What do you think?
Rate this book
Seascraper
SEASCRAPER is a mesmerising portrait of a young man hemmed in by his class and the ghosts of his family's past, dreaming of artistic fulfilment. It confirms Benjamin Wood as an exceptional talent in British literature.
'A huge talent' Hilary Mantel
'Benjamin Wood is a magnificent writer and I intend to read everything he has written' Douglas Stuart
Thomas lives a slow, deliberate life with his mother in Longferry, working his grandpa’s trade as a shanker. He rises early to take his horse and cart to the grey, gloomy beach and scrape for shrimp, spending the afternoon selling his wares, trying to wash away the salt and scum, pining for Joan Wyeth down the street, and rehearsing songs on his guitar. At heart, he is a folk musician, but it remains a private dream.
When a striking visitor turns up, bringing the promise of Hollywood glamour, Thomas is shaken from the drudgery of his days and begins to see a different future. But how much of what the American claims is true, and how far can his inspiration carry Thomas?
Haunting and timeless, this is the story of a young man hemmed in by his circumstances, striving to achieve fulfilment far beyond the world he knows.
'Powerful, poignant and poetic. I can’t recommend it enough' Benjamin Myers
'It is a sensuous treat, this novel. So much care has been given to every detail – of shrimps and sea mists and sinkpits, of work and music. A language of the sea washes over every page' Ross Raisin
'A huge talent' Hilary Mantel
'Benjamin Wood is a magnificent writer and I intend to read everything he has written' Douglas Stuart
Thomas lives a slow, deliberate life with his mother in Longferry, working his grandpa’s trade as a shanker. He rises early to take his horse and cart to the grey, gloomy beach and scrape for shrimp, spending the afternoon selling his wares, trying to wash away the salt and scum, pining for Joan Wyeth down the street, and rehearsing songs on his guitar. At heart, he is a folk musician, but it remains a private dream.
When a striking visitor turns up, bringing the promise of Hollywood glamour, Thomas is shaken from the drudgery of his days and begins to see a different future. But how much of what the American claims is true, and how far can his inspiration carry Thomas?
Haunting and timeless, this is the story of a young man hemmed in by his circumstances, striving to achieve fulfilment far beyond the world he knows.
'Powerful, poignant and poetic. I can’t recommend it enough' Benjamin Myers
'It is a sensuous treat, this novel. So much care has been given to every detail – of shrimps and sea mists and sinkpits, of work and music. A language of the sea washes over every page' Ross Raisin
176 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 17, 2025
211 people are currently reading
7465 people want to read
About the author
Benjamin Wood
17 books278 followersBenjamin Wood was born in 1981 and grew up in Merseyside. He is the author of five novels, the latest of which, SEASCRAPER, will be published by Penguin Viking in July 2025. His first book won France's Prix du Roman Fnac and Prix Baudelaire in 2014. His other works have been shortlisted for a number of awards, including the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year, the Costa First Novel Award, the CWA Gold Dagger Award, the European Union Prize for Literature, the Commonwealth Book Award, and the RSL Encore Award. He is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at King's College London, where he teaches fiction modules and founded the PhD in Creative Writing programme. He lives in Surrey with his wife and sons.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 317 reviews
July 31, 2025
Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2025
This is such a moody, beautifully atmospheric book about a young man on the verge of adulthood, living with his 36-year-old mother and working as a shanker, a trade he learned from his grandfather. His name is Thomas Flett, he hasn't seen much of the world outside his hometown of Longferry, and never met his father - his mother's life has always been restricted by the repercussions of her teenage pregnancy (it's apparently the 1960's). Shy Thomas has a crush on his friend's sister Joan, and he loves to compose and perform folk music, so when American film director Edgar Acheson (hello, talking name) comes to Longferry to scout locations, he starts pondering life as an artist.
If you now think that this is a "small town boy goes to Hollywood" story, you're mistaken, and I'm saying this because it's the core strength of the novel: It's not about the American Dream or fulfilling the stale idea of success we get to see on our social media feeds every day. No: It's a book about the search for authentic happiness, which is a highly individual endeavor that's not exclusively related to outside validation. Sensitive Thomas is not necessarily looking for the kind of adventure that takes you around the world, he is looking for emotional immediacy and connection, also through art.
Usually, I'm not much into highly descriptive texts, but Jesus Christ, how Benjamin Wood writes about the work of a shanker, about Thomas steering his horse and his cart through the fog, how he juxtaposes the substance-driven, manic director with the somber nature at the ghostly beach, how he incorporates the power of the subconscious, how he works with the opposition between sheer make-belief and connective art - this is just masterful and original. The human interactions, the townsfolk, Thomas' youthful wish to see the good in people, the delicate connection between him and Joan - beautiful, beautiful psychological writing.
And then there's the music: I will not spoil what fuels Thomas to write the title-giving song, but I will say that not only the lyrics, but the whole song exists, and you can listen to it here:
http://www.benjaminwood.info/seascrap...
I recommend the audio book production that incorporates the music, everything performed by the author, it's very moving and generally a great listen.
Which leaves me with one question: Why isn't Benjamin Wood a famous writer? The Booker judges are right: He should be!
This is such a moody, beautifully atmospheric book about a young man on the verge of adulthood, living with his 36-year-old mother and working as a shanker, a trade he learned from his grandfather. His name is Thomas Flett, he hasn't seen much of the world outside his hometown of Longferry, and never met his father - his mother's life has always been restricted by the repercussions of her teenage pregnancy (it's apparently the 1960's). Shy Thomas has a crush on his friend's sister Joan, and he loves to compose and perform folk music, so when American film director Edgar Acheson (hello, talking name) comes to Longferry to scout locations, he starts pondering life as an artist.
If you now think that this is a "small town boy goes to Hollywood" story, you're mistaken, and I'm saying this because it's the core strength of the novel: It's not about the American Dream or fulfilling the stale idea of success we get to see on our social media feeds every day. No: It's a book about the search for authentic happiness, which is a highly individual endeavor that's not exclusively related to outside validation. Sensitive Thomas is not necessarily looking for the kind of adventure that takes you around the world, he is looking for emotional immediacy and connection, also through art.
Usually, I'm not much into highly descriptive texts, but Jesus Christ, how Benjamin Wood writes about the work of a shanker, about Thomas steering his horse and his cart through the fog, how he juxtaposes the substance-driven, manic director with the somber nature at the ghostly beach, how he incorporates the power of the subconscious, how he works with the opposition between sheer make-belief and connective art - this is just masterful and original. The human interactions, the townsfolk, Thomas' youthful wish to see the good in people, the delicate connection between him and Joan - beautiful, beautiful psychological writing.
And then there's the music: I will not spoil what fuels Thomas to write the title-giving song, but I will say that not only the lyrics, but the whole song exists, and you can listen to it here:
http://www.benjaminwood.info/seascrap...
I recommend the audio book production that incorporates the music, everything performed by the author, it's very moving and generally a great listen.
Which leaves me with one question: Why isn't Benjamin Wood a famous writer? The Booker judges are right: He should be!
September 11, 2025
Longlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize
And in keeping with the prize’s longlisting of a group of relatively unheralded English based male authors (Markovits, Miller, Buckley) and of rather quiet novels (add “Love Forms”) - based both in my own views (confirmed on a re-read) and general reader reaction post longlist I would not dismiss the novel’s chances of taking the prize as it is such a well constructed novel.
The year of the novel - assuming that the local cinema is showing new releases - would appear to be 1962 when “The Land In Winter” also starts, also in the West of England if much further South and also dominated by weather (here fog, there snow).
I found it interesting that in this novel Thomas’s mother had him at 15 and chose to keep the baby despite the constraints it involved on the rest of her life - interesting as this is a longlist that majors on adoption. Most noticeably Dawn in “Love Forms”, but also - at least in the view of Xavier in Part 1 - the narrator of “Audition”, Anne with Tobias in “Flashlight” and even Bori (Istvan’s last lover) having given up a baby in “Flesh” at 15.
Favourite quote on a re-read
ORIGINAL REVIEW
Set in a fictional coast town – Longferry (a fictionalised version of the author’s home town and so I think on the North West Coast of England – although this is not specified) and set by deduction in the 1960s (again not specified – and the main protagonist is effectively living what was already then an outmoded almost anachronistic way of life making the exact timing difficult to judge), the novel’s (the Creative Writing Lecturer’s fifth) protagonist is twenty year old Thomas Flett.
Thomas is working in the family trade (via his maternal grandfather) as a shanker – taking his horse and cart out across the 1-2 mile long beach at each low water (the book effectively takes place over three such low waters over two days) to scrape just across the sea shore for shrimp - which he then sells for cash in hand to a local merchant.
Thomas lives with his mother – his father was her teacher and had relationships with her as a schoolchild before fleeing in disgrace to join up and being killed in the war – and his deliberately unnamed horse (the risk of having to abandon horse in sinkpits in the sand mean that traditionally the shankers have not got too sentimentally attached to their horses – albeit a close working relationship is essential to their trade).
Thomas lives a slow, deliberate life with his mother, working his grandpa’s trade as a shanker. He rises early to take his horse and cart to the grey, gloomy beach to scrape for shrimp; spending the rest of the day selling his wares, trying to wash away the salt and scum, pining for Joan Wyeth down the street and rehearsing songs on his guitar. At heart, he is a folk musician, but it remains a private dream.
For all Thomas feels almost obliged to pursue this trade and support his mother in her hand-to-mouth home economics, he yearns for a different future and secretly is practising his folk guitar playing while also trying to pluck up (pun intended) the courage to speak to the sister of his best friend.
And over the two days of the novel – a new vista opens up when he and his mother are visited by an American filmmaker (who Thomas checks out in a film guide at his local shop) scouting for a location to film his favourite novel set – a mysterious ghost like story set on a desolate American beach and involving an undertaker’s horse and cart.
And while not everything about the visitor turns out to be exactly as he initially promised, a beach accident leading to a fevered dream unlocks a creativity in Thomas and leads him to write the titular song.
Thomas’s song (and a recording from the author’s website is here http://www.benjaminwood.info/seascrap...)
Overall this was a quiet and short but nevertheless impactful novel.
And in keeping with the prize’s longlisting of a group of relatively unheralded English based male authors (Markovits, Miller, Buckley) and of rather quiet novels (add “Love Forms”) - based both in my own views (confirmed on a re-read) and general reader reaction post longlist I would not dismiss the novel’s chances of taking the prize as it is such a well constructed novel.
The year of the novel - assuming that the local cinema is showing new releases - would appear to be 1962 when “The Land In Winter” also starts, also in the West of England if much further South and also dominated by weather (here fog, there snow).
I found it interesting that in this novel Thomas’s mother had him at 15 and chose to keep the baby despite the constraints it involved on the rest of her life - interesting as this is a longlist that majors on adoption. Most noticeably Dawn in “Love Forms”, but also - at least in the view of Xavier in Part 1 - the narrator of “Audition”, Anne with Tobias in “Flashlight” and even Bori (Istvan’s last lover) having given up a baby in “Flesh” at 15.
Favourite quote on a re-read
brown shrimp tumbling in the wash of water far away, awaiting his return, if not today then some day after, when the money’s all been spent in the account on bills and debts and stuff to eat and smoke and Lord knows what his ma does with it, but he knows this much: the town feels smaller than it did when he rode through it last, the outer world seems fuller and less difficult to reach. He’s added something to it now – it mightn’t be much cop or good enough to get the admiration of the crowd down at the Fisher’s Rest, but he can say he made it on his own, and there’ll be more to come.
This little snippet of the coastline he relies on for his livelihood does not belong to him or anybody, but it’s always there, preceding him, outlasting him for sure, and he can recognise his loyalty to the ghosts who walk along it – he can even manage to respect himself for being steadfast to the work – but there’s no meaning in it any more. It doesn’t matter to the sea who visits it, or to the shrimp who scrapes them from the sand. A song, though – well, a song belongs to someone. To whoever dreamed it up. Yesterday it wasn’t even born, and now it’s in the world. He can’t go on ignoring what he’s best at, and it isn’t shanking in his grandpa’s cart.
ORIGINAL REVIEW
The sea is so withdrawn it’s nothing but a promise you’d be mad to put your faith in; it’s the same old promise every ebb tide and he won’t be chasing it this morning.
Set in a fictional coast town – Longferry (a fictionalised version of the author’s home town and so I think on the North West Coast of England – although this is not specified) and set by deduction in the 1960s (again not specified – and the main protagonist is effectively living what was already then an outmoded almost anachronistic way of life making the exact timing difficult to judge), the novel’s (the Creative Writing Lecturer’s fifth) protagonist is twenty year old Thomas Flett.
Thomas is working in the family trade (via his maternal grandfather) as a shanker – taking his horse and cart out across the 1-2 mile long beach at each low water (the book effectively takes place over three such low waters over two days) to scrape just across the sea shore for shrimp - which he then sells for cash in hand to a local merchant.
Thomas lives with his mother – his father was her teacher and had relationships with her as a schoolchild before fleeing in disgrace to join up and being killed in the war – and his deliberately unnamed horse (the risk of having to abandon horse in sinkpits in the sand mean that traditionally the shankers have not got too sentimentally attached to their horses – albeit a close working relationship is essential to their trade).
Thomas lives a slow, deliberate life with his mother, working his grandpa’s trade as a shanker. He rises early to take his horse and cart to the grey, gloomy beach to scrape for shrimp; spending the rest of the day selling his wares, trying to wash away the salt and scum, pining for Joan Wyeth down the street and rehearsing songs on his guitar. At heart, he is a folk musician, but it remains a private dream.
For all Thomas feels almost obliged to pursue this trade and support his mother in her hand-to-mouth home economics, he yearns for a different future and secretly is practising his folk guitar playing while also trying to pluck up (pun intended) the courage to speak to the sister of his best friend.
And over the two days of the novel – a new vista opens up when he and his mother are visited by an American filmmaker (who Thomas checks out in a film guide at his local shop) scouting for a location to film his favourite novel set – a mysterious ghost like story set on a desolate American beach and involving an undertaker’s horse and cart.
And while not everything about the visitor turns out to be exactly as he initially promised, a beach accident leading to a fevered dream unlocks a creativity in Thomas and leads him to write the titular song.
Thomas’s song (and a recording from the author’s website is here http://www.benjaminwood.info/seascrap...)
At first light we wake
to gulls in the shallows
tack up our horses pack up the cart
The pier is bright
with lamps still burning
once we’ve arrived
we’re so nearly departed
Lord, give me life enough to do this again,
to rise with the tide in the morning at Longferry
Let me go home with the whiskets full of the shrimp
Bury me here in these waters
so I can be a seascraper
a seascraper forever
Overall this was a quiet and short but nevertheless impactful novel.
August 26, 2025
The story of this atmospheric novel follows the 20 year old Thomas Flett who tries to make a living by catching shrimp in the treacherous foggy shores of a fictional costal town in England.
One day, Thomas is visited by Edgar Acheson an American film director who needs a guide for his upcoming movie which will be using the shore as the setting.
This is a story about family, obsession, ambition, chance and possibilities.
One day, Thomas is visited by Edgar Acheson an American film director who needs a guide for his upcoming movie which will be using the shore as the setting.
This is a story about family, obsession, ambition, chance and possibilities.
July 31, 2025
Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2025
This book has a great atmosphere, which is the best approach for a short novel with an unclear subject. There is certainly beauty here, though I think different readers will find it in different places. The prose is very cinematic - fitting, given that Thomas, the shanker at the center of the story, gets to hold onto this Hollywood hope for half the book. But I think this is ultimately a book about small dreams, not big ones. There is beauty in a simple life, but we don't need to idealize it, just as we don't need to celebrate ambition that crushes others. This may be my first read from this year’s Booker longlist, but I’ll be surprised if it doesn’t make the shortlist.
This book has a great atmosphere, which is the best approach for a short novel with an unclear subject. There is certainly beauty here, though I think different readers will find it in different places. The prose is very cinematic - fitting, given that Thomas, the shanker at the center of the story, gets to hold onto this Hollywood hope for half the book. But I think this is ultimately a book about small dreams, not big ones. There is beauty in a simple life, but we don't need to idealize it, just as we don't need to celebrate ambition that crushes others. This may be my first read from this year’s Booker longlist, but I’ll be surprised if it doesn’t make the shortlist.
September 10, 2025
If you've ever lived by the sea -especially in the winter- when the days are grey, damp and full of an engulfing mist, then the scene is set in Seascraper in atmosphere and climate..
Now Booker Longlist 2025 nominated ..
Thomas Flett works as a shanker- he drags a net through the sandy wet coastline channels of Longferry beach led by his horse to catch shrimp. This is the occupation that he inherited from his grandfather- a tireless, exhausting occupation that pays little and stretches Thomas to his physical limit .
It is the 1960s and Thomas lives with his mother- who having raised Thomas without a father places a continual pressure upon him to earn a living for them both. His only escape is his love of books and to secretly play the guitar and attend a music night at a local bar whilst contemplating who is father was.
Life changes with the unexpected arrival Edgar Acheson who charms his way into their home and requests( for a fee) that Thomas shows him the area and how he carries out his occupation with the goal that the information can be used towards a film he intends to produce. Could this be a life changing moment for Thomas- a chance to break the monotony and hardship?
The story takes place over a two day period and the pervading sense of melancholy, routine and hardship is palpable- rather like the grim weather. The conflicted emotions of Thomas are palpable- his desire for change permeates off the page.... is this the time for change ?
Poetic, brooding and charged with sense of claustrophobia from the encroaching mist, Benjamin Wood has written a novel that will linger with you long after completion.
Now Booker Longlist 2025 nominated ..
Thomas Flett works as a shanker- he drags a net through the sandy wet coastline channels of Longferry beach led by his horse to catch shrimp. This is the occupation that he inherited from his grandfather- a tireless, exhausting occupation that pays little and stretches Thomas to his physical limit .
It is the 1960s and Thomas lives with his mother- who having raised Thomas without a father places a continual pressure upon him to earn a living for them both. His only escape is his love of books and to secretly play the guitar and attend a music night at a local bar whilst contemplating who is father was.
Life changes with the unexpected arrival Edgar Acheson who charms his way into their home and requests( for a fee) that Thomas shows him the area and how he carries out his occupation with the goal that the information can be used towards a film he intends to produce. Could this be a life changing moment for Thomas- a chance to break the monotony and hardship?
The story takes place over a two day period and the pervading sense of melancholy, routine and hardship is palpable- rather like the grim weather. The conflicted emotions of Thomas are palpable- his desire for change permeates off the page.... is this the time for change ?
Poetic, brooding and charged with sense of claustrophobia from the encroaching mist, Benjamin Wood has written a novel that will linger with you long after completion.
September 9, 2025
Such a beautiful book. Beautifully written Mr Wood. You were able to put me in the mist. You made me feel the sand beneath my feet. I felt the red flared fog around me. And I was in that room with Patrick. And I could even see Mr Runyon carting his load.
I just finished the audiobook narrated by Benjamin Wood himself and that was a grand finish, truly grand. I'd recommend the audiobook just for this.
Thomas was inching his way through choices that needed to be done and then enters Edgar. Edgar does come like a whirlwind into Thomas' life but his wind jolts Thomas and loosens the ropes that bind him and we see Thomas in a much better place with a much better frame of mind going forward.
Included in the Booker Longlist for 2025.
I just finished the audiobook narrated by Benjamin Wood himself and that was a grand finish, truly grand. I'd recommend the audiobook just for this.
Thomas was inching his way through choices that needed to be done and then enters Edgar. Edgar does come like a whirlwind into Thomas' life but his wind jolts Thomas and loosens the ropes that bind him and we see Thomas in a much better place with a much better frame of mind going forward.
Included in the Booker Longlist for 2025.
August 3, 2025
4.5, rounded up.
# 2 of the Booker longlist for me to read and have a feeling this will make the shortlist - and may go all the way. Had never read Wood before (although I HAVE an unread copy of his 3rd novel) but now want to read his entire backlist.
This starts off slowly and lyrically, reminding me of the work of Donal Ryan - and I had to keep checking to make sure he ISN'T Irish. Although at 163 pages it's technically a novella I suppose, it reads as a full-course meal and just gets more and more interesting the further you get into it.
Taking place in 1962 (which isn't stated directly, but Lawrence of Arabia is playing at the cinema. so that pegs it as that year), the story concerns 20-year-old Thomas (never Tom) Flett, who ekes out a meager subsistence as the titular shrimp 'shanker' for himself and his 36-year-old mum in Longferry, a fictious northern UK town.
He has dreams of becoming a folk singer/songwriter and romancing his bestie's sister Joan, but both seem pipe dreams until mysterious American filmmaker Edgar Atcheson shows up and hires him as a location scout to show him the sights/sites.
Won't say more, for fear of spoilers, but it's a lovely story, gentle yet impactful ... and a further nice little touch is that the author provides on his website a sample of himself playing/singing the titular song Thomas is working on throughout the book.
# 2 of the Booker longlist for me to read and have a feeling this will make the shortlist - and may go all the way. Had never read Wood before (although I HAVE an unread copy of his 3rd novel) but now want to read his entire backlist.
This starts off slowly and lyrically, reminding me of the work of Donal Ryan - and I had to keep checking to make sure he ISN'T Irish. Although at 163 pages it's technically a novella I suppose, it reads as a full-course meal and just gets more and more interesting the further you get into it.
Taking place in 1962 (which isn't stated directly, but Lawrence of Arabia is playing at the cinema. so that pegs it as that year), the story concerns 20-year-old Thomas (never Tom) Flett, who ekes out a meager subsistence as the titular shrimp 'shanker' for himself and his 36-year-old mum in Longferry, a fictious northern UK town.
He has dreams of becoming a folk singer/songwriter and romancing his bestie's sister Joan, but both seem pipe dreams until mysterious American filmmaker Edgar Atcheson shows up and hires him as a location scout to show him the sights/sites.
Won't say more, for fear of spoilers, but it's a lovely story, gentle yet impactful ... and a further nice little touch is that the author provides on his website a sample of himself playing/singing the titular song Thomas is working on throughout the book.
September 3, 2025
A quiet novel set in a dying world of manual (and horsepowered) shrimp catching. Monotony seems to be disrupted and war traumas reverberate, with change maybe not impossible but definitely hard
Providing is surviving
Thomas Flett is a 20 year old who works day in day out as a shanker, fishing for shrimps. His mom, only 16 years older than him and a dead history teacher father inhabit the small house he lives in. This 1960s equilibrium is upset when a film director comes into this grimy, sparse environment. Traumas abound, not just the dead father, who passed away in France, but also from being pulled off from school to work and having no privacy around his mother. Still there are touching scenes (You're not a bad lad, really, I did something right) and the book is definitely not drab, besides the incessant mentions of ingrown toenails.
In a way this short book reminded me of Claire Keegan, without the big moral decisions, from Small Things Like These but similar in crystalline prose that really draws you into an atmosphere.
There are some glimmers of hope near the end, centred around a village girl and music, and I would definitely recommend the audiobook, where the author signs the titular song.
Quotes:
This world is so full of noise and most of it is pointless
He’s closer to the grave than he ever been to marriage
Life has a way of undermining all your principles as you get older
But there are pieces of the truth she doesn’t need to hold yet
Providing is surviving
Thomas Flett is a 20 year old who works day in day out as a shanker, fishing for shrimps. His mom, only 16 years older than him and a dead history teacher father inhabit the small house he lives in. This 1960s equilibrium is upset when a film director comes into this grimy, sparse environment. Traumas abound, not just the dead father, who passed away in France, but also from being pulled off from school to work and having no privacy around his mother. Still there are touching scenes (You're not a bad lad, really, I did something right) and the book is definitely not drab, besides the incessant mentions of ingrown toenails.
In a way this short book reminded me of Claire Keegan, without the big moral decisions, from Small Things Like These but similar in crystalline prose that really draws you into an atmosphere.
There are some glimmers of hope near the end, centred around a village girl and music, and I would definitely recommend the audiobook, where the author signs the titular song.
Quotes:
This world is so full of noise and most of it is pointless
He’s closer to the grave than he ever been to marriage
Life has a way of undermining all your principles as you get older
But there are pieces of the truth she doesn’t need to hold yet
August 22, 2025
A lovely story all around, told with descriptive writing that is downright cinematic. It is very touching to follow Thomas Flett's evolution as he begins to view the limited life he leads through the lens of an artistic, visionary stranger. His awakening into the romance of landscape, personal expression, and young love is beautifully paced and believable.
Two niggling exceptions:
1) I could have done with fewer references to ingrown toenails.
2) This Greek tragedy of a mis-assertion: What's wrong with hiding anyway? It worked out for the Trojans. (Note to author and Editor: History disagrees with you.)
Two niggling exceptions:
1) I could have done with fewer references to ingrown toenails.
2) This Greek tragedy of a mis-assertion: What's wrong with hiding anyway? It worked out for the Trojans. (Note to author and Editor: History disagrees with you.)
July 31, 2025
Over the years, Benjamin Wood has become one of those writers I trust enough that any new book is a must-read. I can always count on Wood for great writing – lean, lovely prose, never showy – but the themes are unpredictable; I never know quite what I’m going to get. The campus novel with a capital-W Weird twist in The Bellwether Revivals; the art novel-slash-psychological puzzle of The Ecliptic; the sizzling violence and tension in A Station on the Path to Somewhere Better; and a quieter, more subdued historical novel in The Young Accomplice. And now Seascraper, which feels like it follows most naturally from its immediate predecessor, yet with a markedly different tone: edgier, more mystical.
Thomas Flett is a ‘shanker’, a shrimp-dragger with a horse, cart and nets – out on the tidal flats doing the job his grandfather did, even though it’s the 1960s now and that world is already folding in on itself. He loves playing music, but doesn’t even feel it’s an appropriate hobby for a man like him, let alone a way to make a living. Thomas is a man trapped between lives: on the one hand, he’s only 20 and lives with his mother (herself still young; she was a teenage mum), who often treats him like he’s still a boy. On the other hand, he’s old before his time, worn down by the physical demands of his work, and feels it’s already too late to make changes to his life.
Into this monotony bursts Edgar Acheson, a film producer who’s been scouting for locations in the area and thinks Longferry beach, Thomas’s shrimping turf, would be perfect for his next project. It’s difficult to go into exactly what happens next without spoiling the whole thing. But it’s about Thomas coming to terms with his legacy – his dying trade, his father’s absence – and how Edgar’s presence has a life-changing ripple effect, even if not in the way Thomas, or the reader, might expect. There’s arguably a touch of magical realism in there, too.
Seascraper is a short novel, and if I have a criticism, it’s that it could have been fleshed out so much more. Thomas’s relationship with his mother, the pivotal prophecy or vision, the whole situation with Edgar… I would have liked to explore any (or all) of these threads further. I would have liked to read some of The Outermost, a fictitious book within the book that could have added an extra layer of unreality to the whole thing. (Although I appreciate ‘unreality’ is not necessarily what Wood is going for here; it’s me who has the instinct to turn towards the strange.)
If you liked Ben Tufnell’s The North Shore or James Clarke’s Sanderson’s Isle, this one will probably hit. Tighter and more focused than The Young Accomplice, it’s a good balance of tension and sentiment, the sort of balancing act that only someone with Wood’s talent could actually pull off.
I received an advance review copy of Seascraper from the publisher through NetGalley.
Thomas Flett is a ‘shanker’, a shrimp-dragger with a horse, cart and nets – out on the tidal flats doing the job his grandfather did, even though it’s the 1960s now and that world is already folding in on itself. He loves playing music, but doesn’t even feel it’s an appropriate hobby for a man like him, let alone a way to make a living. Thomas is a man trapped between lives: on the one hand, he’s only 20 and lives with his mother (herself still young; she was a teenage mum), who often treats him like he’s still a boy. On the other hand, he’s old before his time, worn down by the physical demands of his work, and feels it’s already too late to make changes to his life.
Into this monotony bursts Edgar Acheson, a film producer who’s been scouting for locations in the area and thinks Longferry beach, Thomas’s shrimping turf, would be perfect for his next project. It’s difficult to go into exactly what happens next without spoiling the whole thing. But it’s about Thomas coming to terms with his legacy – his dying trade, his father’s absence – and how Edgar’s presence has a life-changing ripple effect, even if not in the way Thomas, or the reader, might expect. There’s arguably a touch of magical realism in there, too.
Seascraper is a short novel, and if I have a criticism, it’s that it could have been fleshed out so much more. Thomas’s relationship with his mother, the pivotal prophecy or vision, the whole situation with Edgar… I would have liked to explore any (or all) of these threads further. I would have liked to read some of The Outermost, a fictitious book within the book that could have added an extra layer of unreality to the whole thing. (Although I appreciate ‘unreality’ is not necessarily what Wood is going for here; it’s me who has the instinct to turn towards the strange.)
If you liked Ben Tufnell’s The North Shore or James Clarke’s Sanderson’s Isle, this one will probably hit. Tighter and more focused than The Young Accomplice, it’s a good balance of tension and sentiment, the sort of balancing act that only someone with Wood’s talent could actually pull off.
I received an advance review copy of Seascraper from the publisher through NetGalley.
August 16, 2025
Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2025
It is Booker season again, so I'll try to get myself back into a reviewing mindset now that I have embarked on reading the longlist. This was an excellent start to the longlist, a quiet reflective book whose protagonist is a young man, one of the last shrimpers to use a working horse on the treacherous sands of England's Irish Sea coast in the 50s. The first part of the book describes a typical morning in his life, but things get more interesting when he gets home to find a mysterious stranger awaiting him. I won't spoil the plot, but the resolution fits the atmosphere very well.
It is Booker season again, so I'll try to get myself back into a reviewing mindset now that I have embarked on reading the longlist. This was an excellent start to the longlist, a quiet reflective book whose protagonist is a young man, one of the last shrimpers to use a working horse on the treacherous sands of England's Irish Sea coast in the 50s. The first part of the book describes a typical morning in his life, but things get more interesting when he gets home to find a mysterious stranger awaiting him. I won't spoil the plot, but the resolution fits the atmosphere very well.
September 10, 2025
“‘But listen, Tom - it’s not so easy. When you’re young, you think life is a string of choices. It’s either you choose this door or the other door, or jump out of the window. You don’t realise that most of what’ll happen to you is because of other people’s choices. There’s a door already opened for you, so you walk straight through it, and you wonder how you wound up on the fire escape. That’s life, I’m telling you. Don’t bother getting older. Art’s the only way I’ve ever had of making any sense of it.’”
Warning: I’m about to swear.
What an absolute f***ing joy this was.
Benjamin Wood, I had never heard of you before picking up this book, but “Seascraper” was one of the most thrilling, gratifying, heartbreaking and chill-giving reading experiences that I have ever had.
At once brooding and atmospheric, gritty and monotonous, rooted in tiresome, daily physical work and the flux of daydreams, spoken and unspoken, this small miracle of a novel revolves around the sudden tear that rips through the fabric of 20-something Thomas Flett’s life as a horseback shrimp fisherman on the coast of England.
There is the sea. The wild, life-giving, unforgiving sea. There is a horse. There is duty and aspirations. Mothers and sons. The ghosts of WWII. Free will and resignation. The burgeoning 60’s. The foggy white of seaside towns and the distant green of the Hollywood hills.
And there is music. Music brewing in the ether, in one’s tired and hopeful heart, in tentative fingers on badly tuned guitar chords, breaking free at last. Quite literally.
“Seascraper” will knock you flat out and take your breath away. Then it will give you just the song that your tired heart needed.
Follow the low tide.
Warning: I’m about to swear.
What an absolute f***ing joy this was.
Benjamin Wood, I had never heard of you before picking up this book, but “Seascraper” was one of the most thrilling, gratifying, heartbreaking and chill-giving reading experiences that I have ever had.
At once brooding and atmospheric, gritty and monotonous, rooted in tiresome, daily physical work and the flux of daydreams, spoken and unspoken, this small miracle of a novel revolves around the sudden tear that rips through the fabric of 20-something Thomas Flett’s life as a horseback shrimp fisherman on the coast of England.
There is the sea. The wild, life-giving, unforgiving sea. There is a horse. There is duty and aspirations. Mothers and sons. The ghosts of WWII. Free will and resignation. The burgeoning 60’s. The foggy white of seaside towns and the distant green of the Hollywood hills.
And there is music. Music brewing in the ether, in one’s tired and hopeful heart, in tentative fingers on badly tuned guitar chords, breaking free at last. Quite literally.
“Seascraper” will knock you flat out and take your breath away. Then it will give you just the song that your tired heart needed.
Follow the low tide.
August 21, 2025
A beautiful little heartbreaker. Loved this.
March 1, 2025
4+
Thomas Flett is a shanker, scraping a living from what the sea brings in on the tide but he knows the end is near because the waters now bring in strange chemicals and other disgusting detritus. Although he’s only 20 he feels like an old man as this living is hard. Once there were many shankers but now he’s the last one in Longferry. It’s cold and lonely, the only company is the placid draught horse pulling his cart. Thomas wants more. He’s in love with Joan Wyeth, his best friend’s sister and he has aspirations to be a musician. When American Edgar Acheson swings into town claiming to be a Hollywood filmmaker and offering him money in return for his help with shoreline locations, is this his get out of Longferry free card or something else? Can Acheson be trusted, is he credible?
This novella has vivid and beautiful writing, the descriptions are so visual and it’s abundant in the grey, cold misty atmosphere of winter by the sea in, I assume, Northern England. The mood does change but it starts very sombrely with the hardship and grind of Thomas’s routine being palpable as he moves back-and-forth trying to scrape a living. At times it has a claustrophobic feel especially as the mist closes in on the shoreline but it’s not just that, Thomas‘s life has strong elements of claustrophobia. The mood changes with music and when Joan Wyeth is on the page, then there’s some optimism. in addition, there’s hope that perhaps Edgar is offering him a chance and a change. Thomas seems to grow as a person throughout this two day period and you can see clearly what he is made of at the end. The story has some very dramatic moments especially of danger at the shoreline.
I’ve not read Benjamin Wood before but I wouldn’t hesitate to read his work again as he makes me feel as if I’m there in Longferry as an observer. The descriptions are rich yet quiet, their vibrant and real with a moment of surreal, it’s surprising as well as engrossing with excellent characterisation into the bargain. This is a memorable read and that cover is just stunning perfectly summing the novel up.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Penguin General UK for the much appreciated Epub in return for an honest review.
Thomas Flett is a shanker, scraping a living from what the sea brings in on the tide but he knows the end is near because the waters now bring in strange chemicals and other disgusting detritus. Although he’s only 20 he feels like an old man as this living is hard. Once there were many shankers but now he’s the last one in Longferry. It’s cold and lonely, the only company is the placid draught horse pulling his cart. Thomas wants more. He’s in love with Joan Wyeth, his best friend’s sister and he has aspirations to be a musician. When American Edgar Acheson swings into town claiming to be a Hollywood filmmaker and offering him money in return for his help with shoreline locations, is this his get out of Longferry free card or something else? Can Acheson be trusted, is he credible?
This novella has vivid and beautiful writing, the descriptions are so visual and it’s abundant in the grey, cold misty atmosphere of winter by the sea in, I assume, Northern England. The mood does change but it starts very sombrely with the hardship and grind of Thomas’s routine being palpable as he moves back-and-forth trying to scrape a living. At times it has a claustrophobic feel especially as the mist closes in on the shoreline but it’s not just that, Thomas‘s life has strong elements of claustrophobia. The mood changes with music and when Joan Wyeth is on the page, then there’s some optimism. in addition, there’s hope that perhaps Edgar is offering him a chance and a change. Thomas seems to grow as a person throughout this two day period and you can see clearly what he is made of at the end. The story has some very dramatic moments especially of danger at the shoreline.
I’ve not read Benjamin Wood before but I wouldn’t hesitate to read his work again as he makes me feel as if I’m there in Longferry as an observer. The descriptions are rich yet quiet, their vibrant and real with a moment of surreal, it’s surprising as well as engrossing with excellent characterisation into the bargain. This is a memorable read and that cover is just stunning perfectly summing the novel up.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Penguin General UK for the much appreciated Epub in return for an honest review.
August 27, 2025
Clearly I'm the minority here but I thought this was a bit crap. It's derivative, sappy, naive and soapy. Some of the writing, particularly the first half, is nice and the set up is good. But the second half is an utter shambles. A mix of utterly mundane and completely bizarre, all tied up in a tight bow. If this wins the Booker, we're all doomed.
August 8, 2025
4,5 - This is a beautiful, little novella and a great addition to the 2025 Booker longlist, which seems to have quite some intellectual works on it (Buckley, Kitamura), whereas this one is all feeling and emotion.
Tom scrapes shrimp from the beach and sells them to make a meager living. He's not even very good at it, but what he really wants is to make music and play the guitar. When a wealthy film director from Hollywood comes to his isolated British beach everything changes (or does it?).
The style and atmosphere reminded me of Carys Davies and also Audrey Magee's The Colony.
I listened partly to the English audio version and partly to the German one. Both are well done, but the English one is something special as the author himself reads it and, quite beautifully, even sings a song he composed for the book.
Tom scrapes shrimp from the beach and sells them to make a meager living. He's not even very good at it, but what he really wants is to make music and play the guitar. When a wealthy film director from Hollywood comes to his isolated British beach everything changes (or does it?).
The style and atmosphere reminded me of Carys Davies and also Audrey Magee's The Colony.
I listened partly to the English audio version and partly to the German one. Both are well done, but the English one is something special as the author himself reads it and, quite beautifully, even sings a song he composed for the book.
August 11, 2025
3.5 rounded up to 4 stars. Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2025. I was really impressed by how much the author packs into less than 200 pages. The quiet, poetic writing and vivid, atmospheric descriptions completely drew me in. Thomas, the young man at the heart of the story, feels stuck in a small life — not chasing huge ambitions, just holding on to a small dream. He’s such a lovely character, and I loved watching him grow over the course of just two days.
I’m always a fan of a touch of magical realism, and here it fits perfectly in the gothic setting. Lots of reviewers are comparing this to Claire Keegan’s work, but honestly, I found this novella felt more complete and it resonated with me way more than any of Keegan’s I’ve read. I definitely think this deserves a spot on the shortlist.
The story: A quiet coastal tale where a shrimp fisherman’s routine is shaken up by a visiting filmmaker — sparking dreams of life beyond the tide.
I’m always a fan of a touch of magical realism, and here it fits perfectly in the gothic setting. Lots of reviewers are comparing this to Claire Keegan’s work, but honestly, I found this novella felt more complete and it resonated with me way more than any of Keegan’s I’ve read. I definitely think this deserves a spot on the shortlist.
The story: A quiet coastal tale where a shrimp fisherman’s routine is shaken up by a visiting filmmaker — sparking dreams of life beyond the tide.
September 10, 2025
Longlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize.
This is the story of Thomas. We are never told the time period but references from characters suggest that it is somewhere in the sixties. Thomas is a Seascraper or shanker. Like me you are probably wondering what in the world is a shanker? Well Thomas goes to the beach each day with nothing but his horse and nets and trawls for shrimp every morning. A backbreaking job that takes its toll on one’s body and mind. Thomas is only twenty but moves with the fragile tired shuffles of an old man. His spine is hunching over. He longs to ask Joan, a young woman who lives near him, out, but is too shy. He also yearns to become a singer, and writes his own songs, but doubts himself, his voice and talent. And there in lies the crux of the story. Should he take the risks and pursue both Joan and his dreams of singing or stay working the job that his family has for generations that, I think it’s fair to say is slowly killing him. Is it possible for him to break out of this world that he was born into? Does he really want to?
What makes this book so good? Well, it’s beautifully written. Descriptive writing par excellence. The passages where Thomas is working in the water collecting shrimp are dripping with realism. The shrouding fog, the encroaching tide, the sink holes threatening to suck you down into their depths. These passages are stunning. Then there are the characters. Not a huge cast, but all brilliant, especially Thomas. And a narrative that is perfectly structured. Like pieces of a miniature train track, each piece clicked in leading to the perfect ending.
Make no mistake this is a brilliant book, and along with “Endling” one I would love to see win the Booker.
This was another buddy read with Nat K, and she loves it. Check out her review.
This is the story of Thomas. We are never told the time period but references from characters suggest that it is somewhere in the sixties. Thomas is a Seascraper or shanker. Like me you are probably wondering what in the world is a shanker? Well Thomas goes to the beach each day with nothing but his horse and nets and trawls for shrimp every morning. A backbreaking job that takes its toll on one’s body and mind. Thomas is only twenty but moves with the fragile tired shuffles of an old man. His spine is hunching over. He longs to ask Joan, a young woman who lives near him, out, but is too shy. He also yearns to become a singer, and writes his own songs, but doubts himself, his voice and talent. And there in lies the crux of the story. Should he take the risks and pursue both Joan and his dreams of singing or stay working the job that his family has for generations that, I think it’s fair to say is slowly killing him. Is it possible for him to break out of this world that he was born into? Does he really want to?
What makes this book so good? Well, it’s beautifully written. Descriptive writing par excellence. The passages where Thomas is working in the water collecting shrimp are dripping with realism. The shrouding fog, the encroaching tide, the sink holes threatening to suck you down into their depths. These passages are stunning. Then there are the characters. Not a huge cast, but all brilliant, especially Thomas. And a narrative that is perfectly structured. Like pieces of a miniature train track, each piece clicked in leading to the perfect ending.
Make no mistake this is a brilliant book, and along with “Endling” one I would love to see win the Booker.
This was another buddy read with Nat K, and she loves it. Check out her review.
September 10, 2025
I will be floored if this book isn't shortlisted. Mostly because the lyrical language is just perfection. If you are a reader who loves craft at the sentence level, this book is definitely for you.
For a short novel, almost a novella, it packs some heavy themes. It's mostly about how one young man's yearning for a more meaningful life is at odds with his blue-collar day to day existence. The protagonist, Thomas, is someone the reader can cheer for. The first half is a slow build which makes the second half seem propulsive by comparison.
My one qualm is it felt slightly "made for tv" movie-esque, and I had some trouble shaking that perception.
For a short novel, almost a novella, it packs some heavy themes. It's mostly about how one young man's yearning for a more meaningful life is at odds with his blue-collar day to day existence. The protagonist, Thomas, is someone the reader can cheer for. The first half is a slow build which makes the second half seem propulsive by comparison.
My one qualm is it felt slightly "made for tv" movie-esque, and I had some trouble shaking that perception.
August 31, 2025
Este es un libro que atrapa más por atmósfera que por trama, aunque ambas cosas se entrelazan con mucha naturalidad. La historia sigue a Tom, un joven que vive en Longferry, un pueblo gris y rutinario junto a la costa, donde la vida parece moverse siempre a la misma velocidad lenta y opaca. Trabaja en el oficio que heredó de su abuelo, saliendo con su carreta y su caballo a la playa para recoger camarones y luego venderlos, mientras cuida a su madre y sueña despierto con Joan Wyath, la chica que habita en su imaginación tanto como en su calle. Lo que realmente lo mueve es la música, pero en su entorno esa ambición parece lejana, casi irreal. Todo cambia cuando aparece un visitante inesperado: un estadounidense llamado Edgar Acheson, con aires de glamour y promesas de Hollywood. El trato que le propone a Tom parece sencillo: mostrarle la costa a cambio de dinero, pero pronto se abre una grieta en su vida que lo enfrenta con sus propios deseos y con las limitaciones de su mundo.
Tom es el corazón de la novela. Está escrito con una ternura seca que lo vuelve creíble y entrañable al mismo tiempo. Es un joven trabajador, callado, con un sentido de la responsabilidad muy marcado hacia su madre, pero con una mirada siempre puesta más allá del horizonte de Longferry. Lo que lo define es esa tensión interna: el deber contra el deseo, la resignación contra la ambición. Joan, aunque aparece más como objeto de deseo que como personaje activo, funciona como símbolo de esa vida “posible pero inalcanzable” que lo mantiene soñando. Edgar, por su parte, es el catalizador: un hombre que irrumpe con su carisma y su discurso seductor, encarnando tanto la promesa de escapar de la mediocridad como la amenaza de caer en ilusiones peligrosas.
Entre los personajes secundarios, la madre de Tom es probablemente la más significativa. Su presencia constante lo ancla a la realidad, recordándole el peso de las raíces familiares y de una clase social de la que es casi imposible escapar. También Joan, aunque no se desarrolla tanto, cumple la función de darle una cara al anhelo, de mostrar que el deseo de Tom no es solo abstracto sino que tiene nombre, cuerpo y fragilidad. En conjunto, todos los personajes sirven para situar a Tom en un juego de fuerzas opuestas: lo que lo ata y lo que lo empuja hacia adelante.
Los temas que atraviesan la novela son los que Benjamin Wood ha explorado en otros trabajos: la tensión entre origen y destino, el peso de la clase social en la construcción de identidad, y la dificultad de encontrar una voz propia en un mundo que parece decidido a silenciarla. El mar, la costa gris y el propio oficio del "shanker" o "recolector" funcionan como símbolos recurrentes. El acto de recoger camarones en la arena mojada, repetitivo y extenuante, refleja la vida de Tom: un ciclo de esfuerzo constante que apenas permite sobrevivir pero no soñar. El contraste con el brillo falso del cine americano que representa Acheson refuerza esa lucha entre lo real y lo imaginado, entre la rutina y la promesa de algo mayor.
La narrativa de Wood es envolvente, con un ritmo pausado pero nunca aburrido. El lenguaje es sobrio, con descripciones precisas que hacen sentir el olor a salitre, la humedad persistente, la pesadez de los días nublados. El tono, sin ser deprimente, es melancólico, cargado de una belleza apagada que encaja con el carácter del protagonista. No es una novela de giros espectaculares, sino de detalles, de atmósferas, de silencios que dicen tanto como los diálogos. La prosa fluye con naturalidad y, aunque el tempo es deliberadamente lento, mantiene el interés porque uno se queda esperando ese "algo" que tal vez saque a Tom de su rutina.
Lo más logrado del libro es esa capacidad de Wood para capturar la sensación de estar atrapado: en un lugar, en un cuerpo, en un destino. También es brillante cómo logra transmitir el poder de la ilusión, tanto en el sentido positivo (la fuerza de un sueño) como en el negativo (el engaño del espejismo). Lo que quizás se queda corto es el desarrollo de algunos personajes secundarios, que parecen más arquetipos que personas plenas, y un final que, dependiendo de lo que el lector espere, puede sentirse más insinuado que resuelto.
Es un libro que recomendaría a lectores pacientes, que disfrutan más de la construcción de personajes y ambientes que de la acción trepidante. Especialmente a quienes aprecian novelas sobre jóvenes que buscan salir de un entorno opresivo, sobre sueños artísticos enfrentados a la dureza de lo cotidiano, y sobre cómo una sola figura externa puede poner todo en movimiento. Entender el contexto en el que Wood escribió esta novela, en un Reino Unido aún marcado por tensiones sociales y económicas que afectan directamente a los pueblos pequeños y a las clases trabajadoras, ayuda a captar mejor por qué Longferry no es solo un escenario, sino un reflejo de una realidad que sigue siendo vigente.
Tom es el corazón de la novela. Está escrito con una ternura seca que lo vuelve creíble y entrañable al mismo tiempo. Es un joven trabajador, callado, con un sentido de la responsabilidad muy marcado hacia su madre, pero con una mirada siempre puesta más allá del horizonte de Longferry. Lo que lo define es esa tensión interna: el deber contra el deseo, la resignación contra la ambición. Joan, aunque aparece más como objeto de deseo que como personaje activo, funciona como símbolo de esa vida “posible pero inalcanzable” que lo mantiene soñando. Edgar, por su parte, es el catalizador: un hombre que irrumpe con su carisma y su discurso seductor, encarnando tanto la promesa de escapar de la mediocridad como la amenaza de caer en ilusiones peligrosas.
Entre los personajes secundarios, la madre de Tom es probablemente la más significativa. Su presencia constante lo ancla a la realidad, recordándole el peso de las raíces familiares y de una clase social de la que es casi imposible escapar. También Joan, aunque no se desarrolla tanto, cumple la función de darle una cara al anhelo, de mostrar que el deseo de Tom no es solo abstracto sino que tiene nombre, cuerpo y fragilidad. En conjunto, todos los personajes sirven para situar a Tom en un juego de fuerzas opuestas: lo que lo ata y lo que lo empuja hacia adelante.
Los temas que atraviesan la novela son los que Benjamin Wood ha explorado en otros trabajos: la tensión entre origen y destino, el peso de la clase social en la construcción de identidad, y la dificultad de encontrar una voz propia en un mundo que parece decidido a silenciarla. El mar, la costa gris y el propio oficio del "shanker" o "recolector" funcionan como símbolos recurrentes. El acto de recoger camarones en la arena mojada, repetitivo y extenuante, refleja la vida de Tom: un ciclo de esfuerzo constante que apenas permite sobrevivir pero no soñar. El contraste con el brillo falso del cine americano que representa Acheson refuerza esa lucha entre lo real y lo imaginado, entre la rutina y la promesa de algo mayor.
La narrativa de Wood es envolvente, con un ritmo pausado pero nunca aburrido. El lenguaje es sobrio, con descripciones precisas que hacen sentir el olor a salitre, la humedad persistente, la pesadez de los días nublados. El tono, sin ser deprimente, es melancólico, cargado de una belleza apagada que encaja con el carácter del protagonista. No es una novela de giros espectaculares, sino de detalles, de atmósferas, de silencios que dicen tanto como los diálogos. La prosa fluye con naturalidad y, aunque el tempo es deliberadamente lento, mantiene el interés porque uno se queda esperando ese "algo" que tal vez saque a Tom de su rutina.
Lo más logrado del libro es esa capacidad de Wood para capturar la sensación de estar atrapado: en un lugar, en un cuerpo, en un destino. También es brillante cómo logra transmitir el poder de la ilusión, tanto en el sentido positivo (la fuerza de un sueño) como en el negativo (el engaño del espejismo). Lo que quizás se queda corto es el desarrollo de algunos personajes secundarios, que parecen más arquetipos que personas plenas, y un final que, dependiendo de lo que el lector espere, puede sentirse más insinuado que resuelto.
Es un libro que recomendaría a lectores pacientes, que disfrutan más de la construcción de personajes y ambientes que de la acción trepidante. Especialmente a quienes aprecian novelas sobre jóvenes que buscan salir de un entorno opresivo, sobre sueños artísticos enfrentados a la dureza de lo cotidiano, y sobre cómo una sola figura externa puede poner todo en movimiento. Entender el contexto en el que Wood escribió esta novela, en un Reino Unido aún marcado por tensiones sociales y económicas que afectan directamente a los pueblos pequeños y a las clases trabajadoras, ayuda a captar mejor por qué Longferry no es solo un escenario, sino un reflejo de una realidad que sigue siendo vigente.
August 2, 2025
seascraper is a simple novel following twenty year old thomas, who lives a repetitive life in a small coastal town with his mother, working in his late grandfather’s trade as a shrimp ‘shanker’. when a mysterious american film director shows up at his door, thomas begins to imagine a different future for himself.
the novel is quite claire keegan-esque, very slow and meditative, with beautiful and precise prose. wood perfectly captures the claustrophobia and monotony of life in a small town, where everyone lives the same day over again and works the same job for years. nothing big happens, but it doesn’t need to - it’s a novel about quiet people who live quiet lives, with the hope and courage to dream of more.
rating: 3.5
the novel is quite claire keegan-esque, very slow and meditative, with beautiful and precise prose. wood perfectly captures the claustrophobia and monotony of life in a small town, where everyone lives the same day over again and works the same job for years. nothing big happens, but it doesn’t need to - it’s a novel about quiet people who live quiet lives, with the hope and courage to dream of more.
rating: 3.5
September 10, 2025
*** Longlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize ***
"You're never far away from rain out here."
Utterly beautiful.
This is one of those rare occurrences where a book just takes your breath away. I had a feeling that this book would be special, and it exceeded all my expectations of it.
Twenty-year-old Thomas Flett is a shanker. Up before dawn is even thinking of rising, he and his faithful horse (who has no name for superstitious reasons) follow a well-trodden path to the sea where they eke out a living together. Casting nets to catch the shrimp that tumble through the waves, to be sold directly to market. It’s a profession that is being replaced by machinery, but he sticks to the old ways which his pop taught him.
"Providing is surviving."
Older than his years from such hard manual labour, Thomas’s joys are few. The guitar which he bought from hocking his pop’s watch, and Joan Wyeth who he is sweet but too shy to talk to. Tom’s dreams are simple. He’d like to sing folk songs he has written at the local pub but doesn’t think he’s up to it. He’d like to ask Joan out but assumes she wouldn’t want a simple man who smells of the sea. It’s not that he is unhappy, but Thomas can’t help but think that there is a world beyond the perimeter of the home he shares with his mother, horse and the sea. He has a lot of time to think, the hours he spends on the shoreline. He wonders who he would be if he had been able to finish his schooling. If he had known his father. If he had a life other than that by the sea.
"Enjoy his life instead of drifting through it."
A chance encounter by a stranger who arrives in their little corner of Longferry could be the person to turn things around.
This is such a beautifully atmospheric book where you can feel the whip of the wind on your skin, and the sting of the salt in your eyes. You really get the sense of feeling what Thomas is feeling, going out in all weathers. I don’t know if it’s because I live near the beach, but this book spoke to me on so many levels.
This is a story that shows change is always imminent and sometimes we are forced out of our comfort zone in order to flourish.
"But the world had other plans. The world does tend to, doesn't it, in my experience."
Book 5 of my Booker Prize longlist. While I’ve only read a mere portion of this year’s longlist, I can't but hope that this one wins. It’s special. It’s such a stunning, lonely, yet hopeful book. It’s one I will carry around with me, and I can’t really explain why. It’s just so beautiful.
It wouldn't surprise me if this ends up being made into a film or mini-series at some point. It actually begs to be brought to life via an additional medium.
Buddy read with the wonderful, talented Mr.Nealeski. Make sure you read his review when he posts it.
Thomas’ song can be listened to here. In context with the book you can’t help but tear up when you hear it:
http://www.benjaminwood.info/seascrap...
"You're never far away from rain out here."
Utterly beautiful.
This is one of those rare occurrences where a book just takes your breath away. I had a feeling that this book would be special, and it exceeded all my expectations of it.
Twenty-year-old Thomas Flett is a shanker. Up before dawn is even thinking of rising, he and his faithful horse (who has no name for superstitious reasons) follow a well-trodden path to the sea where they eke out a living together. Casting nets to catch the shrimp that tumble through the waves, to be sold directly to market. It’s a profession that is being replaced by machinery, but he sticks to the old ways which his pop taught him.
"Providing is surviving."
Older than his years from such hard manual labour, Thomas’s joys are few. The guitar which he bought from hocking his pop’s watch, and Joan Wyeth who he is sweet but too shy to talk to. Tom’s dreams are simple. He’d like to sing folk songs he has written at the local pub but doesn’t think he’s up to it. He’d like to ask Joan out but assumes she wouldn’t want a simple man who smells of the sea. It’s not that he is unhappy, but Thomas can’t help but think that there is a world beyond the perimeter of the home he shares with his mother, horse and the sea. He has a lot of time to think, the hours he spends on the shoreline. He wonders who he would be if he had been able to finish his schooling. If he had known his father. If he had a life other than that by the sea.
"Enjoy his life instead of drifting through it."
A chance encounter by a stranger who arrives in their little corner of Longferry could be the person to turn things around.
This is such a beautifully atmospheric book where you can feel the whip of the wind on your skin, and the sting of the salt in your eyes. You really get the sense of feeling what Thomas is feeling, going out in all weathers. I don’t know if it’s because I live near the beach, but this book spoke to me on so many levels.
This is a story that shows change is always imminent and sometimes we are forced out of our comfort zone in order to flourish.
"But the world had other plans. The world does tend to, doesn't it, in my experience."
Book 5 of my Booker Prize longlist. While I’ve only read a mere portion of this year’s longlist, I can't but hope that this one wins. It’s special. It’s such a stunning, lonely, yet hopeful book. It’s one I will carry around with me, and I can’t really explain why. It’s just so beautiful.
It wouldn't surprise me if this ends up being made into a film or mini-series at some point. It actually begs to be brought to life via an additional medium.
Buddy read with the wonderful, talented Mr.Nealeski. Make sure you read his review when he posts it.
Thomas’ song can be listened to here. In context with the book you can’t help but tear up when you hear it:
http://www.benjaminwood.info/seascrap...
"Lord, it's a hard life, son, I know that it is,
to rise with the tide in the morning at Longferry
Let me go home with the whiskets full of shrimp
Bury me here in these waters so I can be
a seascraper
a seascraper
a seascraper
a seascraper forever"
September 4, 2025
Thomas Flett relies upon the ebb tide for a living, but he knows the end is near.
Никогда не недооценивайте важность первого предложения.
Где-то посреди нигде, в густом утреннем тумане, в полутьме, холоде и сырости какой-то вонючий, небритый, опухший чувак идет собирать креветки. The draught horse — a well-tempered gelding he’s declined to give a name for superstitious reasons — is expecting him.
Хорошо, что мне нравятся другие романы Бенджамина Вуда (Ecliptic и Bellwether Revivals, например); хорошо, что я не чувствительна к физиологическому в литературе (среди моих любимых авторов — Миранда Джулай и Эдуард Лимонов); хорошо, что у меня была бумажная книжка. Дойдя до страницы двадцать семь, я точно поняла, что что-то будет.
Эта книжка, конечно, — значительный скачок вперед даже по сравнению с Эклиптикой. Вуд пишет плотно, но прозрачно; нагоняет саспенсу, который почему-то не страшный, а комфортный, умиротворяющий такой саспенс. Вот этим летом я ехала по лесу на велосипеде посреди такого же нигде, а впереди — припаркованная машина и мужик с топором. У меня было секунд тридцать, чтобы поразмышлять о возможных последствиях нашей встречи. Я решила не робеть. Мужик поздоровался и сказал, что за болотом справа брусника получше.
Роман Вуда — это брусника получше, если не испугаться болота неоднократно упомянутых вонючих подмышек и вросших ногтей. На 162 страницах у нас есть зачин, средняя часть и очень эффектная концовка. Есть про любовь, про профессию, про обсессию и даже про мисс Хэвишем, по-моему, есть. Может повернуться готическим бочком, а может и сентиментальным подсюсюкнуть. Много комического! И все это не распадается на части, а так и просится на киноэкран; мне даже интересно, кому из режиссеров доверили бы снять такую красоту.
Никогда не недооценивайте важность первого предложения.
Где-то посреди нигде, в густом утреннем тумане, в полутьме, холоде и сырости какой-то вонючий, небритый, опухший чувак идет собирать креветки. The draught horse — a well-tempered gelding he’s declined to give a name for superstitious reasons — is expecting him.
Хорошо, что мне нравятся другие романы Бенджамина Вуда (Ecliptic и Bellwether Revivals, например); хорошо, что я не чувствительна к физиологическому в литературе (среди моих любимых авторов — Миранда Джулай и Эдуард Лимонов); хорошо, что у меня была бумажная книжка. Дойдя до страницы двадцать семь, я точно поняла, что что-то будет.
Эта книжка, конечно, — значительный скачок вперед даже по сравнению с Эклиптикой. Вуд пишет плотно, но прозрачно; нагоняет саспенсу, который почему-то не страшный, а комфортный, умиротворяющий такой саспенс. Вот этим летом я ехала по лесу на велосипеде посреди такого же нигде, а впереди — припаркованная машина и мужик с топором. У меня было секунд тридцать, чтобы поразмышлять о возможных последствиях нашей встречи. Я решила не робеть. Мужик поздоровался и сказал, что за болотом справа брусника получше.
Роман Вуда — это брусника получше, если не испугаться болота неоднократно упомянутых вонючих подмышек и вросших ногтей. На 162 страницах у нас есть зачин, средняя часть и очень эффектная концовка. Есть про любовь, про профессию, про обсессию и даже про мисс Хэвишем, по-моему, есть. Может повернуться готическим бочком, а может и сентиментальным подсюсюкнуть. Много комического! И все это не распадается на части, а так и просится на киноэкран; мне даже интересно, кому из режиссеров доверили бы снять такую красоту.
August 13, 2025
Bukerova lista 2025 #1:
Ovogodišnji uzaludni pohod na Bukerov katalog počeo sam sa ovim romanom – najviše jer je audio knjiga kratkih pet i po sati, i to u naraciji autora. I to je lepo obojilo moj utisak jer, elem, Seascraper je više pesma nego roman. Protagonista, pre lovac sakupljač nego industrijska radna klasa, ima snove o muzici. U jednom trenutku, sine mu pesma. On je otpeva – a s njim, otpeva je i Bendžamin Vud, autor, sa sve gitarom u pozadini. I to je manje više sve što ova knjiga jeste. Prva polovina romana je u potpunosti ekskurzija u život radne klase. Ako ne potpuno eksploitativan (mislim da je jako tanka nit između ode onima na onoj drugoj strani siromaštva i sitnodušnog romantiziranja nezavidnog životnog položaja), onda defitivno ne i posebno socijalno-realističan narativ. Druga polovina je značajno više magijski realizam. Možda su to samo moji ukusi, ali ova dva podžanra se uopšte ne mešaju, čak šta više, u otvorenom su konfliktu. This could’ve been an e-mail ili, radije, ovo je mogla biti pesma. Slabo, iako stilski ok.
2
Ovogodišnji uzaludni pohod na Bukerov katalog počeo sam sa ovim romanom – najviše jer je audio knjiga kratkih pet i po sati, i to u naraciji autora. I to je lepo obojilo moj utisak jer, elem, Seascraper je više pesma nego roman. Protagonista, pre lovac sakupljač nego industrijska radna klasa, ima snove o muzici. U jednom trenutku, sine mu pesma. On je otpeva – a s njim, otpeva je i Bendžamin Vud, autor, sa sve gitarom u pozadini. I to je manje više sve što ova knjiga jeste. Prva polovina romana je u potpunosti ekskurzija u život radne klase. Ako ne potpuno eksploitativan (mislim da je jako tanka nit između ode onima na onoj drugoj strani siromaštva i sitnodušnog romantiziranja nezavidnog životnog položaja), onda defitivno ne i posebno socijalno-realističan narativ. Druga polovina je značajno više magijski realizam. Možda su to samo moji ukusi, ali ova dva podžanra se uopšte ne mešaju, čak šta više, u otvorenom su konfliktu. This could’ve been an e-mail ili, radije, ovo je mogla biti pesma. Slabo, iako stilski ok.
2
August 19, 2025
Booker Book 6/13. 8 out of 10. A hugely atmospheric and tightly packed little book, with more than a hint of the supernatural. Superficially, a coming of age story of a young man in the early 60s who shrimps the Northern English coast using a method and equipment that hasn’t changed in the preceding 150 years. But Woods manages to build a world in less than 200 pages and imbue it with a sense of menace and a little eerie flavor that keep you turning pages. Really well crafted.
August 30, 2025
✨ Meet Thomas Flett. His world is small, defined by the grey beaches of Longferry where he scrapes for shrimp—his grandfather’s trade, now his. His days are a cycle of salt, scum, and quiet yearning: for Joan Wyeth down the street, and for the life of a folk musician he only dares to practice alone in his room.
Then a stranger arrives, crackling with the energy of another world—Hollywood. For the first time, Thomas’s dream doesn’t feel so foolish. This American offers a glimpse of a different future, but is his promise real?
Seascraper is a haunting and melancholic novel, but at its core, it’s a deeply human and hopeful question: how do we break out of the life we’re given to find the one we’re meant for?
Benjamin Wood’s prose is rich and requires your attention, but it rewards you with a powerful understanding of that struggle. It’s a beautiful, well-deserved Booker contender that truly sees the dreamer in all of us. ✨👌💪
Then a stranger arrives, crackling with the energy of another world—Hollywood. For the first time, Thomas’s dream doesn’t feel so foolish. This American offers a glimpse of a different future, but is his promise real?
Seascraper is a haunting and melancholic novel, but at its core, it’s a deeply human and hopeful question: how do we break out of the life we’re given to find the one we’re meant for?
Benjamin Wood’s prose is rich and requires your attention, but it rewards you with a powerful understanding of that struggle. It’s a beautiful, well-deserved Booker contender that truly sees the dreamer in all of us. ✨👌💪
September 3, 2025
If I were to close my eyes and picture a book I read this year, I think I'd picture Seascraper. I adored this tiny, deceptively layered novel about the power of art, dreams, and one's ability to change circumstance. We get just two days and 175 pages with Thomas, but I know him, and I can hear his song in my head without even seeking it out. This is one of the most atmospheric books I've ever read, and I'm so grateful to earlier readers of Seascraper for bringing me one of my favorite books of the year. This isn't for everyone, but WOW.
I'll be honest, I was about 80 or so pages into this short novel, and was feeling confused why so many readers I trust loved and why many were telling me I would too. I'm grateful for that, or I might have DNFed. Soon after, I was like OH that's why, and then again OHHHH *that* is why. This is a special book.
I'll be honest, I was about 80 or so pages into this short novel, and was feeling confused why so many readers I trust loved and why many were telling me I would too. I'm grateful for that, or I might have DNFed. Soon after, I was like OH that's why, and then again OHHHH *that* is why. This is a special book.
August 22, 2025
Beautiful and atmospheric, Seascraper feels like a love letter to the English language. Benjamin Wood’s quiet yet impactful prose captivated me from start to finish.
Themes of longing, isolation, inheritance, and the pull between duty and desire are expressed with such delicacy and depth. There’s a meditative quality to the writing — restrained yet deeply evocative — that makes every line feel purposeful.
An elegant, profoundly moving novel that invites you to slow down and savour every word.
Themes of longing, isolation, inheritance, and the pull between duty and desire are expressed with such delicacy and depth. There’s a meditative quality to the writing — restrained yet deeply evocative — that makes every line feel purposeful.
An elegant, profoundly moving novel that invites you to slow down and savour every word.
August 1, 2025
"It's so strange, when you read a book and you can picture all the places in it so completely, even though they're built from someone else's life and you're just like a tourist in the writer's scenery, you know – A motion of grey chalk and then he reaches for the white again"
..& just like that I was that very tint of grey chalk in this minimal yet elaborate canvas of the author. The quaint ambience & atmospheric settings pulled me in such a way that it never feels as if we have been apart
Thomas Flett is a young shanker (collects shrimp by netting on a horse) lives with his mother in Town of Longferry in 1960's. A very hard life marred with loans & absent father
"He has to push aside a load of musty coats from where they're hanging on the hooks, which seem to be remainders of his younger days..they should've been donated..but his ma gets sentimental when it comes to their possessions - she believes the fibres of a person's soul remain in them forever"
Divided into 3 parts as Low tide or High Tide, the ebb & flow of the story is spread over a period of 2 days. Wherein a visit from Edgar Acheson (probably a big time Hollywood director) brings a vital difference in otherwise mundane life of Thomas. It opens the folds of the story, all the while opening the hidden endearing facets of Thomas's desires, dreams, wishes & some unanswered questions
"He wishes he could see the beach the way it must appear to Edgar, special and mysterious. But the parts of it which stoked his fascination as a boy – the strange withholding of the water, all the energy that you could sense but never see - have turned to ordinary components of his day"
Whenever I visit an art gallery, much to the horror of the people around, all I want to do is not just look at the paintings but to touch them, feel their texture, the brazen or the soft strokes, the finesse of colours etc.
& Oh Yes Benjamin Woods gave me every goddamn opportunity to do that. I feel satiated
It's dark, eerie, surprising, distressing, charming, heart breaking & very humane. The gloomy damp settings are so palpable. Oh special claps for that heart warming ending
Read it for the sheer beauty of why we write & why we read
..& just like that I was that very tint of grey chalk in this minimal yet elaborate canvas of the author. The quaint ambience & atmospheric settings pulled me in such a way that it never feels as if we have been apart
Thomas Flett is a young shanker (collects shrimp by netting on a horse) lives with his mother in Town of Longferry in 1960's. A very hard life marred with loans & absent father
"He has to push aside a load of musty coats from where they're hanging on the hooks, which seem to be remainders of his younger days..they should've been donated..but his ma gets sentimental when it comes to their possessions - she believes the fibres of a person's soul remain in them forever"
Divided into 3 parts as Low tide or High Tide, the ebb & flow of the story is spread over a period of 2 days. Wherein a visit from Edgar Acheson (probably a big time Hollywood director) brings a vital difference in otherwise mundane life of Thomas. It opens the folds of the story, all the while opening the hidden endearing facets of Thomas's desires, dreams, wishes & some unanswered questions
"He wishes he could see the beach the way it must appear to Edgar, special and mysterious. But the parts of it which stoked his fascination as a boy – the strange withholding of the water, all the energy that you could sense but never see - have turned to ordinary components of his day"
Whenever I visit an art gallery, much to the horror of the people around, all I want to do is not just look at the paintings but to touch them, feel their texture, the brazen or the soft strokes, the finesse of colours etc.
& Oh Yes Benjamin Woods gave me every goddamn opportunity to do that. I feel satiated
It's dark, eerie, surprising, distressing, charming, heart breaking & very humane. The gloomy damp settings are so palpable. Oh special claps for that heart warming ending
Read it for the sheer beauty of why we write & why we read
Displaying 1 - 30 of 317 reviews