Seascraper is the story of Thomas, a cart shanker - a harvester of shrimp. He has been taught the skills of the trade by his grandfather who helped raise him when his mother was abandoned as a pregnant teenager. Each morning Thomas prepares his horse and cart, and travels to the grey and foggy beach at Longferry, where he casts his nets from his cart while his horse wades through the shallow waters at low tide. After two runs of the beach, he sells his catch to the fishmonger onshore, and returns home to wash away the salt, sweat and scum from his body. The work is hard, solitary and dangerous. There are areas of wet, unstable sand that can swallow the horse and cart of an unwary fisherman. Thomas dreams of a future that involves Joan, his best friend’s sister who works as a teller, and also of improving his guitar playing so he can perform for the local villagers. When an eccentric visitor arrives in town bringing the promise of Hollywood glamour and easier money, Thomas is disengaged from the daily grind of his work and he envisages a different future. Thomas is trusting and naïve, can the American visitor deliver the exciting future he is offering? This is an exceptional story, Benjamin Wood has transported me from my sub-tropical home in Queensland, Australia to an isolated and windswept beach in England, where the inhabitants lead a simple, humdrum life and look forward to little more than having a roof over their heads, food on the table and a brandy to ease the body and soothe the mind. It is a quick read at only 176 pages however Benjamin has packed those pages with exceptional sensitive writing and brilliant characters. This is a haunting and evocative story that will stay with me for a long time. I would unconditionally recommend the book to all readers who enjoy contemporary and literary fiction. Thank you Penguin Random House UK for the invitation to review this book.

This beautifully crafted, slow-burn novel, full of rich language and writing, is a small wonder. Thomas, a young man living in the fictional town of Longferry at some point in the 1960s (specifics are not detailed here), rises early to work catching shrimp, but dreams of something more, perhaps another life, the life of a musician to impress the woman for whom he pines. Seascraper is a very fine novel. There are no fireworks here, no major plot, but it pulls you in and leaves you with a sense of place, time and of having been witness to a life changing. Benjamin Wood is a talent. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

This is an outstanding novella centered around the lonesome Tom and his small world. It is incredibly engaging from the outset. The mist, the sea, the drudgery; all weigh heavy and amplify an atmosphere of constraint. Born from a teenage pregnancy, Tom is raised by his young mother and his grandfather, who taught him to scrape the sea for shrimp. Tom is of a soft nature, and he loves books and music, but finds himself confined within the framework of the life he inherited. He encounters Edgar, a glamorous stranger and is strongly inspired by how another man uses his talent for work. For a solitary guy, he makes a beautiful connection with Edgar who represents a world of possibilities for Tom. It is a beautiful story, so heartwarming, so humane and so hopeful. I really enjoyed this, the writing and the flow are enchanting.

Thomas Flett is a shanker. He leads his horse and cart onto the beach and drags his nets through the shallow waters to catch shrimp. The first part of ‘Seascraper’ takes us through Tom’s working routine and is beautifully written as a timeless ritual passed on through the generations. The monotony of a seaside town out of season is broken by the arrival of Edgar, an established film director who wants to use the beach as a setting for his new movie and is willing to pay Thomas for his inside knowledge. An unlikely friendship grows between them as Edgar accompanies Tom and his horse onto the potentially treacherous Longferry Beach. It took me a while to deduce that ‘Seascraper’ is set during the sixties and Tom has suppressed ambitions to be a folk singer. I was expecting conflict or betrayal, but the tone of the novel is gentler than that and this unusual novel ends on a tentatively hopeful note. I would like to thank Net Galley for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this atmospheric book.

I worried about Thomas from page 1 and am still worrying about him. Beautifully imagined and intensely atmospheric.