BLUES

by John Hersey ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 18, 1987

A paean to one of the sea's more splendid animals, the bluefish, and to the seas themselves, with gobbets of ichthyology, marine biology, oceanography, seamanship and fishing lore chummed richly throughout. An over two-decades summer resident of Massachusett's Vineyard Haven, Hersey is an avid fan, and also hunter, of the bluefish whose savagery and fighting valor have won it renown among salt-water fisherfolk. He casts his observations on blues, the sea, etc. in the form of a Socratic dialogue: he's the sage fisherman and old salt; his companion, ""the stranger,"" a neophyte angler who knows what questions to ask. As they spend a summer together fishing for blues and encountering other species, discovering the sea's hidden mysteries, Hersey expounds on how to fish, why men fish (including innermost sexual instincts), the evolutionary oddities still unknown in the depths, and, most disturbingly--if a little on the preachy side--man's depredations oceans. ""I warn you."" Hersey tells his companion early on, ""you may develop an ache in your chest, a symptom of mourning over what mankind is doing to the deeps. . .We are killing the seas."" Appended to each chapter, which encompasses one fishing expedition and one of Hersey's topics, are recipes for preparing bluefish (all sound delicious but are sure to give cardiologists pause) and poems from such as Robert Penn Warren, Robert Lowell, James Merrill, Elizabeth Bishop, John Ciardi, and Richard Wilbur. A personal epiphany, to be sure, but also a fervent plea of great eloquence and conviction. Moving and very persuasive.

Pub Date: May 18, 1987

ISBN: 0394757025

Page Count: -

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1987

Categories: NONFICTION