by Amanda Fairbanks
Publisher: Gallery Books
Pages: 336
Format: eARC
Buy the Book: Amazon
Goodreads: In March of 1984, the commercial fishing boat Wind Blown left Montauk Harbor on what should have been a routine offshore voyage. Its captain, a married father of three young boys, was the boat’s owner and leader of the four-man crew, which included two locals and the blue-blooded son of a well-to-do summer family. After a week at sea, the weather suddenly turned, and the foursome collided with a nor’easter. They soon found themselves in the fight of their lives. Tragically, it was a fight they lost. Neither the boat nor the bodies of the men were ever recovered.
The fate of the Wind Blown—the second-worst nautical disaster suffered by a Montauk-based fishing vessel in over a hundred years—has become interwoven with the local folklore of the East End’s year-round population. Back then, on the easternmost tip of Long Island, before Wall Street and hedge fund money stormed into town, commercial fishing was the area’s economic lifeblood.
Amanda M. Fairbanks examines the profound shift of Montauk from a working-class village—“a drinking town with a fishing problem”—to a playground for the ultra-wealthy, seeking out the reasons that an event more than three decades old remains so startlingly vivid in people’s minds. She explores the ways in which deep, lasting grief can alter people’s memories. And she shines a light on the powerful and sometimes painful dynamics between fathers and sons, as well as the secrets that can haunt families from beyond the grave.
Kritters Thoughts: There are so many moments in history that are big when they happen, but maybe don't remain on the public mind and don't get passed down beyond the family members that the moment impacts and this is one of them. A commercial fishing boat goes down in a horrible storm off the coast of Montauk, NY and with it all four aboard go missing. This book recounts as many details as possible while also going back in time to share the past of these four men and how they came to be together on this boat and where their family members are now, all still dealing in one way or another with their passing.
The contents of this book were so good, but I didn't love how it was put together. I loved how the author started with the tragedy and some details behind the boat and the situation and then dove into each man, but within the sections of the men the stories felt jumbled and confusing. By the end of the book, I felt as though I knew each of them really well and appreciated all the information in the book, just would have moved some things around to make for an easier reading experience.
I hope that this author has another one up her sleeve, would love to see her tackle another moment in history and go into a deep dive into another.
Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row
Ebook 2021 Challenge: 63 out of 100
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one copy of this book free of charge from Simon and Schuster. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.
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