on the water. The question here is "Where did those buoys come from?" The answer is gradual, clue by clue, and so surprising that I was yelling at my copy of the book, trying to warn the characters, who had become my friends. Buy this one for your Maine vacation, and stay away from my lobster traps!"
—Bill Roorbach, author of Temple Stream, Big Bend and Writing Life Stories
"Stephens nails harbor life down to the unwritten rules and defense of imaginary territory lines. As a lobsterman, I found myself pulled in by characters who remind me of people I live and work with every day. Peppered with dark humor and brutal honesty, The Ghost Trap gives it to you straight, the way life should be."
— Ryan Post, 4th generation Maine lobsterman, creator of Mainebuggin.com
"If it's a salty, tangy read you're looking for, Stephens plunges you into the back-breaking, heart-breaking life of one young lobsterman. You can almost taste the blood, sweat and tomalley."
—Richard Grant, author, Tex and Molly In The Afterlife, In The Land of Winter, Kaspian Lost and Another Green World
“In The Ghost Trap, K. Stephens creates characters and a setting that reflect a real, raw piece of Maine. With Anja and Jamie, she introduces us to characters whose stories and situations are heartbreaking. This book reminds us that as complicated as lobster fishing might be, human relationships are always more fraught with difficulty.”
—Deirdre Fulton, staff writer, Portland Phoenix
K. Stephens is a Maine arts and entertainment writer who has written about schooners, food and wine, teenagers, and the creative economy. Most lobstermen she knows are only too happy to share a
crazy story after a beer or three.
CATEGORY: Fiction
PAGES: 328
TRIM: 6 x 9
ISBN: 978-0-9815148-7-1
PRICE: $15.95 / Paperback Original
Pub Date: September 2009
Back to Fiction Titles
|
