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John Feltham

Autor/a de The islands of Bonavista Bay

14 obres 27 Membres 1 crítiques

Obres de John Feltham

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John Feltham is a fascinating writer. Now if only he were an organized writer.

Trigger warning, of sorts: If you're going to read this book, you have to be prepared for the fact that it's about sealing -- the mass murder of seals (mostly harp seal pups) for their fur and fat. There isn't much in here that is graphic, but it's always in in the background: These ships were sent out to commit mass slaughter.

So why read it? Because the book also documents a sub-culture that existed nowhere else in the world. Yes, there have been other places where sealing has been practiced. But Newfoundland's sealing industry is unique -- Newfoundland was barren enough that fishing and sealing were necessary to survive (as was true, e.g., of Inuit sealers), but it was a Western culture, so it used more modern technology (as was true, e.g, of South Seas sealers). This combination was unique to Newfoundland, and the culture really did change as a result. Other books cover that cultural shift much more extensively, but just to give a small sample, Newfoundland English adapted -- seals were "swiles," and their hides were "sculps." They learned to eat much of the seal, and create special dishes such as "fipper [flipper] stew" and "fipper pie."

At first, many small ships took part in the seal hunt, but as the seals became harder to find, the small schooners gave way to much larger steam ships, and it was rare for more than two dozen or so to be involved in each spring's hunt. The fact that there were so few ships involved, and that most of them went to the ice year after year (in some cases, for more than half a century!) makes this book possible. It doesn't include all the steam sealers -- some very noteworthy ships, such as the Florizel and the Stephano, are omitted -- but it certainly gives an interesting sample and a nice overview.

My one gripe, other than wishing the book were longer (i.e. that it included more of the ships it omits), is lack of organization. A small example: For many ships, the book lists her record on the ice -- the years she went out, the captain involved, the number of seals taken. But not every ship has such a list, and the lists are not all formatted the same way, so it is hard to compare the results. Then, too, the captains of Newfoundland sealers were often drawn from sealing dynasties (the Keans, the Barbours, the Winsors, the Bartletts), so "Captain Kean" could be Abram Kean, or Joe Kean, or Westbury Kean, or others. Even "Captain A. Kean" is no help, because Abram Kean, the patriarch, had a son, Abram Kean Jr., who also commanded ships at least a few times. A little more clarity would have helped.

And... an index. That's the biggest single lack in the book. True, it's organized by chapters on particular ships, so if you want to look up the Nimrod or the Southern Cross or the Newfoundland or the Terra Nova, you can go straight to that chapter. But there is a lot of information on other ships here, and no way to find it except by chance. And no way to look up particular captains. This makes the book much harder to use as a reference. There is a lot of great information here -- but if you truly want to use it, you need to know in advance just what you'll want to learn about as you read it.
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waltzmn | Feb 6, 2018 |

Estadístiques

Obres
14
Membres
27
Popularitat
#483,027
Valoració
½ 3.5
Ressenyes
1
ISBN
6