Seascraper
Wood’s character-driven novel, set in 1960s northwest England, features 20-year-old Thomas Flett, living an isolated existence with his 36-year-old mother, whom he supports. He has been a seascraper since he learned at 13 from his grand-Pop. Year-in, year-out, he rises at dawn, drives horse and cart to Longferry, travels the exact same route across two miles of sand and trawls the shallow water to catch the meagre shrimp stranded in the low-tide ebb. He makes a living but barely and is acutely aware of his future.
One day, he arrives home exhausted and stinking, longing only to drag out the tin bath, to find his mother fawning over a guest. Edgar Acheson introduces himself as a film director, and offers Thomas a hard-to-refuse £100 for his expertise in tidal movement and the treacherous Longferry sands. Politely irritated, Thomas takes Edgar out at low tide, where some wry British humor peeks out.
My interest in this novel comes from my family heritage, which goes back multiple generations in England’s northeast. The first half plays out in incessant rain and fog through which restricted vision we experience a haunting, chilly discomfort. The low tide scene at night explodes with heart-pounding atmosphere.
Scenes juxtaposing Thomas and Edgar captivate as commonalities emerge, and the connections are surprisingly empowering. But is Edgar for real, and does it matter to Thomas? The change in language and mood when the rain stops is dramatic. Wood speaks of Thomas’s yearning for love and acceptance in this poignant, luminous narrative that allows his protagonist to walk into the future of his own choosing. This is a short novel supporting ancient human themes we still grapple with today.
