When Captain Flint Was Still a Good Man - Softcover

Dybek, Nick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1472106571 ISBN 13: 9781472106575

Publisher: Corsair, 2013

Synopsis

Cal lives with his parents on Loyalty Island. Each winter, Cal's father - a captain of the island's trawling fleet - sets sail for Alaska; and though Cal is still too young to join them, he is old enough to know that everything depends on the fate of those few boats, thousands of miles north.

When the fleet's owner dies, not only is the town's livelihood threatened, but so too is Cal's family. With winter fast approaching, and the fleet on the brink of extinction, Cal starts to suspect that his parents both have secrets to hide. Plagued by doubt, his loyalties strained and his moral compass thrown wildly off course, Cal is forced to make a brave and terrible choice.

About this title

About the Author

Nick Dybek's first novel, WHEN CAPTAIN FLINT WAS STILL A GOOD MAN, was the winner of the 2013 Society of Midland Authors Award, a finalist for the VCU-Cabell First Novelist Award and his been translated into five languages. He's also a recipient of a Granta New Voices selection, a Michener-Copernicus Society of America Award and a Maytag Fellowship. He received a BA from the University of Michigan and an MFA from The Iowa Writers' Workshop. He teaches at Oregon State University.

From the Back Cover

'An authentic, atmospheric coming-of-age story with a painful dilemma. A terrific debut.' C. J. Box


The fishing community of Loyalty Island depends on the Gaunt family's fleet for survival. Each winter since he can remember, fourteen-year-old Cal has waved goodbye to his father. A ship's captain, he sets sail for Alaska to trawl for king crab, leaving Cal and his mother behind to await his return from the wilderness thousands of miles north.


But with winter fast approaching, danger creeps closer to home. The owner of the fleet dies, leaving the family business to his son - who seems intent on selling up. With the fishermen's livelihood under threat, an unwitting discovery leads Cal to suspect his parents harbour damaging secrets - how far would his father go to save the fleet from extinction? And what was the true nature of his mother's relationship with Mr Gaunt? His loyalties strained to breaking point, Cal is faced with a devastating moral dilemma - and a terrible choice . . .


When Captain Flint Was Still a Good Man hauntingly charts the troubled waters of a community at risk, a family in turmoil, and a young boy becoming a man.


'Dybek brings serious talent to bear.' New York Times


'Finely crafted . . . a taut novel juggling the sometimes conflicting impulses to do the moral thing, and to protect those we love.' Los Angeles Times


£8.99


[ISBN barcode: 978-1-4721-0657-5]



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Edition details

• Publisher: Corsair
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1472106571
• ISBN 13: 9781472106575
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320