It’s always a delight to read a debut novel from an author who already displays a strong voice or an aptitude for trying something new. That was the case with reading this debut novel from Garrett Carr, The Boy From the Sea. The book isn’t wildly out there in its style but it does have hints of working outside the norms of fiction and it is beautifully written.
The story opens in 1973 in a fishing community in Ireland when an abandoned baby is discovered on a beach. The community embraces the infant, quickly stepping up to take turns caring for the baby boy. But when Ambrose Bonnar brings him home, he quickly decides the boy will stay and the Bonnar family adopts the baby, who they name Brendan. Ambrose’s wife, Christine, is perhaps less sure but embraces Brendan and they raise him alongside their biological son, Declan. Declan, however, never accepts this new brother as truly his family and so we begin a years-long tension within the Bonnar family. Added to that are the dynamics at play with their nearest neighbours and closest relatives, Christine’s father and older sister.
The story is told by an omniscient first person plural, using “we” continuously throughout. This gives it a sort of Greek chorus feel as well as pulling the viewpoint back from only telling us the story of the Bonnars to telling a story of the whole town. We’re focused largely on the Bonnar family but this is really a novel about a community. We see the Bonnars as a sample of the town itself. Ambrose is a fisherman, one who owns his own boat and who is, initially, somewhat successful. But as years pass and the industry changes, he struggles to adapt and the family is increasingly falling behind in their finances. The Bonnars’ struggles are the struggles of a community that is facing major changes in the very way it functions and the precepts upon which it has been built.
We watch Declan and Brendan grow up into two vastly different young men and we see them through the eyes of the town. Brendan is both an outsider with a strange, unknown history, and a sort of token for the townspeople who hold him in special regard. Declan, growing up in the shadow of his brother’s past, struggles to find his place and to feel like he is equally regarded by his own family. It’s a subtle but powerful portrayal of brothers, of a family, of an industry at the cusp of huge change, and of a community.
I may be incredibly naive, but I feel like someone who is mad at helping another person, even if that person is a child, I someone who was never shown that caring for others is the right thing to do. And families cannot choose to care one time and expect it to stick; it must be an active part of their lives. I know in the US it’s popular to “circle the wagons” in one family and then only do something charitable once a year, like a hospice benefit or something. Not much volunteering or goodwill happens otherwise that I ever hear of.
I think it’s always right to help children because they are not to be faulted for their background or origin. Mostly in this book the other townspeople see Amos as naive but kind. His wife’s family thinks are upset that he takes in Brendan but they aren’t necessarily upheld as good people. Declan feels supplanted by this new, unrelated sibling and he’s a literal child too so you can’t really fault him. He’s also encouraged in his thinking by his grandfather who is maybe the closest thing the novel has to a villain.
Your comment reminds me of a lot of thought around charitable giving. We’re encouraged to give money or whatever to poorer countries when a natural disaster strikes but what they really need to longterm support to rebuild and prevent further tragedy. But that requires a lot more work.
Basically, to make any measurable difference in another country, you have to help them build their economy, not provide donations. But that’s not what makes us feel good, so it isn’t a “sexy” way to give.
Yes, I grew up with the sponsor-a-child in Africa type model and it feels good because you get photos and can write letters but now we try to support more community-based programs with goals to become self-sustaining. (I keep rewriting this comment because I don’t want it to seem like I’m trying to brag about my charitable giving! Just that I agree with you and sometimes it’s hard to actually find programs in line with that!)
I understand who you are and where you come from ♥️
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