Breakers
A Novel
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
William McCloskey’s bestselling novel Highliners established him as an authority on the dangers and hardships of the Alaskan fishing industry. Now in an epic sequel, Breakers returns to Kodiak to chart the fortunes of McCloskey’s beloved characters as they make their living from the sea.
A respected skipper, Hank Crawford runs his own boat and is well liked by his crew. Yet Hank knows all too well that with a hefty mortgage to pay off, a brand-new boat, and an even newer baby, he and his family need the crab and salmon to keep coming into their nets.
But as every fisherman knows, the sea is a fickle mistress. The crab season is the poorest yet, and salmon prices drop. When his child falls ill and his boat gets damaged, Hank journeys in desperation to his partners in Japan. Here he faces a moral crossroads: compromise his own business ethics or risk losing everything he’s worked for.
With the same thrill of danger, McCloskey captures the excitement, the drama, and the never-ending fears that are the landmarks of the commercial fisherman’s trade. Breakers is truly a triumphant addition to the saga Highliners sets in motion.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Riding the wave of recent marine adventure bestsellers, A Perfect Storm and The Hungry Ocean, McClosky offers an accomplished sequel 20 years after his highly praised 1979 title, Highliners, again portraying the world of an Alaskan sea fisherman. Protagonist Hank Crawford has become a full-fledged fisherman, skipper of his own boat, and has expanded his horizons considerably since the first book, with a new house, and a third child for him and his wife, Jody. His luck turns sour, however, when the boat gets grounded in a winter storm and the fishing hits the skids. Falling behind on his payments, Crawford succumbs to the lure of a lucrative fishing venture for the Japanese, but the trip to Japan to negotiate the terms results in an ill-fated affair that almost costs him his marriage. The thrill of the new business venture founders when Crawford realizes that he's embroiled in an ongoing battle between Japanese and American fishermen, and that he is expected to exert his influence on the Americans to favor the Japanese fish market. In addition, his own local fishing community views him as a traitor for working with the rival enterprise. Crawford battles successfully to put his marriage back together, but the uphill fight to make ends meet continues, until his perspective is changed by a devastating storm that forces him to undertake a dangerous rescue mission to save a former fishing friend. McCloskey's tale captures the bitter realities and joyful rewards of a fisherman's life, offering winning, gritty portrayals of gruff Crawford, practical Jody and other local characters that make life on the sea so colorful.
