My Book Reviews

Bright Waters, Shining Tides author and artwork by Kib Bramhall.  I picked up a copy of this book signed by the author on a recent trip to Martha's Vineyard. The book is a compilation of the Author's essays/short stories and artwork, which made for an easy but entertaining read. The book gives the reader a glimpse into the life of most serious fishermen, the people they meet, the fish they catch, and what I enjoy most about this book is how the author is defined by those different environments and the people he meets in his career of fishing. The author, like most fishermen, shares a simple truth in his dedication, "To Tess; for her loving patience with my compulsions and her encouragement to put this volume together." I would recommend this book to anyone whether they fish or not, because it illustrates the self and the difficult decisions we make along the course of our lives. Bramhall describes how he first fell in love with the sport of fishing, as a young man catching his first striped bass, "To this day I can still feel the awe and excitement and, yes, fright of the take. It was a striper, not very large, but incredibly beautiful and vastly important because it was the first." As a reader and fisherman, it is easy to connect to this feeling, reaching out into the unknown and connecting to something tangible, and in the moment of the strike from the fish, we connect to that power, feel our feet planted on the ground, in the sand, feel the air around us, and hear the waves crashing. Bramhall also wrote for Salt Water Sportsman magazine, which some of his essays are derived from and edited to fit the subtitle of this book. George Poveromo, a current SWS author and professional Angler, said, "If you can write for Salt Water Sportsman, you can write for any publication in the world." My favorite essay from this book is titled, "The Derby," which is in reference to the month long Derby held on Martha's Vineyard each September through October. In this essay Bramhall describes how the competition makes a fisherman step away from their comfort zone. "And that competitive urge has been responsible for memorable catches that I would not have made otherwise." Continuing, "So I dislike the Derby because it makes me push myself beyond the level of pure contemplative enjoyment that I otherwise take from fishing." ... "Yet I love the Derby because of its history and traditions, because of all the wonderful fishermen I have met and, yes, because of the competition. It makes me fish harder and better in spite of myself." I like this because as with any hobby most of the time we can take it or leave it, if something makes us feel like we are finished due to hunger or being tired, we can stop and fix that feeling, but the competitive drive of the Derby will push one beyond those feelings, and forces us to move forward despite our feelings or limitations.

THE BIG ONE, a non-fiction book that chronicles the Martha’s Vineyard Fishing Derby from start to end by Pulitzer Prize winning author David Kinney.  My fiancé Laura bought me an autographed copy of this book during our trip to the Vineyard last year, and I must say it was a great gift.  This book is an excellent first hand account of the derby and its contestants, whether they are eccentric, odd, jokers, or blue-collar family men and women.  The books dives into the rich history and allure of the island, and provides a glimpse into the lives of the islands inhabitants from their kitchen table to drinking beers alongside the best anglers in their boats.  The book’s chapters switch between the different contestants that David set up interviews and fishing trips with, some of which were difficult for him to track down.  This format initially can be difficult to follow if the reader was assuming that it was one continuous story.  

If you have visited the island which I highly recommend, some of the names you see in the book, such as Cooper Gilkes or places as simple as the Texaco station in Menemsha are immediately recognizable, adding to the overall pleasure in reading this book.  As for those not interested in fishing, the book provides enough laughs and real-life situations to gain your attention. 

  Chapter One, titled “838 Hours” which is the number of hours in the Derby opens with, “Grown men have cried over the derby. They have ignored their wives for week after week, sleepwalked through work day after day, stayed up all night long, skipped out on their jobs altogether, drawn unemployment, burned through every last day of their vacation time, downed NoDoz and Red Bull and God knows what else.  The have spied on rivals and lied to their friends... People have died fishing the derby”  This is serious stuff for sure, and as the author states, to hang around the island in the fall after the summer buzz crowds have left is to see the island as those who live there see it.  As Janet Messineo an island taxidermist states in the book, “It’s the only time that you can walk through town and you’re covered in squid gook and you smell bad and you look awful, and everybody’s smiling at you, ‘Oh how you doing? How’s the derby?’ The whole community rallies behind the derby fishermen.” 

  Aside from the derby, this book does justice to the people who live on the island.  Their struggle is to maintain their own identity and a sense of freedom to an island that has continually gained attention from the well-to-do off islanders.  The publicity of the island from past and present Presidents, movie stars, the movie Jaws and other celebrities has garnered attention of those with large bank rolls and has been under “attack” of high priced homes, mansions, and compounds that inevitably transform the island from a place that belongs to those who live there to a place more and more tattered with “No Trespassing” signs and “Unwelcome” door mats.  I am not saying Martha’s Vineyard is a gated community with security guards checking who you are as you drive around in your car as it is almost the opposite as stated in the book as "Reverse Chic".  Any visitor may not notice this sentiment at all on the island.  However, I personally have noticed signs along beaches that say “No Trespassing” only to be encouraged to do so by the people sitting on the beach, saying “If I had my rod with me, I’d fish over there.”

  The best thing about this book is that it makes you root for the people in it.  Their stories are touching and funny and stressful and strange, and as a reader you buy stock in the people of the derby.