William Carpenter (1)

I decided to try this one after reading a review in a Maine newspaper. I'm very glad I did. It isn't your usual war veteran story, although the elements regarding Nick's physical and emotional damage after his vehicle was blown up in Iraq, leaving him the sole survivor and unable to hear, ring true. It's how Amber Island, owned by a wealthy Massachusetts family becomes his refuge, leading him to a duality regarding its purpose. On the one hand, most of the family, still grieving the death of the patriarch, an architect who refused to let anything modern be built on the island, are determined that building an eco-resort, complete with helipad and swimming pool in the old granite quarry, will somehow bring about healing (and money). On the other is the youngest daughter, Julia, emotionally damaged in ways Nick senses are akin to his, who is determined to stop any development as she feels her father wanted things to remain unspoiled.
Nick's retreat from society to the island where he fixes up a decrepit sheepherder's hut and ekes out a survival through the winter, allows him to slow some of the insane memories in his head while discovering secrets about the island. Despite working for the family members as the resort goes forth, his final act, though unexpected, makes perfect sense in terms of what he experienced prior to coming to the island. It's an intriguing and excellent read.… (más)

In The Wooden Nickel, William Carpenter gives us Lucky Lunt, a high school dropout whose entire world is one big mid-life crisis. His home, built by his grandfather, is mortgaged to pay for a new engine for his wooden boat (The Wooden Nickel -the only wooden boat left on the waterfront.) His wife has "found herself" as an artist and has turned his garage loft into a studio. His son, a gay skinhead who has also dropped out of high school, is tattooed, and into drugs, - a combination which does not go over well with Lucky. His daughter, who appears to be the only one taking education at all seriously, is headed for college if the money can somehow be found. She manages to land a position as an au pair to a rich family "from away" and begins (at least in her father's view) to put on airs.

To add to all of this, Lucky is without medical insurance and therefore owes the local doctors and hospitals several thousands of dollars to pay for his recent open heart surgery after his heart attack. The doctor's proscriptions against smoking, drinking, cussing, and too much lifting on his boat have left him cross, scared, and totally lost on how to go about getting his life back to the good old days, his son back in school (or at least working on his father's boat), his wife back in his bed, and red meat back on his plate.

We read this one for our local book discussion group, and many readers, while admitting that this scenario could be all too real here in Maine, had a very hard time with Lucky's very crude language and overuse of a certain digital expression. Lucky is a man whose choices are limited by his background, his lack of education and a hefty dose of poor luck.

Wooden Nickel's Lucky is one of the funniest characters I've come across in a long time. Think Archie Bunker on a lobster boat. His world is inhabited by meatheads who cannot understand or honor his commitment to living in the past, and his frustrations with being misunderstood and unable to articulate his fear, his rage and his feelings of helplessness manifest themselves the only way he knows how - in spicy, raw, crude language and obscene gestures. He's a flawed character you end up loving. The lead female character, Ronette, is a street tough, 20 year old whom Lucky hires as a sternman. Life gets even better (or worse depending on your perspective) after that.

If you want the real Maine, I promise you, this is it. It is not the sailboat and lighthouse postcard of the Chamber of Commerce. This book give you hardworking, god-fearing people who are trying to do the best they can with the cards they were dealt.… (más)