The "wonderful first novel about life, love, and lobster fishing" (USA Today) from the #1 bestselling author of Eat Pray Love, Big Magic and City of Girls
Off the coast of Maine, Ruth Thomas is born into a feud fought for generations by two groups of local lobstermen over fishing rights for the waters that lie between their respective islands. At eighteen, she has returned from boarding school-smart as a whip, feisty, and irredeemably unromantic-determined to throw over her education and join the "stern men" working the lobster boats. Gilbert utterly captures the American spirit through an unforgettable heroine who is destined for greatness-and love-despite herself in this the critically acclaimed debut.
Praise for Stern Men
"Rich as drawn butter and as comical as the crawly crustacean itself. . . Gilbert has penned a Dickensian tale; one wishes it ran in two volumes."-USA Today
"While Elizabeth Gilbert is not the first writer to suggest that smart women have much to teach stern men, she puts the idea forward with rugged power."-The New York Times Book Review
"[Stern Men] flashes with welcome brilliance."-The New York Times
"Howlingly funny."-San Francisco Chronicle
"An impressive comic debut." -Claire Dederer, author of Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma
The "wonderful first novel about life, love, and lobster fishing" (USA Today) from the #1 bestselling author of Eat Pray Love, Big Magic and City of Girls
Off the coast of Maine, Ruth Thomas is born into a feud fought for generations by two groups of local lobstermen over fishing rights for the waters that lie between their respective islands. At eighteen, she has returned from boarding school-smart as a whip, feisty, and irredeemably unromantic-determined to throw over her education and join the "stern men" working the lobster boats. Gilbert utterly captures the American spirit through an unforgettable heroine who is destined for greatness-and love-despite herself in this the critically acclaimed debut.
Praise
Praise for Stern Men
"Rich as drawn butter and as comical as the crawly crustacean itself. . . Gilbert has penned a Dickensian tale; one wishes it ran in two volumes."-USA Today
"While Elizabeth Gilbert is not the first writer to suggest that smart women have much to teach stern men, she puts the idea forward with rugged power."-The New York Times Book Review
"[Stern Men] flashes with welcome brilliance."-The New York Times
"Howlingly funny."-San Francisco Chronicle
"An impressive comic debut." -Claire Dederer, author of Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma
