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.
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. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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
"This funny, clever, and wise novel, filled with well-developed characters who are more than exxentric stereotypes, moves [Gilbert] squarely to the forefront of writers to watch."-The Seattle Times
"[Stern Men] flashes with welcome brilliance."-The New York Times
"Howlingly funny."-San Francisco Chronicle
"A wonderful novel that will have you laughing out loud, Stern Men is an admirable debut from a writer obviously destined for literary longevity. Like Tyler and Irving (and Joseph Heller, Stanley Elkin, and Alice Hoffman) Gilbert has a gift for comic fiction that conveys serious issues. And like those writers, Gilbert will most certainly be around for a long time to come."-The Denver Post
"Gilbert's storytelling brio and keen intelligence prove irressitible."-New York Newsday
"Beautifully wrought and very funny. . . Gilbert's tangy language has as much music as muscle; the novel is Emersonian in its clarity and Austenian in its sly social observations." -Mirabella
"An impressive comic debut." -Claire Dederer, author of Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma
"A beautiful novel, funny and moving at the same time and populated by some quite memorable characters. Highly recommended."-Library Journal
"Gilbert's novel is funny and offbeat, full of odd characters and a strong-willed, opinionated protagonist who is destined for more than what life has presented her."-Booklist
"A sly picaresque . . . Part offbeat social history of lobstermen and their environment and part love story, Gilbert's debut is a surprisingly satisfying combination of ideas. . . while the story is more or less contemporary, it has the time-out-of-time quality typical of the best fiction . . . Sophisticated yet ribald, comic yet serious: an exceptional debut from a writer to watch."-Kirkus Reviews
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.
Excerpt
.
. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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
"This funny, clever, and wise novel, filled with well-developed characters who are more than exxentric stereotypes, moves [Gilbert] squarely to the forefront of writers to watch."-The Seattle Times
"[Stern Men] flashes with welcome brilliance."-The New York Times
"Howlingly funny."-San Francisco Chronicle
"A wonderful novel that will have you laughing out loud, Stern Men is an admirable debut from a writer obviously destined for literary longevity. Like Tyler and Irving (and Joseph Heller, Stanley Elkin, and Alice Hoffman) Gilbert has a gift for comic fiction that conveys serious issues. And like those writers, Gilbert will most certainly be around for a long time to come."-The Denver Post
"Gilbert's storytelling brio and keen intelligence prove irressitible."-New York Newsday
"Beautifully wrought and very funny. . . Gilbert's tangy language has as much music as muscle; the novel is Emersonian in its clarity and Austenian in its sly social observations." -Mirabella
"An impressive comic debut." -Claire Dederer, author of Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma
"A beautiful novel, funny and moving at the same time and populated by some quite memorable characters. Highly recommended."-Library Journal
"Gilbert's novel is funny and offbeat, full of odd characters and a strong-willed, opinionated protagonist who is destined for more than what life has presented her."-Booklist
"A sly picaresque . . . Part offbeat social history of lobstermen and their environment and part love story, Gilbert's debut is a surprisingly satisfying combination of ideas. . . while the story is more or less contemporary, it has the time-out-of-time quality typical of the best fiction . . . Sophisticated yet ribald, comic yet serious: an exceptional debut from a writer to watch."-Kirkus Reviews
