Call number
FIC DOY
Collection
Genres
Publication
Thomas Dunne Books (2014), 320 pages
Description
"A compelling, marvelous novel by the acclaimed author of Mink River Declan O Donnell has left Oregon aboard his boat, the Plover, to escape the life that's so troubled him on land. He sets course west into the Pacific in search of solitude. Instead, he finds a crew, each in search of something themselves, and what at first seems a lonely sea voyage becomes a rapturous, heartfelt celebration of life's surprising paths, planned and unplanned"--
User reviews
LibraryThing member mckait
The Plover: A Novel by Brian Doyle is a story as deep as the ocean and just as vast. Declan is a dreamer who is undeniably filled with both wisdom and whimsey. Off he sails on the Plover, headed west, west, west. He is going to sail alone and be alone and dream and observe and then, life begins to
Declan's solo voyage begins to become a bit crowded. He is joined by a somewhat motly crew who all begin to rely upon one another to become a family. Their story is improbable, no impossible! But surely it must be true, because surely no one can make up characters like these.But no.. a novel it is.
Brian Doyle has written what amounts to a masterpiece for those of us who read for the friendship of the characters, the love of the people within the pages. If I don't care about the characters in a book, I don't like the book. What's the point of it, I think? And even though I love the characters here, I strive to find the reason, the what is it and why of it?
Declan, Pico, Pipa...what kind of story are you in? Is this a story of the life of Declan? Is it a story of life at sea? I don't think it is a mystery but it is certainly mysterious at times. There is a soft spirituality in this tale, and a grim darkness as well. Wait! I think thats it, This is an allegory of life, it's not about life, it IS life. That is my take on this tale.
We are all in it alone, but not really. We face our ups and downs our moments of brilliant light and fathomless darkness. We need no one but ourselves, and of course all of the others. For me, that is what this story represents. For you? Who knows. I know this, you NEED to read this book. I think that is one of those magical, mystical, marvelous stories that has a different meaning for us all.
Recommended
Show More
happen to him.Declan's solo voyage begins to become a bit crowded. He is joined by a somewhat motly crew who all begin to rely upon one another to become a family. Their story is improbable, no impossible! But surely it must be true, because surely no one can make up characters like these.But no.. a novel it is.
Brian Doyle has written what amounts to a masterpiece for those of us who read for the friendship of the characters, the love of the people within the pages. If I don't care about the characters in a book, I don't like the book. What's the point of it, I think? And even though I love the characters here, I strive to find the reason, the what is it and why of it?
Declan, Pico, Pipa...what kind of story are you in? Is this a story of the life of Declan? Is it a story of life at sea? I don't think it is a mystery but it is certainly mysterious at times. There is a soft spirituality in this tale, and a grim darkness as well. Wait! I think thats it, This is an allegory of life, it's not about life, it IS life. That is my take on this tale.
We are all in it alone, but not really. We face our ups and downs our moments of brilliant light and fathomless darkness. We need no one but ourselves, and of course all of the others. For me, that is what this story represents. For you? Who knows. I know this, you NEED to read this book. I think that is one of those magical, mystical, marvelous stories that has a different meaning for us all.
Recommended
Show Less
LibraryThing member msf59
“The ocean is a wilderness.”
“The warbler launches an incredible tumultuous song covering many subjects.”
Captain Declan O' Connor is barely out of his twenties but he is a land-weary soul and decides one day, to pack up his small fishing trawler, The Plover, and spend the rest of his days on
He is soon joined by a single gull, who maintains a spot, just off the bow and then a friend, with his crippled daughter, hitch a ride and before Declan realizes it, he has a boat full of lively company. The human sort, along with a warbler, an albatross and a pair of rats.
A mystical, seafaring yarn, full of wonderful prose. This novel is like a colorful cousin to The Life of Pi, which is a book I admire, but this is even more self-assured and lyrical. It is a 300 page song and made me an instant fan of Brian Doyle.
How can you resist, plums like this:
“...two men almost thirty, in the fullness of their strength, seasoned by rage and pain, yet open to adventure and liable to joy, neither man hungry for money or power, each thirsty for something deeper he could not name but only feel it missing; two lean arrows in grim defense of the child behind them.”
“The warbler launches an incredible tumultuous song covering many subjects.”
Captain Declan O' Connor is barely out of his twenties but he is a land-weary soul and decides one day, to pack up his small fishing trawler, The Plover, and spend the rest of his days on
Show More
the open sea. Being alone and being free of responsibilities are his only concerns.He is soon joined by a single gull, who maintains a spot, just off the bow and then a friend, with his crippled daughter, hitch a ride and before Declan realizes it, he has a boat full of lively company. The human sort, along with a warbler, an albatross and a pair of rats.
A mystical, seafaring yarn, full of wonderful prose. This novel is like a colorful cousin to The Life of Pi, which is a book I admire, but this is even more self-assured and lyrical. It is a 300 page song and made me an instant fan of Brian Doyle.
How can you resist, plums like this:
“...two men almost thirty, in the fullness of their strength, seasoned by rage and pain, yet open to adventure and liable to joy, neither man hungry for money or power, each thirsty for something deeper he could not name but only feel it missing; two lean arrows in grim defense of the child behind them.”
Show Less
LibraryThing member LizzieD
Declan O Donnell sets out to sail in the Pacific on the Plover, his refitted trawler, in order to remove himself forever from the messy emotions of humankind. Almost immediately he begins to pick up crew, starting with an attendant sea gull and then adding an old friend and his daughter, left
At page 20, I was done with Declan and Doyle, but I kept reading because I owed ER a review. In another twenty pages I kept reading because I couldn't help myself. Doyle's writing embraces almost every convention of contemporary literature that I loathe, but he can tell a story and the characters, while not particularly complex, made me care about them.
Declan himself is determinedly and eternally Irish. I think the endless wordplay (which I generally love) and the really endless lists (which I hate) are supposed to evoke a rabelaisian energy, but they made me tired and ready to spit. Those lists appear on almost every page (for example: "...as even when wading around the boat with scrapers in hand he had seen strapper, jacks, groupers, tangs, sturgeonfish, squirrelfish, parrotfish, goatfish, butterflyfish, eels, and lean gray reef sharks fast as whippets, not to mention gleaming friendly dolphins and seals as fat and sleepy as uncles on Sundays. Place is a fecking paradise, he thought."), and my mind eventually refused to register them - the same with the fecking this and fecking that, a bit of affecktation I could have done well without. I came to view the lack of quotation marks as inevitable, and it was the same with the occasional present tense narration.
On the other hand, what a world! I was delighted, at least for a while, by the minister of fisheries whose life mission is to create the Republic of Pacifica in which all species are honored, creativity is fostered, and violence is eradicated. I loved Pipa, who could send out her larger soul to birds and sea creatures and with the only other woman on the boat, who nurtured her and changed her life. Finally, I even found a warm spot for Declan, who becomes a person on his voyage.
I'm glad I read it. I'm really glad I finished it!
Show More
battered and speechless after being run over by a school bus. The book is filled with the adventure of the sea and its creatures of whom humans good and evil are only one species.At page 20, I was done with Declan and Doyle, but I kept reading because I owed ER a review. In another twenty pages I kept reading because I couldn't help myself. Doyle's writing embraces almost every convention of contemporary literature that I loathe, but he can tell a story and the characters, while not particularly complex, made me care about them.
Declan himself is determinedly and eternally Irish. I think the endless wordplay (which I generally love) and the really endless lists (which I hate) are supposed to evoke a rabelaisian energy, but they made me tired and ready to spit. Those lists appear on almost every page (for example: "...as even when wading around the boat with scrapers in hand he had seen strapper, jacks, groupers, tangs, sturgeonfish, squirrelfish, parrotfish, goatfish, butterflyfish, eels, and lean gray reef sharks fast as whippets, not to mention gleaming friendly dolphins and seals as fat and sleepy as uncles on Sundays. Place is a fecking paradise, he thought."), and my mind eventually refused to register them - the same with the fecking this and fecking that, a bit of affecktation I could have done well without. I came to view the lack of quotation marks as inevitable, and it was the same with the occasional present tense narration.
On the other hand, what a world! I was delighted, at least for a while, by the minister of fisheries whose life mission is to create the Republic of Pacifica in which all species are honored, creativity is fostered, and violence is eradicated. I loved Pipa, who could send out her larger soul to birds and sea creatures and with the only other woman on the boat, who nurtured her and changed her life. Finally, I even found a warm spot for Declan, who becomes a person on his voyage.
I'm glad I read it. I'm really glad I finished it!
Show Less
LibraryThing member wcath
The Plover is an exuberant, atmospheric novel about the journey of Declan O'Donnell. In his twenties, Declan is already disenchanted with his life on land, his family, his future and people in general. His rather vague plans are to sail his small fishing trawler directly west from the Oregon coast
This is the story of a sea journey in which the sea becomes one of the characters. The creatures in the sea and above the sea, along with the vessels and people that sail on the sea - these are all a part of the story. Brian Doyle has a unique writing style that makes prose feel like poetry, yet it is very down-to-earth and accessible. His writing has energy and emotion. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of reading this novel and highly recommend it.
Show More
forever and to stay far away from civilization. Of course, not much goes as planned and the results are funny and poetic and moving.This is the story of a sea journey in which the sea becomes one of the characters. The creatures in the sea and above the sea, along with the vessels and people that sail on the sea - these are all a part of the story. Brian Doyle has a unique writing style that makes prose feel like poetry, yet it is very down-to-earth and accessible. His writing has energy and emotion. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of reading this novel and highly recommend it.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Helenoel
I found The Plover] a delightful read. Although I usually read for story and characters, The Plover also has writing style, entertaining references to oceanographic trivia, mystical communications with birds and other entities, and good feelings. I expect I will go back and re-read it, which I
I received my copy through the Library Thing Early Reviewers program in exchange for a promise to read and review. I have rarely enjoyed a book as much as I did this one- Go Forth and read it!.
Show More
rarely do, just to savor some of the language and thoughtful bits of philosophy. I received my copy through the Library Thing Early Reviewers program in exchange for a promise to read and review. I have rarely enjoyed a book as much as I did this one- Go Forth and read it!.
Show Less
LibraryThing member GarySeverance
The Plover is a small trawler twenty feet long by eight feet wide by seven feet deep. Captain Declan O’Donnell has plied the coast of Oregon in his trawler fishing and doing a bit of charter work. He has refitted the boat with a mast and red sails for flair and long travel on little fuel for the
Heading west and then west, the traditional direction of men who have sailed from their past, Declan has decided to abandon the edge of land and take on a life of solitude free from social constraints. The challenges of the sea and the necessary solitary maintenance of the Plover will structure his existence of exploration and survival on the Pacific.
Sailing and motoring on the Pacific Ocean is much more difficult than skirting the CONUS northwest coast. Declan learns much about navigating the huge expanse via charts and by enduring storms with high winds and churning waves. At the same time, he becomes more closed and withdrawn in his mental state rather than becoming open and free as he expected.
A seagull has chosen to accompany Declan, and he finds himself talking to the bird covertly and overtly though more in jest than actual communication. He tells the gull there will be no thinking on this trip, no recriminations and ruminations. Instead, Declan will immerse himself in learning the true nature of the oceanic territory and its inhabitants. Everything will be ship shape with no complications related to Stateside games with other people, known and unknown.
Solitude builds character, but loneliness is insidious with intruding thoughts and memories that restrict freedom of experience. Declan’s spontaneous life review is reluctant and piecemeal, and the reader slowly gains insight into the captain’s early life and circumstances on land. But, like the bird plover that is small yet heroic in its migratory feats from one end of the Pacific to the other, Declan carries on to the South Pacific Islands. He hopes to make hit and run visits on land to restock provisions.
The stage is set for chance encounters with people who will intrude on Declan’s flight from himself. The cast of characters include: Enrique a Russian pirate who draws a bead on the Plover, Piko a widower friend of Declan who escaped to an island after a tragic family accident, Pipa the paralyzed and mute daughter of Piko, Taromauri an island widower who lost her daughter to the sea and her husband to grief, Danilo a survivor of the harsh Russian wasteland who escaped to became an ocean pilot, and “the minister” an idealistic island minister for fisheries and foreign affairs with no wife or children. The seagull, a variety of visiting birds, and a couple of rats comprise the list of fellow voyagers. All of these characters join Declan on the Plover intruding on his living space and his solitude and making him feel a bit like a fool.
The reader joins Declan and his passengers on the journey and has access to the thoughts, actions backgrounds, and experiences of man and beast. Each living thing on this ship of fools learns to deal with and care for the others. The personal philosophies of the crew strengthen and triumph as life stories (real and imagined) are shared. It’s always about the story telling, isn't it?
The sea and eventually the land offer solace, opportunity, hope, redemption, catharsis, resolution, and profound love and self-acceptance. I joined the boat early, went through my own vicarious sea changes, and reluctantly pulled into port as I finished the novel. I highly recommend The Plover, a magical mystery tour with as many layers of understanding as the Pacific Ocean’s seamount environments.
Show More
engine. The sight of the rig causes derisive shouts and laughter by fellow captains, but Declan is unfazed. He is determined to take an aimless amble west over the mountains at the bottom of the sea, free of the alcohol that has been a personal demon. Heading west and then west, the traditional direction of men who have sailed from their past, Declan has decided to abandon the edge of land and take on a life of solitude free from social constraints. The challenges of the sea and the necessary solitary maintenance of the Plover will structure his existence of exploration and survival on the Pacific.
Sailing and motoring on the Pacific Ocean is much more difficult than skirting the CONUS northwest coast. Declan learns much about navigating the huge expanse via charts and by enduring storms with high winds and churning waves. At the same time, he becomes more closed and withdrawn in his mental state rather than becoming open and free as he expected.
A seagull has chosen to accompany Declan, and he finds himself talking to the bird covertly and overtly though more in jest than actual communication. He tells the gull there will be no thinking on this trip, no recriminations and ruminations. Instead, Declan will immerse himself in learning the true nature of the oceanic territory and its inhabitants. Everything will be ship shape with no complications related to Stateside games with other people, known and unknown.
Solitude builds character, but loneliness is insidious with intruding thoughts and memories that restrict freedom of experience. Declan’s spontaneous life review is reluctant and piecemeal, and the reader slowly gains insight into the captain’s early life and circumstances on land. But, like the bird plover that is small yet heroic in its migratory feats from one end of the Pacific to the other, Declan carries on to the South Pacific Islands. He hopes to make hit and run visits on land to restock provisions.
The stage is set for chance encounters with people who will intrude on Declan’s flight from himself. The cast of characters include: Enrique a Russian pirate who draws a bead on the Plover, Piko a widower friend of Declan who escaped to an island after a tragic family accident, Pipa the paralyzed and mute daughter of Piko, Taromauri an island widower who lost her daughter to the sea and her husband to grief, Danilo a survivor of the harsh Russian wasteland who escaped to became an ocean pilot, and “the minister” an idealistic island minister for fisheries and foreign affairs with no wife or children. The seagull, a variety of visiting birds, and a couple of rats comprise the list of fellow voyagers. All of these characters join Declan on the Plover intruding on his living space and his solitude and making him feel a bit like a fool.
The reader joins Declan and his passengers on the journey and has access to the thoughts, actions backgrounds, and experiences of man and beast. Each living thing on this ship of fools learns to deal with and care for the others. The personal philosophies of the crew strengthen and triumph as life stories (real and imagined) are shared. It’s always about the story telling, isn't it?
The sea and eventually the land offer solace, opportunity, hope, redemption, catharsis, resolution, and profound love and self-acceptance. I joined the boat early, went through my own vicarious sea changes, and reluctantly pulled into port as I finished the novel. I highly recommend The Plover, a magical mystery tour with as many layers of understanding as the Pacific Ocean’s seamount environments.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ThePortPorts
When I told my husband I'd finished The Plover, his first comment was, "I bet you're going to give The Plover a lot of stars on Goodreads."
Yup, he knows me well.
This is, quite simply, a marvelous book - I loved it at least as much as I loved Mink River. That's saying quite a bit. Mink River is
Doyle clearly has a style. I can read a passage (say, an essay in a magazine) and know, within lines, that it's Doyle. The lyrical language, the lists, the asides, all written in this poetical prose that makes me want to read aloud. Reading Doyle's novels put me in a happy place.
What I loved about The Plover:
* The characters. Declan comes from Mink River, but otherwise they're new. None of them are simple - they're complex, and human, and, well... they're good. Nobody is all good or bad - they all have stories, and they've taken paths that have led them to where they are today... and they have choices ahead of them, and somehow, as the pages march on, I just know that even the most dastardly of the bunch has it in him to be good, and bright. That hope for humankind tickles my soul. Heck, in Mink River I didn't care much for Declan; he was a bit of an ass. But here? We see the whys and hows of Declan - more than he sees himself, I think. Oh, and Pipa... I can't stop thinking about Pipa. I especially loved how he wrote her in the first of the novel, all her fluttering and chirps and trills. He honored her shattered, wounded self in a way I've not read before.
* The magic. This is not a world of spells, or mantras, unless you count the odd Irish motto or the simple magic of the world. And in Doyle's world, things are not as simple as we humans see them. The birds speak, the fish have thoughts, gulls tell stories and get offended if we mock them. Warblers have joy and rats make plans. The most wonderful dog in the history of dogs has an island that he intends to thoroughly explore before he dies.
* The world. The world is a dangerous place. Murder, death, war, hate, kidnapping, violence, despair. And yet - magic miraculous things happen every moment. Each being is miraculous, and unique, and deserves to be sung.
* And, the language. I already waxed on about that.
Yup, he knows me well.
This is, quite simply, a marvelous book - I loved it at least as much as I loved Mink River. That's saying quite a bit. Mink River is
Show More
quite possibly in my top 5 books... ever. Doyle clearly has a style. I can read a passage (say, an essay in a magazine) and know, within lines, that it's Doyle. The lyrical language, the lists, the asides, all written in this poetical prose that makes me want to read aloud. Reading Doyle's novels put me in a happy place.
What I loved about The Plover:
* The characters. Declan comes from Mink River, but otherwise they're new. None of them are simple - they're complex, and human, and, well... they're good. Nobody is all good or bad - they all have stories, and they've taken paths that have led them to where they are today... and they have choices ahead of them, and somehow, as the pages march on, I just know that even the most dastardly of the bunch has it in him to be good, and bright. That hope for humankind tickles my soul. Heck, in Mink River I didn't care much for Declan; he was a bit of an ass. But here? We see the whys and hows of Declan - more than he sees himself, I think. Oh, and Pipa... I can't stop thinking about Pipa. I especially loved how he wrote her in the first of the novel, all her fluttering and chirps and trills. He honored her shattered, wounded self in a way I've not read before.
* The magic. This is not a world of spells, or mantras, unless you count the odd Irish motto or the simple magic of the world. And in Doyle's world, things are not as simple as we humans see them. The birds speak, the fish have thoughts, gulls tell stories and get offended if we mock them. Warblers have joy and rats make plans. The most wonderful dog in the history of dogs has an island that he intends to thoroughly explore before he dies.
* The world. The world is a dangerous place. Murder, death, war, hate, kidnapping, violence, despair. And yet - magic miraculous things happen every moment. Each being is miraculous, and unique, and deserves to be sung.
* And, the language. I already waxed on about that.
Show Less
LibraryThing member julie10reads
o escape his haunting loneliness, Declan O Donnell sets out on the high seas with no intention of returning to his Oregon home. In fact, he has no intentions at all, except to wander "west and then west" to distance himself from his troubling past. With little company besides a copy of conservative
I received this ARC from Librarything. I had chosen it somehow confusing Brian Doyle with Brian Moore. THE PLOVER is a stand-alone sequel to MINK RIVER, which I have not yet read.
THE PLOVER'S reviews have been uniformly positive. I really thought about it, trying to figure out what I missed. Australian film director Peter Weir was once described as making beautiful movies about (intelligent) manly men doing manly things. Brian Doyle strikes me as a literary heir to that genre. It's as if he channelled Jack London and Yann Martel, imagining exotic scenarios with wonderfully lyric run on, stream of consciousness passages. Personally, I would have preferred the author to choose from one of the following--magical realism or nautical odyssey --to craft a tighter, more compelling tale. Another reviewer summed it up like this:
"When the novel focuses on Declan and the elements, the results are gripping, but when it strives to be a modern-day South Seas yarn, the results quickly go adrift." PW Reviews
7 out of 10 If you liked THE LIFE OF PI, this one is for you!
Show More
orator Edmund Burke's speeches and the occasional gull, Declan drifts into the Pacific void to discover not solitude but unlikely companionship. Reluctantly agreeing to aid his recently widowed friend, Piko, and his disabled daughter, Declan finds himself extemporizing fatherhood and pursuing pirates when Piko gets kidnapped. As the adventure escalates, so does the number of his shipmates, humans and sea creatures alike. In stylized prose with frequent nods to Coleridge, Melville, and Stevenson, Doyle's surreal world is alive with vivid characters, mysterious birds, and lyrical philosophy about contentment. A joyous journey of discovery. Booklist ReviewI received this ARC from Librarything. I had chosen it somehow confusing Brian Doyle with Brian Moore. THE PLOVER is a stand-alone sequel to MINK RIVER, which I have not yet read.
THE PLOVER'S reviews have been uniformly positive. I really thought about it, trying to figure out what I missed. Australian film director Peter Weir was once described as making beautiful movies about (intelligent) manly men doing manly things. Brian Doyle strikes me as a literary heir to that genre. It's as if he channelled Jack London and Yann Martel, imagining exotic scenarios with wonderfully lyric run on, stream of consciousness passages. Personally, I would have preferred the author to choose from one of the following--magical realism or nautical odyssey --to craft a tighter, more compelling tale. Another reviewer summed it up like this:
"When the novel focuses on Declan and the elements, the results are gripping, but when it strives to be a modern-day South Seas yarn, the results quickly go adrift." PW Reviews
7 out of 10 If you liked THE LIFE OF PI, this one is for you!
Show Less
LibraryThing member Gwendydd
Brian Doyle's writing is delightful. The story is charming and heartwarming, but really the reason to read this is that Doyle's writing has this amazing energy and soothing rhythm to it.
Declan sets out to see because he wants to be alone on his boat, but he keeps picking up passengers and
Declan sets out to see because he wants to be alone on his boat, but he keeps picking up passengers and
Show More
ultimately developing loving relationships with all of them. It's refreshing that the book explores love in many forms other than romantic love. Show Less
LibraryThing member katylit
This is a book about journeying, written in lyrical, meandering prose that says little while saying a lot yet leaves the reader satisfied, indulged and entertained. Declan owns a fishing boat called The Plover, he has eschewed civilization and heads out to the south Pacific in search of a solitary,
Show More
free-from-everything life. But soon he has taken on two passengers, Piko and his crippled young daughter Pippa, and they are just the beginning. There is piracy, deception, comradery, philosophy, danger, wildlife and discovery on The Plover; good people and bad, the deep of the Pacific, the deep of these people, searching for some direction for their lives to take. It's a wonderful story, beautifully written, slow and methodical, filled with lovely passages, gentle humour and appealing characters. Show Less
LibraryThing member karen_o
I must confess when I first started reading The Plover I was thinking that I really just wasn't in the mood for this stream-of-consciousness writing stuff -- it was a little too much like my own head at the moment, I think. But I am so very glad I stuck with this story of Declan O'Donnell who sets
But, of course, the best laid plans and not only does he not stay the course due west but he definitely does not stay all alone and we end up meeting the most delightful cast of characters I've run across in quite some time. The story is by turns amusing, scary, wise and heart-warming and is highly recommended.
Show More
out one day from the coast of Oregon determined to just sail straight west until he hit land again, due west, always west. And all alone. Except for that gull that's flying nine feet off the stern almost all the time.But, of course, the best laid plans and not only does he not stay the course due west but he definitely does not stay all alone and we end up meeting the most delightful cast of characters I've run across in quite some time. The story is by turns amusing, scary, wise and heart-warming and is highly recommended.
Show Less
LibraryThing member jwood652
He planned on making a solo journey in his small fishing boat, going west, then west. He didn't want passengers or crew but somehow gathered a motley crew anyway. The author's prose is almost lyrical at times and his penchant for lists (for example naming several varieties of seabirds instead of
Show More
just saying seabirds)and also revealing the thoughts of those birds and other non-speaking characters aids in painting the picture. I must admit I did get fecking tired of the overuse of the "word" fecking though. We are exposed to many different ways of viewing things and some although unorthodox, seem less farfetched than they did before. I suggest you hop on board and see where the Plover takes you! Show Less
LibraryThing member kakadoo202
i did not make it far into this book. the writing style was very difficult to read for me. the sentances were long while within a telegram style. could not get a grip on it.
LibraryThing member aardvark2
The story was fascinating, but I found the unconventional writing style (no dialogue, run-on sentences) detracted from my enjoyment. If written conventionally, I would have considered this to be an excellent book and rated it higher.
LibraryThing member gmathis
Knowing firsthand the tooth-gnashing and agony a writer endures to capture elusive thoughts accurately and creatively, it pains me not to enjoy a book. I want to love every word I read. But life is too short to fight with a story you can't groove with, and unfortunately, this is one.
What The Plover
Looks like, from advance publicity, blurbs, and reviews, this story will have quite a following. Y'all go ahead without me this time.
What The Plover
Show More
has is plenty of unexpected, fanciful wordwork: one Amazon reviewer says, "This novel is fluid and alive, like the sea itself;" another says it's a "convoluted, who-knows-where-is-this-going" story--in a highly positive way. I think those two features, appealing to some, are what made me feel like I was foundering without a solid anchor to hang on to. Liberal overuse of a deriviative of the f-word throughout didn't impress me much either, sorry.Looks like, from advance publicity, blurbs, and reviews, this story will have quite a following. Y'all go ahead without me this time.
Show Less
LibraryThing member aslan7
I live by the ocean, the Atlantic ocean, and I do believe its ebbs and flows, colors and textures embed themselves in the fabric of my life. I was, therefore, very sympathetic to Declan O'Donnell, the protagonist of The Plover as he set sail on his solo adventure. I loved the descriptions of the
And I liked his fellow travelers. Piko and Pipa, Taromauri and Danielo and even the gull, gave the story warmth, and transformed Declan during his odyssey. I really enjoyed the inclusion of Edmund Burke and the selections that helped Declan with the trials he faced. But some of the magical elements of the story seemed at odds with the realism of things like the storms and the repairs.
The little girl who could not speak but could call the birds and fish - that was okay, but the gull who had to power to restore the child's speech, strained my willing suspension of disbelief. Fitting all those characters into the little boat was difficult to credit. It's funny, because I read The Life of Pi and enjoyed it and it certainly has more than its share of the fantastic folded into it. Maybe it was the integration of the magical elements into the realistic elements that didn't work for me, but whatever it was, I found the overall effect less that satisfying.
On the other hand, I liked much of the emotional unfolding of the novel. Declan grew as a person and managed to rescue others whose lives would have been a shambles without him. He provided a safe harbor even for those he could have turned away. And finally he accepted that even he was better off living among others.
Overall I enjoyed reading the book but I would not rate it among my top favorites.
Show More
water and the struggles of the boat to stay together and stay afloat. And I liked the personification of the ocean. It fit the character of Declan to perceive it like that.And I liked his fellow travelers. Piko and Pipa, Taromauri and Danielo and even the gull, gave the story warmth, and transformed Declan during his odyssey. I really enjoyed the inclusion of Edmund Burke and the selections that helped Declan with the trials he faced. But some of the magical elements of the story seemed at odds with the realism of things like the storms and the repairs.
The little girl who could not speak but could call the birds and fish - that was okay, but the gull who had to power to restore the child's speech, strained my willing suspension of disbelief. Fitting all those characters into the little boat was difficult to credit. It's funny, because I read The Life of Pi and enjoyed it and it certainly has more than its share of the fantastic folded into it. Maybe it was the integration of the magical elements into the realistic elements that didn't work for me, but whatever it was, I found the overall effect less that satisfying.
On the other hand, I liked much of the emotional unfolding of the novel. Declan grew as a person and managed to rescue others whose lives would have been a shambles without him. He provided a safe harbor even for those he could have turned away. And finally he accepted that even he was better off living among others.
Overall I enjoyed reading the book but I would not rate it among my top favorites.
Show Less
LibraryThing member gilbertine
From the start I loved this book and even more I loved Brian Doyle's way with language. The Plover is the sea-going version of the road trip novel with echoes of Tom Jones, Don Quixote and even Leopold Bloom. (And Bloom brings us to Odysseus, another sea-faring wanderer.) Declan, a West Coast
There are elements of magic realism threaded though the tale which are combined with Doyle's poetic stream-of-conscious imagery, (not surprising since he is a poet) and that may cause some readers to baulk, and the plot, like Declan's journey meanders somewhat. But if you just give in to it and go along for the voyage the rewards are there.
Show More
fisherman, sets out in the Plover with no particular destination but with a desire to leave his life behind. But life has other plans. His encounters with an old friend and his daughter, pirates, the minister of fisheries, an enigmatic gull and other fellow pilgrims renew his soul and purpose.There are elements of magic realism threaded though the tale which are combined with Doyle's poetic stream-of-conscious imagery, (not surprising since he is a poet) and that may cause some readers to baulk, and the plot, like Declan's journey meanders somewhat. But if you just give in to it and go along for the voyage the rewards are there.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Oregonreader
I have spent my life along the edge of the Pacific Ocean and was drawn to this book in part because of that. Doyle does an amazing job of describing the Pacific as a living entity with its incredible vastness, depths, subterranean mountain ranges, and sea life still being discovered. The main
Show More
character, Dec, leaves his troubled life behind and sets sail in a small boat called the Plover. For the first part of the book, this ocean is the other character he relates to. He was looking for solitude and gets everything but that as his boat slowly fills with birds, old friends, new friends, and challenges. I found the writing often difficult, much of it stream of consciousness, as he muses on what has brought him to this point, what is true, and the profundity he finds in Edmund Burke's writing. But the characters are wonderful. I found myself caught up in each of their lives and histories and was interested in watching their relationships grow and change them. I found the book well worth reading. Show Less
LibraryThing member booklove2
Such a gem I'm so glad I found! Here is a perfect sea voyage for you, if your summer is lacking. The entire plot takes place on the sea. Doyle has such a nice outlook on the world down to the tiniest detail. It reminded me of Annie Dillard's fantastic writing which I imagine for Doyle is a
Show More
compliment considering his book has a Dillard epigraph. I just adore poetic nature writing, just like Dillard's. Each page is filled with such imaginative, thoughtful, poetic, gorgeous wonders, insights into the world around us. The plot itself is about the small boat The Plover that the owner Declan has used to escape everything, leaving Oregon on his own and heading for the sea. He's kind of losing it when his resident gull friend disappears and it's heartbreaking in itself, to see a soul so alone. The book is full of tiny heartbreaks here and there. Declan runs into one of his friends and his daughter Pip, left disabled in a car accident and seems to only communicate like a bird and send her "big soul" out into the world to communicate with other souls. They too would like to escape some things and join The Plover's crew. Declan prefers his solitude, but he has to learn to be around people again while his ship slowly fills up with a cast of unlikely characters. (Also, there are so many characters named Pip in books it must be the most common name in the books I've read.) The Plover itself becomes a kind of white whale to a man on another ship. Every few pages shifts perspective and even just a few pages with one character has so much heart, like one teenager who was lost at sea in a shipwreck or the story of a kidnapper. It's a mystery what Declan was escaping, but there is a hint of a hint towards the end of the book that just makes so much sense. Towards the end, there are a couple bizarre plot choices. Also, this book does have run-ons and no quotation marks, if those sorts of things bother you. It's a pity I've never heard of this Brian Doyle because I really like his writing. I will definitely be checking out his other books. There are many choices: other novels, poetry and non-fiction (again, just like Dillard wrote in so many formats.) It's no wonder Doyle's book has so much heart... he actually wrote an entire book about the heart called 'The Wet Engine'. I love this book most for the poetic nature writing, but that might just be my preference. There is plenty in this book to find. So many tiny lovely details it is impossible to remember them all, but I sure wish I could. Show Less
LibraryThing member nmele
A sort of sequel to "Mink River", this picaresque novel deals with themes of loss, violence, connection and redemption. I enjoyed it.
LibraryThing member Rascalstar
Brian Doyle has a most unusual writing style and that's no small statement given the wide array of writers today. It's easily readable and yet literary, it stealthily speaks to your heart, and I can't wait to read other books he has written. This one will stay with me.
Declan, the main character
Don't' miss the tale of these gentle characters that somehow still get into plenty of trouble on the high seas.
Declan, the main character
Show More
(perhaps!) gives up the life he has known to outfit a cabin cruiser with sails to save money, and sets off on a sea voyage west from Oregon. He wishes to be alone with the sea and whatever comes his way. His quiet voyage turns into a remarkable adventure when he takes on storms, personable birds, and an array of unwanted guests that share his small 30-foot boat on high seas, while they are pursued by an angry, unstable large boat captain. The most memorable of his passengers is Pipa, a 9-year-old girl disabled and unable to talk, and her father, who was a good friend of Declan's back on land. The other characters arrive most incidentally and sometimes fortuitously. This is their story, told in highly conversational, stream-of-consciousness, run-on sentences, and charmingly so. Don't' miss the tale of these gentle characters that somehow still get into plenty of trouble on the high seas.
Show Less
LibraryThing member janerawoof
I'm not sure how to categorize this review. First, I really liked it and the writing style [made up of mostly sentence fragments or run-on sentences] didn't bother me in the least. I felt it fit the genre: a sea story: waves lapping at the boat, sometimes more vigorous and sometimes more gently,
The novel offers paeans to the sea, friendship, loyalty, endearing eccentric characters, and the writings and oft-quoted wisdom of Edmund Burke, Declan's hero. The author's gentle humor and dazzling wordplay shine through. I really liked the section where Declan's broken arm is scolding Declan. To get a flavor of the writing I quote Declan's reasoning in naming his boat the Plover:
" Why did I name the Plover the Plover, you ask? says Declan to the gull who had
not asked. I'll tell you. ... The Golden Plover of the Pacific, the Pacific Golden Plover,
is a serious traveler. It wanders, it wends where it will. It is a slight thing easily overlooked, but it is a heroic migrant, sailing annually from the top of Pacifica to the bottom. It forages, it eats what it can find. It talks while it travels and those who have heard it say it has a mournful yet eager sound. That sounds right to me, mournful yet eager. We regret, yet we push on. We chew the past yet we hunger for the future. So I developed an affection and respect for the plover. It's a little thing, the size of your fist, other than those long pencilly legs for sprinting after grasshoppers and crabs and such, but it can fly ten thousand miles across an ocean ... You have to admire the pluck of a plover. It doesn't show off and it isn't pretty and you hardly even notice it, but it's a tough little bird doing amazing things... So when it came to name a little drab boat that wasn't dashing and no one notices much, but that gets a lot of work done quietly and if it wanted to sail off and go as far as far as it wanted....well, that's why we're here on the Plover. So now you know. Don't keep badgering me with questions."
Show More
The story's quickly told: a young man, Declan O Donnell, sets out alone from Oregon to sail westward, ever westward, his only companion a gull flying nine feet above his trawler. Fate takes a hand. Declan is forced to change direction several times and we meet passengers he takes on: a friend living on one of the island and his crippled daughter, Pipa; the Minister of an island, who dreams of founding a new country with peaceful laws--the Pacific Ocean together with all her islands; other folks join Deeclan. Although she cannot talk to humans, Pipa can "mewl" to the birds. There is a storm at sea and run-in with the "villain", Enrique, and his cargo ship. The novel offers paeans to the sea, friendship, loyalty, endearing eccentric characters, and the writings and oft-quoted wisdom of Edmund Burke, Declan's hero. The author's gentle humor and dazzling wordplay shine through. I really liked the section where Declan's broken arm is scolding Declan. To get a flavor of the writing I quote Declan's reasoning in naming his boat the Plover:
" Why did I name the Plover the Plover, you ask? says Declan to the gull who had
not asked. I'll tell you. ... The Golden Plover of the Pacific, the Pacific Golden Plover,
is a serious traveler. It wanders, it wends where it will. It is a slight thing easily overlooked, but it is a heroic migrant, sailing annually from the top of Pacifica to the bottom. It forages, it eats what it can find. It talks while it travels and those who have heard it say it has a mournful yet eager sound. That sounds right to me, mournful yet eager. We regret, yet we push on. We chew the past yet we hunger for the future. So I developed an affection and respect for the plover. It's a little thing, the size of your fist, other than those long pencilly legs for sprinting after grasshoppers and crabs and such, but it can fly ten thousand miles across an ocean ... You have to admire the pluck of a plover. It doesn't show off and it isn't pretty and you hardly even notice it, but it's a tough little bird doing amazing things... So when it came to name a little drab boat that wasn't dashing and no one notices much, but that gets a lot of work done quietly and if it wanted to sail off and go as far as far as it wanted....well, that's why we're here on the Plover. So now you know. Don't keep badgering me with questions."
Show Less
LibraryThing member snoble23
This was not what I was expecting but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. It took me about 25 pages to get used to the run-on sentences, lack of punctuation and overall way of writing but after I grew accustomed to it I found it entertaining and enjoyable. The story of Declan who sets out
Show More
alone on the ocean turns into a beautiful story of friendship, love and teaches us that family is not always blood. Show Less
LibraryThing member ewrinc
Scored a free copy of "The Plover" [advance readers' edition] while visiting an independent bookstore in Bluefield, WV (the only bookstore within >50 miles, as far as Aroundme can tell). Author Brian Doyle has style that is different, exclusive, one-and-only, rare, individual, uncommon, lone,
Show More
separate, solitary ... Well, he likes words and many different words to describe each phenomena that a character encounters. There are several main characters, each quite different, who think and speak throughout the book. The very different stories of each character intermingle with head-on or glancing blows, sometimes numerous times. There are some fantastic events, essentially outside our scientific grasp, but mostly within some realm of possibility. A good helping of philosophy, psychology, sociology, physics, and biology underlies much of the goings-on and each character provides the reader with potential additional learning for at least one, sometimes many, of these subjects. Every main character develops a being and personality over the entire course of the book and each is, in the author's eyes, special. In fact, it is evident that the author wants us to understand that every being (person, animal, boat, star, etc) has a depth, breadth and height that can only ever be plumbed even slightly by another and only then when the other focuses diligently on that individual. I recommend this book for those who like to think and look forward to reading other works by Doyle. Show Less
LibraryThing member TooBusyReading
It has taken me close to forever to read this book. Not because it especially long but because I kept putting it down to do or read something more interesting. I'd heard good things about this novel, so when I found a copy in my local dollar store for (surprise!) a dollar, I snapped it up.
Declan
"Let's think of this as an expedition of inquiry, during which a man, let us say a former dairyman and sometimes fisherman, sails west and then west, curious about seamounts and fracture zones, and vast epic valleys into which light has never penetrated since the dawn of time, and caves and intricate wildernesses in which reside creatures never seen by the eye of man or gull, and soaring mountains on which live ancient eels and squid the size of ships, and he conducts experiments into fauna and flora as such opportunities present themselves, and earns his protein with his longlines, dipping into ship's stores only for the occasional lime, doing his best to avoid demon alcohol which has never served him well, and keeping an eye on the shape of his sanity, such as it is, or was, and leery of such things as talking freely to gulls, for example, which may be a sign of incipient something or other."
Whew. Fortunately. Most sentences are not like this. The sentence that follows the one above is, “You with me here, bird?”
The boat gets crowded when Declan picks up an old friend and his damaged daughter who can no longer walk or speak. And it goes downhill from there. Pirates (or more accurately, pirate), magic realism, birds, and characters that because increasingly interesting. It took half the book before I really became engaged, but at that point, I started loving it.
So if you can handle a slow start, this book is worth the initial slog.
Declan
Show More
decides to sail west on his small powerboat he rigged with a sail. Alone and intending to stay that way. But the best laid plans.... The book is very descriptive and too often decides that sentences need to be long. Really, really long. (Any typos and mistakes are mine.)"Let's think of this as an expedition of inquiry, during which a man, let us say a former dairyman and sometimes fisherman, sails west and then west, curious about seamounts and fracture zones, and vast epic valleys into which light has never penetrated since the dawn of time, and caves and intricate wildernesses in which reside creatures never seen by the eye of man or gull, and soaring mountains on which live ancient eels and squid the size of ships, and he conducts experiments into fauna and flora as such opportunities present themselves, and earns his protein with his longlines, dipping into ship's stores only for the occasional lime, doing his best to avoid demon alcohol which has never served him well, and keeping an eye on the shape of his sanity, such as it is, or was, and leery of such things as talking freely to gulls, for example, which may be a sign of incipient something or other."
Whew. Fortunately. Most sentences are not like this. The sentence that follows the one above is, “You with me here, bird?”
The boat gets crowded when Declan picks up an old friend and his damaged daughter who can no longer walk or speak. And it goes downhill from there. Pirates (or more accurately, pirate), magic realism, birds, and characters that because increasingly interesting. It took half the book before I really became engaged, but at that point, I started loving it.
So if you can handle a slow start, this book is worth the initial slog.
Show Less
Awards
Pages
320
ISBN
1250034779 / 9781250034779