Bill is out of options. Unemployed, alone and returning to the raucous seas of Northern California, the only home he knows, he takes a loan out at the bank and pours his last cent into his final chance for redemption: a tired old boat without a name.
After encountering his old friend Ike, an antiquated, blistering sailor with a penchant for cigarettes, whiskey and danger, and Tom, an eager neophyte with the edge to match them both, they concoct a plan to make them whole. Taking their chances on the newly christened Skate, the three unlikely souls embark on a risky expedition into Baja, Mexico to fish for albacore.
Decker’s briny, memorable debut, the story of three down-on-their-luck fishermen, revolves around a plan to sail to Mexico to fish for albacore. Things don’t go exactly as planned, of course, but that’s the way of the sea, and this beautifully told novel, like all journeys, is fundamentally about the experience—and, as the narrator notes, it’s also about a “communion,” of a sort, “the joining between the sea and the old sailor who knew her so well.” That sailor is Ike, a blistering old salt who’s been at sea all his life. He’s joined in this undertaking by Tom, a neophyte with a penchant for adventure, and Bill, unemployed and broke after pouring all his money into the Skate, an old and worn-out boat whose apparent seaworthiness stirs a teenager to say “Either you're brave as hell or you're crazy.”The narrative is a little slow to pick up, and it may take landlubbers some time to get used to the slang and terminology—Decker knows and loves sailor speak. But once you settle into it, the story breezes along, flowing on its natural currents, distinguished by Decker’s surehanded understanding of the work, rewards, and dangers of such an odyssey. Prose and dialogue are sparse and gruff (“Ain't nothin' on the land or in the sea stronger'n a shark,” Ike notes). The elemental realism will hook lovers of adventure stories drawn from life, and Decker reels readers in deeper as his men reveal themselves, their vulnerabilities as engaging as their actions. And just when the seas seem comfortable, everything gets shaken up, with two strong climaxes back to back.
Lovers of the sea and sailing will really enjoy this book, which is attuned to beauty but also to danger. The meditative passages are rich in mood, character, and a stirring sense of the power of nature, as Decker’s pacing reminds readers to live in the moment, aware that everything can change in an instant.
Takeaway: Marvelous sailing adventure, action-packed and meditative.
Comparable Titles: Peter Nichols’s A Voyage for Madmen, Joshua Slocum’s Sailing Alone Around the World.
Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
A Fitting Epitaph is a classic tale told with a modernist’s insight and edge. A journey into the granular lives of down-on-their luck fishermen, Michael Decker’s prose is lyrical and tender but also savage and authentic, possessing a true grasp of the nautical world and all its sleights of hand. This unique novella breathes salty air and reeks of brine, whiskey, and heartbreak. Take the ride
