A cosy mystery from the point of view of a twelve-year old, Closer by Sea by Perry Chafe is a thought provoking novel that took me to the shores of Newfoundland. I am always on the lookout for stories from around Canada and this one caught my eye because of its setting and underlying mystery. Take a look at the synopsis:
Closer by Sea
By Perry Chafe | Goodreads
From the writer and producer of the hit TV shows Republic of Doyle and Son of a Critch , a poignant coming-of-age debut novel about the mysterious disappearance of a young girl and the fragility of childhood bonds, set against the backdrop of a small island community adapting to an ever-changing landscape.
In 1991, on a small, isolated island off the coast of Newfoundland, twelve-year-old Pierce Jacobs struggles to come to terms with the death of his father. It’s been three years since his dad, a fisherman, disappeared in the cold, unforgiving Atlantic, his body never recovered. Pierce is determined to save enough money to fix his father’s old boat and take it out to sea. But life on the island is quiet and hard. The local fishing industry is on the brink of collapse, threatening to take an ages-old way of life with it. The community is hit even harder when a young teen named Anna Tessier goes missing.
With the help of his three friends, Pierce sets out to find Anna, with whom he shared an unusual but special bond. They soon cross paths with Solomon Vickers, a mysterious, hermetic fisherman who may have something to do with the missing girl. Their search brings them into contact with unrelenting bullies, magnificent sea creatures, fierce storms, and glacial giants. But most of all, it brings them closer to the brutal reality of both the natural and the modern world.
Part coming-of-age story, part literary mystery, and part suspense thriller, Closer by Sea is a page-turning, poignant, and powerful novel about family, friendship, and community set at a pivotal time in modern Newfoundland history. It is an homage to a people and a place, and above all it captures that delicate and tender moment when the wonder of childhood innocence gives way to the harsh awakening of adult experience.
Closer by Sea – Review
The Setting
I loved the setting of this book! It is fascinating to me how different life in a small town by the sea can be compared to an in-land town. Close by Sea takes place over the course of a summer in which Pierce is twelve years old. His days are spent by the dock, helping his community fishermen unload fish from their boats and take out and sell their tongues. The rhythm of the days is defined by the seasons and the fish industry. There are storm watches and ice bergs to avoid when on the waters.
The fishing industry has been the main form of livelihood on the island for a long time and people have contributed to it not just as fishermen but also boat builders. I loved the knowledge put into the book about operating and fixing boats, the different kinds of boats and the ways of getting food from the ocean when out fishing. The collapse of the codfish industry, however, is seeing an exodus of people leaving the island. With less fish and more fishermen, there is competition within the community of who will catch the most fish. While the catch has been reducing over time due to overfishing, there are other unpredictable aspects of earning livelihood on the ocean. Pierce’s dad’s accident speaks to how sometimes people never come back.
Fun fact: I did not know that icebergs are a common occurrence around the Newfoundland coast. They float from Greenland to their waters and eventually, over the course of months, disintegrate. To me they signified inevitable change, as is the way in life. They are unmistakable and un-ignorable objects that exist and need to be worked around.
Grief and how it unites us
Pierce lost his father when he was eight years old to an accident at sea. This severed connection has been heavy on him all these years and he is acutely aware that losing his father meant losing generations of knowledge about the island’s way of life. There is so much he was yet to learn from his dad but that got taken away from him. His uncle who used to be a fisherman has moved away to another part of Canada because the fish catch is declining. There is no one else who could teach him. His father’s boat in the backyard is important to Pierce. It is the last remaining piece that connects him to his father and his way of life as a fisherman. He wants to repair it but he is aware that he must first get over his fear of the ocean.
Pierce’s relationship with his mother evolves a lot in this book. He is getting older and he starts to notice her pains due to the loss of her husband. It’s been a few years since they planted a garden in the summer and her insistence to do that again shows she has reached a new place in her grieving. She holds her son to a high standard of etiquette in the community. She knows the boat means a lot to him and she does not push him to sell it. She is careful with him, delicate in approaching topics that are raw. She does not want to leave the place she has called home but she is also practical and encourages Pierce to think about the life he wants to have. It might mean leaving the island. As Pierce grows older, he realizes how much harder her mother has to work to maintain their way of life and how they share his dad’s loss together. I loved his growing understanding of the dimensions of grief and how we share it with family members.
Anna was the first person with whom Pierce could be open about the grief of losing his father. She gave him a frowny face pin and told him that it was ok to be sad. They shared a friendship that was timeless and did not require them to see each other everyday. He loved her like an older sister and wanted her to be found. She had cared for him and shared her passion for art with him. He saw a side of her that perhaps she did not share with other people on the island.
On an island where everyone knows everyone, Solomon Vickers is a stranger. The kids look at him in fear and expect him to be up to no good. In reality, he is a marine biologist. He lost his wife many years ago and has come to the island to complete a project that she had passionately pursued. He knows the threats to the codfish industry and the imminent future. He takes the kids under his wing, getting them involved in cataloging samples and sharing his love for sea creatures. He can see the grief Pierce is going through and becomes a strength for Pierce as they get to know each other. I loved how their relationship evolved through the book. Though Soloman is quite different from Pierce’s father, they share an understanding that lets Pierce ultimately welcome Solomon into his life. I admired their friendship.
Childhood Friendships
Oh the days of being young and wild! Pierce, Bennie and Thomas have known each other all their lives. They have been in the same classes in school. I loved the banter and it reminded me of how my husband and his friends still converse – the jabs, the liberty and the comradery shines in their friendship. They look out for each other and are bonded together against anyone who threatens them. They are young and big boys like Ross and the Arseholes try to take advantage of them but they stand together. Emily, Bennie’s cousin, joins the group during the summer. She is fierce and having grown up in New York, does not abide by the gender roles of the island. This is hard on Thomas in particular who does not have any girl siblings or cousins. In Emily, Pierce finds a confidant. Her father is not in her life and she understands the hole left behind in Pierce due to his dad’s passing. Pierce and Emily slowly fall into love and I loved watching Bennie and Thomas adjust to this budding relationship.
Thomas, Bennie, Pierce and Emily are completely different personalities and have had different upbringings. While Thomas is a problem-solver, very handy with tools, he is also impatient and jumps to conclusions. Bennie is quiet and caring. Pierce questions authority while Emily is fierce and unafraid to investigate. Each brings their unique skills to the search for Anna and I enjoyed learning about what became of them as they grew older and left the island.
I love reading about childhood friendships. Those early friendships when we are on the cusp of teenage years stay with us even if the friends might not stay with us. I think back to the walks I used to take around the neighborhood with my best friend, the books we used to read, the impromptu dance parties we used to have, the swings we enjoyed on the playground, climbing trees and exploring construction sites where we should never have been, the arguments over boys and girl friends, the disciplining from parents… These are precious memories from times before school and career became the focus. It felt great to revisit them though Closer by Sea.
Closer by Sea is a beautiful meditation on loss, love and childhood friendships. Set on Perigo Island, a small island off the coast of Newfoundland, it tells the story of Pierce and his friends, Thomas, Bennie and Emily as they try to find out where Anna, the missing girl, disappeared to. Pierce’s grief due to the loss of his father is at the center of this search. Over the course of the summer, the kids are confronted with their beliefs around strangers on the island as well as the changing lifestyle due to the declining codfish population. Educational, thought-provoking, poignant, Closer by Sea will take you back to the carefree childhood summers.
Book Club Questions for Closer by Sea
Some questions I enjoyed from a discussion guide:
- The novel is set on Perigo Island, a small island off the coast of Newfoundland. How does the landscape and the surrounding Atlantic Ocean act not only as a setting and backdrop, but almost as characters in the novel? How does place and environment shape the community and the kids? How does it reflect their history and legacy?
- Pierce, Bennie, and Thomas’s friendship is one that is built on adventure, jocular rivalry, and close bonds. How does it strengthen when confronted by Ross and the Arseholes? How does it change with Emily becoming a part of the group?
- What does the iceberg symbolize in the novel?
- What kinds of lessons and values does Pierce’s mother impart to him? How does she play a role in easing him out of childhood and into adulthood?
- How does the collapse of the codfish industry affect the community? In addition to the economic threat, does it also threaten other aspects of people’s lives?
- The novel is also about childhood friendship. How do these formative relationships not only affect one’s childhood, but also carry reverberations into adulthood?
- Why does Solomon take the time to teach the children about ocean life? How does his message echo Pierce’s father’s talks with his son?
Many thanks to the publisher for gifting me a review copy of this book for an honest review.
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