After reading Linda Greenlaw's book on deep sea commercial fishing, The Hungry Ocean, I was eager to go on and read her other books on the art of fishing.

This time, Linda has returned home to her family on a small island off the coast of Maine. Isle au Haut isn't very big, and every family who lives there depends on lobster fishing for survival. It also works out that nearly everyone on the island is related to her some way or another. Sinking her life savings into a small boat, the Mattie Belle, which looks like a toy compared to the massive Hannah Boden that she used to captain, Greenlaw's life has become a bit smaller in scope, but not her ambitions. She's come home to be with her family, and possibly meet someone and build a home of her own.

It's a risky trade, going after lobsters. This now delicacy that commands very high prices used to be the food of the poor -- so much so that to feed lobster to prisoners was considered to be cruel and unusual punishment. Then someone started to figure out that lobster with melted butter was the way to go, and quickly the fishermen of Maine found that they had a treasure on their hands. But now, the same fate that is visiting the deep sea fishing grounds is haunting the coasts of Maine -- overfishing and invasion by factory ships that don't give a hoot about crowded waters or sinking their traps into waters that have been traditionally set aside for the local fishermen.

And the year that Greenlaw is writing about is looking to be a bleak one. Chronicling a year -- her fifth -- on the island the narrative starts out bleakly. The lobsters aren't just around. Hauling up empty lobster pot after empty pot -- known as changing the water -- is turning her dream into a sour reality. Never mind the pair of local 'handymen' who drop a tree on her storage barn, an oncoming feud and possible 'gear war' coming on the horizon, raucous newcomers, and the tourists from the mainland, Greenlaw knows that if the lobster don't start leaping into her pots, she may loose everything she has worked so hard for.

But at one point, her luck does turn, and suddenly, there is news on the home front that makes Greenlaw change her entire view of life on the Island...

No, this book is not a retread of The Hungry Ocean. The pace is far slower, the stories sadder, and much more closer to the heart. The story of five people in a small skiff that got caught in an accident is heartbreaking to read. So are the events that show that the island is slowly dwindling -- going from a population of several thousand in its heyday to now just forty two people. But there is humor as well, little touches of friendly feuds between family members and island eccentrics, that make reading this one worth it.

One thing besides being a good fisherman, is that Greenlaw can tell a story that is both belivable and entertaining. She has a particularly strong voice, one without prentensions and very honest that is very refreshing in a time where every other autobiography seems to reek of what I think of as the "Dig Me!" syndrome. Greenlaw is just one of us regular folks, struggling to make ends meet, coping with family disasters, and the day to day hassles of keeping your head above water. For that point alone, I'm glad to have read this book.

This short book -- it's only about 240 pages long -- provides an evening's entertainment, and is both thought provoking and informative about the art of fishing. Each chapter is short and there is a map of Isle au Haut in the back of the book, which helps to give a bit of scope to the story. While it does not rate in scope to her earlier work, it's not an awful book either, and if your taste runs to Maine, New England, fishing or ordinary life, this is worth a look. While I would not give it four stars, it certainly gets a solid three and a half, so I am going to round it up.

The Lobster Chronicles: Life on a Very Small Island
Linda Greenlaw
2002; Hyperion Books
ISBN 0-7868-6677-2

Recommended: Yes